New versions of the Mustang muscle car will begin shipping next week and more than two thirds of the orders include the big, 5-liter V-8 engine, Ford said Friday.
Demand for roaring engines remains strong in an era when Detroit automakers are starting to phase out the rumbling gas burners and transition to electric vehicles in order to meet strict government emissions and fuel economy requirements.
There are about 13,000 U.S. orders for the 2024 Mustangs, Ford says, which also can be equipped with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine. Of those orders, 67% have the V-8, and more than a quarter of the people seeking that Mustang want the six-speed manual transmission, spokesman Mike Levine says.
But muscle cars, at least new ones, are on their way out.
General Motors announced in March that it will stop making the Chevrolet Camaro early next year as a 2024 model. The company wouldn't rule out a replacement for the Camaro at a future date.
Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, will stop making gas versions of the Dodge Challenger and Charger muscle cars by the end of this year. But the company has plans to roll out a battery-powered Charger performance car sometime in 2024.
Levine wouldn't say whether this version of the Mustang would be the company's last gas-powered muscle car. “That remains to be seen,” he said.
There also could be an electric Mustang sports car in the future. Electric cars, with instant torque and a low center of gravity, often are faster and handle better than internal combustion vehicles.
People are going for V-8 Mustangs with stick shifts in part because they may be the last of the gas-powered muscle car era, said Guidehouse Insights eMobility analyst Sam Abuelsamid.
“The most hard-core fans, they're going to go out and grab one of these because you don’t know when it’s going to end,” he said.
When a new Mustang comes out, the V-8 order rate is almost always higher than the other available engines, as is the demand for manual transmissions, because fervent Mustang fans are often the first to order, Abuelsamid said.
“We tend to see more demand from enthusiasts for the V-8 whenever an all-new Mustang is introduced,” Jim Owens, Mustang brand manager, said in a prepared statement.
The new Mustang, which is on the same underpinnings as the current version, is built at a factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, south of Detroit. The new V-8 engine can produce up to 486 horsepower.
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16 Comments
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CKAI
helluv an era!!
Christopher Mas Osan
Thank you Ford.
The Dark Horse Pony car is a neck breaker.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dark+horse+mustang
Its a mistake for Stellantis, to eliminate the HEMI engine line. Huge mistake.
I get it EV vehicles are the future and maybe the new conversation to be had how will be.
Bruh, how many Kilowatts is that thing pushing under the chassis\? How many gigawatts?
Anyone that's a car guy like me. There is nothing better than getting in GT3/GTR/Supra MK/ RT Challenger or Charger. GT 5.0 Mustang. Or what ever your poison is, and ya know,
So gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire
Yeah........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvF9PAxe5Ng
Nothing beats the sound of flowmaster glasspacks on V8.
1glenn
If the ultimate goal is acceleration, then the electric cars beat the muscle cars, easily. Of course, the EVs are much quieter, and being noisy is the point of owning a muscle car.
OssanAmerica
I was last into muscle cars when I was still in high school. I had a Mustang Mach 1 with the 350 v8. Friends had Z28s. Cudas, Trans Ams. They were cool, fast, powerful, throaty, sexy and fun as hell. Then I grew up.
Muscle cars don't make good family cars, they can't carry all your play gear, and they can't handle severe weather conditions. A 486 bhp 5 liter engine is not going to give you good gas mileage.
Today muscle cars are a toy for the filthy rich who couldn't give a damn about money or the planet.
There's a reason that the world is all moving towards electric vehicles.
"The global average temperature for July 2023 was the highest on record and likely for at least 120,000 years, the UN weather agency and partners said on Tuesday."
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/08/1139527
Mr Kipling
Not bad, the 4 liter V8 hybrid in the AMG GT63 puts out 843hp and will go around corners.
ableko45
Not really a fan of the muscle car/ boy racer style...
Jonathan Prin
Don't tell the price of such cars !
Not for the poor.
Exact same feeling as OssanAmerica although never was interested in noisy muscle car. I never needed one to make my wife noisy ;)
Danielsan
Muscle cars are for men who are unable to perform like one.
Desert Tortoise
I think Dodge has them beat with the 700 hp Challenger and Charger Hellcat models.
Desert Tortoise
I enjoy driving something like an old early 1990s Mazda Protoge or a modern Ford Focus, either car but it has to have a manual trans, right to the ragged edge on a curvy road. I'd rather have a Focus RS than any V-8 muscle car. Better yet, put a Focus RS engine, driveline, suspension and brakes under a Ford Transit Connect Van :)
1glenn
We had a Mazda Protege, and loved it. Had a Focus as well, but it was not built to the same standards as the Protege.
TrevorPeace
This will probably date me, but when I was 18 I bought a 1967 Corvair - a truly beautiful car for its time - and dropped a Chevy 283 in the back seat, turning an iffy rear-engined Ralph Nader hate-mobile into a mid-engined, excellent handling performance monster, and the fastest thing in my city. So if you really want a muscle car, build one. Of course, I'm too old for that stuff now. And after my Lotus was slammed head-on by a wayward transport truck, I'll stick with my 25-year old Plymouth Breeze and its 2.4 litre four.
Watch it when you're on the road, folks. The young testosterone-filled guys who drive these new racers are not the most careful or considerate people on the road. And I don't think anyone can argue with me about that.
Desert Tortoise
I love it! I never owned a Corvair but drove some of the second generation examples like your '67 and loved them. They drove like a slot car (remember those ?) There used to be a shop in Chatsworth California called Batway Automotive that would put a Toronado front drive driveline complete with the big 455 cid V-8 in a Corvair.
opheliajadefeldt
DanielsanToday 02:47 am JST
Muscle cars are for men who are unable to perform like one.
Ouch!! that will resonate very well......LOL!!
opheliajadefeldt
I have a very old Porsche, which is older than me (23) it was a graduation present from my father, who owned it before. I have been told it will go very fast, about 230kph or some thing like that, but it is relatively quiet. The thing is, I still prefer my little Honda C50 bike for sheer enjoyment, oh, and that I get embarrassed just driving the Porsche, in which I never go fast.
cuddly
I have a gas eater too; and love it.