10Jun/130
Report: Next SVT Mustang may axe Shelby name, go naturally aspirated
Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Ford
Following our first glimpse at the 2015 Ford Mustang out on the road, the fine folks at Road and Track have divulged some details on what the Blue Oval's next pony might have in store. We've already seen that the car will get some very sleek, Evos-inspired design cues, and an independent rear suspension is indeed in store. These new details, however, concern the muscle car's beating heart.
For starters, the base Ford coupe is expected to carry on with V6 power, likely from the same 3.7-liter unit found in today's car. From there, R&T says the next step up will be a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, likely displacing 2.3 liters, putting out as much as 350 horsepower. Of course, a Mustang wouldn't be a Mustang without V8 thrust, and R&T states that the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 will continue on into the 2015 car, making something like 450 horsepower.
But it's at the high end of the Mustang range where things will, reportedly, get very, very interesting. Road & Track claims that the top-shelf 'Stang will likely lose the supercharger from its engine, producing a metric crap-ton of naturally aspirated grunt instead. Additionally, the SVT-fettled Mustang will likely be dropping its Shelby moniker, in favor of "a name you're familiar with," according to the magazine (you know, like, Cobra).
Look for the camouflage to come off before the end of this year.
Next SVT Mustang may axe Shelby name, go naturally aspirated originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Official: Need for Speed movie casts Mustang in hero car role [w/video]
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Ford, Celebrities
Dreamworks Studios, Electronic Arts and Ford Motor Company announced today that the Ford Mustang will play the lead hero car role in the upcoming Need for Speed movie, slated to hit theaters next February. Of course, the Mustang didn't audition for the role like we imagine the film's star, Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad fame, might have. Rather, Ford and Dreamworks struck a partnership deal that meant the Mustang could skip the casting couch. The deal will also see the film's universe populated with other Ford products (gratuitously so, we're guessing), and the automaker will also help the studio promote the video-game-turned-movie next year.
The hero car in question is a special one-off Mustang created by Ford that is making its debut at the E3 video game trade show as we speak. Powered by a supercharged V8 and apparently based on the Shelby GT500, the car's been modified with a widebody kit, 22-inch wheels, larger air intakes and twin hood nostrils. Ford also provided the film's production with an F-450 truck that will be called "The Beast" in the film's story, and a second Mustang to be used during filming as a camera car.
The Mustang's movie career is really taking off, with news of its Need For Speed casting closely following last week's release of the trailer for Getaway, a movie coming out in August that stars Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez and another Shelby GT500. In addition to Aaron Paul and a modified Mustang, the Need For Speed movie also stars Michael Keaton (cop, we're guessing) and Dominic Cooper (villain, we're guessing), and is directed by Scott Waugh, who directed the Navy SEAL film Act of Valor in 2012. Check out a making-of featurette video below.
Continue reading Need for Speed movie casts Mustang in hero car role [w/video]
Need for Speed movie casts Mustang in hero car role [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Spy Shots: 2015 Ford Mustang prototype spotted on the street [UPDATE]
Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Ford
Our trusty spy photographers have snapped the first photos of the 2015 Ford Mustang prototype out on public streets. With nearly every square inch of the machine covered in heavy camouflage, it's difficult to discern details, but we can see smallish horizontal headlamps at work in the coupe's nose. Ford has made it clear that modern lighting technology will allow the company to get away from large, expensive headlamp arrays in the near future, and the 2015 Mustang may very well be the first of the automaker's products to bow with the new tech. The philosophy was first displayed on the very attractive Evos Concept.
The extensive cladding doesn't extend all the way to the prototype's rockers in the instance, giving us a look at the heavily-sculpted sills. Overall, this test car looks considerably smaller than the current generation Mustang, and elements like a short front overhang and beefy dual-piston calipers give us plenty of hope for the future model. Of course, reports that the 2015 Mustang will bow with an independent rear suspension and EcoBoost power certainly don't hurt our feelings, either.
UPDATE: Chris Doane reports the 2015 Mustang is currently codenamed S550 and will come with the current 3.7-liter V6 or 5.0-liter V8 under the hood. European buyers will be able to enjoy a turbocharged four-cyliner engine option, though it's possible that engine could show up in the US as well.
2015 Ford Mustang prototype spotted on the street [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Review: 2013 Ford Mustang V6
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Ford, New Car Reviews
Secretary Trim, Evolved
There was a time not so long ago when opting for a base Ford Mustang meant getting little more than some sheetmetal, an anemic four-cylinder engine and what may very well have been the world's most disappointing automatic transmission. During the Fox Body years, Ford seemed hell-bent on living up to Carroll Shelby's derogatory description of the coupe as little more than a runabout for demure office assistants, and the result was a base model with fewer sporting intentions than a Dilbert day calendar.
