2024 Ford Mustang GT First Test: Does The New Mustang GT Live Up To It's Legacy?

MotorTrend

In the year that we bid farewell to both the Challenger and the Camaro

Transcript

00:00 The hood, those hips, the roofline. It could only be the Mustang GT.

00:10 In the year that we say goodbye to the Charger, Challenger and Camaro, we say hello to the

00:16 new seventh generation Mustang.

00:19 That's a ballsy move, especially from a company which took that Mustang name, steeped in racing

00:27 history and pedigree, and made it into an EV brand.

00:34 This one is definitely not an EV.

00:37 I've got a 5-litre Coyote Mustang engine out front, I've got a 6-speed transmission here

00:42 beside me. I am living the American dream.

00:47 The Mustang embodies the spirit of automotive Americana, which only adds to the complexity

00:53 of the job for the engineers as they are asked to keep pace with the Mustang's rapidly evolving

00:57 peers. So how have they fared?

01:00 Is the new seventh generation Mustang a giant step forward, or is it more of the same?

01:07 And if that's the case, is that a bad thing?

01:11 So, what's new?

01:22 This is a muscle car, so let's talk power.

01:25 The GT's Coyote V8 has new airboxes and a larger plenum intake, as well as some new

01:29 camshaft stuff, which all adds up to 480 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque, 20 horsepower

01:37 more and 5 torques fewer than the previous GT.

01:41 But if you opt for the optional $1,200 active exhaust system, power is boosted to 486 horsepower

01:51 and 418 pound-feet of torque.

01:55 And of course there is a 500 horsepower version of this engine in the dark horse. Go and watch

02:01 Kristen's film on the dark horse on Motortrend.com right now.

02:05 This Coyote motor has to go down. It's one of the most charismatic power plants on sale today.

02:17 It really can take a beating, as I must say, in my opinion at least, can this six-speed

02:24 manual V-Trac box.

02:27 It loves bang shifting it.

02:31 The rev matching's pretty good, but I will say the gears are very long and there are

02:36 moments where you're sort of left wondering, where's the torque?

02:42 When's it going to come through?

02:44 Is it the quickest?

02:45 Absolutely not, but my God it's a lot of fun.

02:49 Woo! Oh brother.

02:55 So it definitely drives like a Mustang. And as it turns out, it looks a lot like one too.

03:05 The designers say they took direct inspiration from the first generation Mustang when it

03:09 came time to design this one.

03:12 Well, obviously, they always say that. But you know what, it's fine, we're going to forgive

03:16 them because the first generation Mustang is one of the greatest pieces of automotive

03:20 design ever. And on the surface at least, I think this one stacks up pretty well.

03:25 Up front the hood brow has become even heavier than on the last generation and has sagged

03:30 down even more. I actually didn't love the way the front end of the S650 looked, but

03:35 it's grown on me, especially in this spec with the blacked out Mustang logo. It looks

03:41 mean.

03:42 Moving on to the interior, well, it's a Ford, which means it has the comfiest seats of all

03:47 time, though these ones also have side support, which is great. The surfaces are pretty nice,

03:52 as is the giant curved screen, which you don't get on the Ecoline Mustangs. Though I will

03:56 say there's a little too much reliance on the screen for me. It would have been nice

04:00 to have kept a little more functionality with some buttons.

04:04 And that is sort of it. Looks like a Mustang. In fact, you may be thinking it doesn't look

04:09 a lot different than the last generation Mustang. And you'd be right. That's because the bulk

04:14 of the alterations from S550 to S650 occurred at the steering and chassis levels. In fact,

04:20 with the likes of the Dark Horse and especially the freshly announced GTD, you could be forgiven

04:26 for thinking that Ford are pitching the S650 Mustang as more of a sports car.

04:31 How does it hold up? Not super well, unfortunately. And this is where we come on to what is really

04:40 my only big problem with this Mustang. It's the steering. I mean, look, it doesn't matter

04:49 what mode you're in, sport, track, comfort, the steering is numb, lifeless to the point

04:59 of amusement. How do I know when I'm going to break traction? How do I know when I've

05:09 given the car enough input to get me around the corner? I don't. I can literally hear

05:18 the tyres losing grip before I feel the steering wheel telling me that that's the case. It's

05:24 kind of a joke. The only saving grace I will say is that this car is fitted with extra

05:34 sticky Pirelli P-Zeros. This car, of course, has the MagnaRide suspension, which is an

05:46 optional extra and one that is, I would say, essential to the full enjoyment of this vehicle.

05:51 It also has the Performance Package, which means a better limited-slip differential,

05:57 additional chassis bracing, as well as six hot front and four hot rear Brembo calipers,

06:03 which are, I've got to say, absolutely incredible. The brakes on this car are nothing short of

06:11 spectacular. When we tested this car, we got a 4.3 seconds 0-60 and a quarter mile in 12.5

06:19 seconds at 114.7 miles per hour. Obviously, the six-speed slows those figures down a bit

06:25 over the 10-speed auto, but I guarantee you the test driver had a lot of fun doing it.

06:30 Efficiency? It's not great. But then again, what can you expect? Right now, I'm averaging

06:41 13.6 miles to the gallon, but my God, I'm having fun. Turning gas into power, sound,

06:53 smoke and smiles. Hats off to you, Ford. You've engineered a very, very good car here.

07:01 All the talk was whether, in the face of no competition from fellow pony cars, Ford would

07:07 make it and try to make the Mustang something it's not. I'm very happy to say that they

07:12 haven't. What they've done is far better. They've kept the Mustang's muscle car credentials

07:18 at the heart of every decision they've made and added sports car elements to help reinforce

07:23 this as a true driver's car. This is a car you're meant to have fun in.

07:33 This is where the Mustang is really at home.

07:36 Oh, it's incredible.

07:39 It must have been quite hard for the Ford engineers to see the mid-engine Corvette come

07:45 out to such acclaim and for the Corvette brand to undergo the shift from muscle car to sports

07:53 car, almost supercar. But let's not forget, this isn't a sports car. It's a muscle car.

07:59 In fact, as of this year, it's the only muscle car on sale. I think we just need to enjoy

08:05 the Mustang for what it is. No sense in trying to make it something it's not when it does

08:11 what it is so very well.

08:13 Yes, it's sort of the same as the previous generation, but I don't think that's a bad thing.

08:21 It's big, it's loud, the engine is so charismatic. It's a car for having fun in and

08:28 in a world where most cars are boring, sterile lumps of metal, software bullshit, I think

08:39 we need a few more cars like the Mustang.

08:41 There is that very, very famous saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And the Mustang

08:52 as a muscle car has never been better.

08:59 Look at that.

09:03 What a ridiculous machine.

09:15 Man.

09:17 [Tires screeching]

09:21 [Tires screeching]

09:23 [Tires screeching]

09:25 [Tires screeching]

09:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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