Mustang gallops in with 5.0-litre V8
Ford has announced further details on its next-generation Mustang muscle car, including specifics on the engines which will power the line-up when it returns to Australia in the second half of next year.
Though Ford Australia hasn't commented on the figures for the US Mustang, it has stressed it is a global model and we can therefore assume there will be similar if not identical figures for the Australian version.
Topping the range - and likely of most interest to Stang aficionados - is a 5.0-litre V8 packing 324kW and 542Nm of torque, while the Mustang will follow other recent Ford models by offering an EcoBoost direct injection turbo option - in this case a 2.3-litre four-cylinder unit offering 231kW and 433Nm, which Ford says is best-ever power density from one of its engines.
It's also the first Ford engine to use a low-inertia twin-scroll turbocharger, which the company says provides quicker boost response while enabling lower emissions and improved efficiency.
It's interesting to note the V8 Mustang's 324kW falls short of the 351kW the final locally made FPV sedan will have at its disposal.
Times for the 0-100km/h sprint in the Mustang are yet to be revealed, but the EcoBoost unit shouldn't have its pants pulled down by its bigger V8 sibling, considering it comes in at 79kg lighter (1602kg for the manual variant compared to 1681kg.)
A naturally aspirated 224kW 3.7-litre V6 will be the entry model in the US but Ford Australia says it is sticking to a two-engine line-up.
There will still be a fair range of choice for buyers, though, with Ford announcing at the Mustang's design reveal late last year that Australia would receive coupe and convertible body styles and each engine would be mated to either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission - the latter of which comes with paddle shifters and rev-matching downshifts.
There has been extensive work to make sure the new engines sound appropriately brutish, with many design tricks used to minimise road and wind noise and increase the sounds of the engine and exhaust in the cabin.
Ford has also revealed some performance details. The new Mustang should be relatively nimble, with new, independent front and rear suspension and a lighter and stronger platform than its predecessor.
There is room for bigger brakes than before and Ford says the EcoBoost coupe's 52:48 per cent front to rear balance is the best ever found in a Mustang.
There will also be performance packs available for each model, which sees them get retuned suspensions, additional engine cooling, different brakes, black painted alloys and more.
Exact details on what features will make it to Australia, including the performance packs, are yet to be finalised. However Ford's local arm has said there are doubts the Mustang's "burnout feature" will make it to Oz (officially, the "electronic line-lock" function allows drivers to lock the front wheels and spin the rear wheels to warm tyres at track events).
Ford is also understandably staying tight-lipped over pricing until closer to the Mustang's arrival here.