Some 20 years later, hopping behind the wheel of an entry-level pony is an entirely different experience. With all of the menacing aesthetics of the brawnier GT, a well-equipped interior and a drivetrain that toes the line between efficiency and power better than few before it, the 2013 Ford Mustang V6 is an attractive option for buyers in the big coupe market. But is it attractive enough to forgo the beastly GT?
Note: The Mustang shown in these photographs differs from the model we reviewed. The review model was a 2013 V6 Coupe Premium, while the pictured model is a 2013 V6 Coupe with the optional Performance Package. We regret the discrepancy, but circumstances left us with only this model to shoot.
Continue reading 2013 Ford Mustang V6
2013 Ford Mustang V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: Ford Mustang hit by Moore, OK EF5 tornado lives to do another burnout
Filed under: Etc., Videos, Ford
Oklahoma recently saw the destructive power of an EF5 tornado, but in the aftermath of the devastation, we've also been witness to the incredible resilience of the human spirit. Moore, OK resident Jack Haden survived the storm but found that his 2003 Ford Mustang wasn't quite as lucky. As you can see in the image above, the tornado's 200+ mph winds did quite a number on the car, but while most people would have likely called their insurance company and scrapped the car, Haden had other plans.
After finding the car and seeing that its V6 still fired up, Haden spent a couple hours getting the car, um... roadworthy(?)... by removing the doors and front clip, cutting off the roof and putting on some new wheels and tires. He noticed that driving it around brought some comic relief to an area that needed a reason to laugh and smile. Check out the KSBI TV news report video below showing before and after pictures of the tough 'Stang, as well as a video showing the newly lightweight coupe doing a smoky burnout.
Continue reading Ford Mustang hit by Moore, OK EF5 tornado lives to do another burnout
Ford Mustang hit by Moore, OK EF5 tornado lives to do another burnout originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: Stock Miata beats bunch of high-powered cars in wet 1/4-mile drag race
Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet, Ford, Lamborghini, Lotus, Mazda, Porsche
When is a stock, 167-horsepower Mazda MX-5 Miata quicker than a Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lotus Elise and a Porsche 911? When it's raining. Sort of.
Mazda Canada arranged a unique drag race to show off the fact that the Miata's optional power retractable folding hardtop can go from top-down to top-up in just 12 seconds flat. In this video, all six cars line up for a drag race, and it starts to rain (well, sort of - but you'll have to watch the video all the way to the end to see what we mean). The green flag is waved, and the timer starts as soon as the convertibles begin to put their tops up. But because the Miata's roof mechanism gets the car's roof back up a full 5.1 seconds quicker than the second-place car, the Mazda gets a serious advantage off the line for the actual drag race.
It's a fun video. And while we've spoiled the results (come on, the video was uploaded by Mazda, you knew the Miata was going to win), be sure to see how it all unfolds, below.
Continue reading Stock Miata beats bunch of high-powered cars in wet 1/4-mile drag race
Stock Miata beats bunch of high-powered cars in wet 1/4-mile drag race originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: Shelby Mustang stars with Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez in Getaway movie
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ford, Celebrities, TV/Movies
Car movies. We keep watching them, they keep making them. Despite Fast & Furious 6 still blowing up the box office (No. 1 in theaters for the second straight week) and production on Transformers 4 being well underway (check out the Bugatti Veyron and Corvette Stingray as new cast members), there's still room on the marquee for more car movies. Next one up is an Ethan Hawke joint called Getaway, which prominently co-stars a Ford Shelby GT500. The first trailer for Getaway, which opens in theaters on August 30, was released yesterday and can be watched below.
The movie's plot centers around Hawke's character, former race car driver Brent Magna, who must somehow use this car, what appears to be a generation-old Shelby GT500 Super Snake he "commandeered," to save his wife. The movie's third co-star is Selena Gomez, whose character we're told is the owner of said Shelby. A 20-year-old having a car like this seems a bit far-fetched - especially in Europe - and on paper, this plot looks like it cribs liberally from Charlie Sheen's 1994 The Chase. But all we've got to go on is a brief plot description and the trailer below, so we'll withhold judgment until the studio firmly has our ticket money in its grasp.
The Shelby GT500 is, of course, no stranger to acting. Before this jump to celluloid, the most fearsome of all Mustang models starred in the return of Knight Rider to television on NBC back in 2008. That gig didn't pan out for the car, the show lasting only one season and 17 episodes. In fact, with its casting in Getaway, the Shelby GT500 is one of the few actors who escaped that debacle with a future in show biz.
Continue reading Shelby Mustang stars with Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez in Getaway movie
Shelby Mustang stars with Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez in Getaway movie originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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