Ford Mustang to be released in EU

Hi there


This Mustang is very impressive:


The acceleration beyond 200mph is what is most impressive!!!! :eek: :eek:

3.4s 0-60mph
1/4 mile in 10.9s at 133mph, yes 133mph !!!


The Whipple kit is the one to go for, I shall also with time change out the stock plastic aero parts to CF, just because I love a bit of CF and it will look great against magnetic grey. :)

Sad to see Leno having anything to do with the absolute cretin that is Hennessey.
 
Sad to see Leno having anything to do with the absolute cretin that is Hennessey.

Yep I shall be dealing with Whipple directly and fitting myself, going nowhere near Hennessey. :)

But to put things into perspective that acceleration after 200mph is in 6th gear which is an overdrive gear, even more impressive. 60-100mph is something like sub 3s, Veyron acceleration more or less. :eek:
 
Very little market for it over here so it is not going to happen.

Eh? Not going to happen? I assume you aren't in the UK then or at least havn't actually looking into it at all...

Gibbo glad you saw good things. My local is a TC Harrison in Peterborough so hoping they get one soon to look at as don't think I can convince the wife to travel to Derby to look at a car I can't drive and have already ordered lol.

Still unsure on whether to make any changes to mine when I get it. Seeing a few minor things I might like to change but may wait a year or 2.
 
Very little market for it over here so it is not going to happen.


They are sold out and so far all the people who have purchased are enthusiast who had not even seen the car.

It is already a hit in Europe where dealerships have cars on show and to test drive.

Its here to stay, the S550 is a great car that keeps that Mustang feel and history, it is one of the largest car motoring icons in the world with over 50yrs of history, I think Ford will do quite well but I do hope they limit volume for a year or two. :)
 
It's to the point now where the reviews are so glowing that "too good to be true" is going through my head.

Be very interesting to see how it stacks up against the equivalent M3 for the money

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/e90-m3-07-13/bmw-3-series-e9x-m3-2012/2375664

An M3 cannot be had for 33k new, they start from 56k, £23,000 more and with same options £58,000

So more or less for the same money you could buy a V8 GT for you and a Ecoboost GT for the Mrs. ;)


Can't compare second hand to new when it comes to money, yes you can compare the cars but new for new the Mustang really has no rivals, because similar performance car from BMW, Audi and Mercedes cost so much more. It is in the price bracket of hot hatches, but is not a hot hatch, so it really is by itself. If anything the closest rival is the BMW M235i when comparing new for new.


But forgetting new for new yes the E92 M3 is a very good one to look at, but my argument is as your not buying new, then why spend £35,000 on a second hand M3 when you can get one for £20-25.000 and suffer less depreciation.

Both cars out the box, I'd say the E92 M3 has the sweeter engine (8250rpm) and slightly superior handling. Interior wise I never thought much of the E92, infact I think the Mustang is at least on par if not better here.

Where the Mustang will easily win is engine torque, the 5.0l produces a lot more torque and has a lot more power in the 1500-4500rpm region, the M3 you have to rev it which is very awarding.

But add suspension (£1500), bolt-on engine mods (£2500) to the Mustang as I forsee it being the better handling and more fun car and what is best you can do it yourself very easily in stages.

Give you some ideas on cost:-
FRPP Handling kit (dampers, progressive springs, anti-roll bars, bushes) - $900
BMR cradle lockout, vertical links, toe rods, braces, diff bushes - $750

That is all you need to do on the handling, less than £1500 to make an already good car excellent. To bring it upto 350 handling you need those wheels and tyres.

Engine is best to just do a cold air intake, exhaust and tune, will take the car from 415BHP to around 450-470BHP and for around $2500 with the expensive item being the exhaust, but oh the noise.

Of course throwing on a blower yields insane results, minimum of 675BHP, but most cars make 750-850BHP with the Whipple supercharger and then no M3, M4 or M5 is seeing where you went and the car with the mods still cost less and you still have change. No warranty of course unless Ford UK get Mountune involved with packages to maintain warranty like FRPP do in the USA. :)


P.S. The Mustang is a far better looking car than the E9x M3! ;)
 
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Here's what I think will happen.

As we are seeing there is more demand than supply for the limited volumes Ford has promised so far. Volumes will increase in Years 2 and 3. However, after that I see a massive drop off in demand, for one or more of the following reasons:

- everyone who has always wanted a Mustang but been put off by the LHD will have bought one. The novelty factor will wear off pretty quickly I think.
- UK buyers will realise that it's still too big and heavy for the roads in the UK
- it still has the wrong badge. In badge-obsessed Britain where premium is the new mainstream, badge is oh-so important
- Ford will get greedy and put the price up (hasnt the V8 already gone up £1,000?)
- Something in the environment will change: fuel prices, CO2-related regs, something like that will mean the cost of running such machines will increase materially

I think Ford might continue to limit the volumes as I think this is more a PR exercise rather than a desire to shift volume, and it's likely that Ford are not making any money on these.

I can see Gibbo doing OK with this as he will have one of the first UK cars, keep it 18 months to two years, sell it while demand is still strong, and not lose too much money. He will then move on to the next big thing. :)

I could be wrong, but that's how I see it. :)
 
Here's what I think will happen.

As we are seeing there is more demand than supply for the limited volumes Ford has promised so far. Volumes will increase in Years 2 and 3. However, after that I see a massive drop off in demand, for one or more of the following reasons:

- everyone who has always wanted a Mustang but been put off by the LHD will have bought one. The novelty factor will wear off pretty quickly I think.
- UK buyers will realise that it's still too big and heavy for the roads in the UK
- it still has the wrong badge. In badge-obsessed Britain where premium is the new mainstream, badge is oh-so important
- Ford will get greedy and put the price up (hasnt the V8 already gone up £1,000?)
- Something in the environment will change: fuel prices, CO2-related regs, something like that will mean the cost of running such machines will increase materially

I think Ford might continue to limit the volumes as I think this is more a PR exercise rather than a desire to shift volume, and it's likely that Ford are not making any money on these.

I can see Gibbo doing OK with this as he will have one of the first UK cars, keep it 18 months to two years, sell it while demand is still strong, and not lose too much money. He will then move on to the next big thing. :)

I could be wrong, but that's how I see it. :)


- Possibly true, right now people buying are enthusiest, how the regular customer will react is unknown. My advice to Ford is give more options to further improve interior quality and equipment, even if that means price increases to nearly 40k, as customers looking at V8 sport cars are look at Audi's, BMW's and Mercedes costing in the 50k region.
- A completely irrelevent argument, how is too big and too heavy an argument? Come on, it is no bigger or heavier than similar cars in it class, for example BMW M3, Audi S4, Mercedes C63 AMG are all similar or heavier in weight and same size.
- Yes agreed, people have said to me your getting rid of a Porsche, a 911 for a Ford? People see my 911 and think 100k car.
- Yes price has increased by £1000-£2000 region, those who placed deposits get to pay original price. :)
- Running cost not really an issue, again people buying V8 sports cars don't care so much about fuel cost and bear in mind servicing cost of the Ford are also far below its competition, no INSP 1 or 2 crazy expensive services on the Mustang, just a simple oil change with major service every 50,000 miles. So if something happens in the environment it effects all V8 sports cars, not just Mustangs. ;)



No idea how long I will keep it, all I will say the idea of selling the Porsche now its a reality is very sad, driven it most days this week and no car will ever rival two things about it. One its feedback, feel and just how much fun it is to drive even at low speeds, no need to drive at warp speed to enjoy it. Second how damn good it is in these wet/damp conditions, get to the apex and bury the throttle even in such conditions it puts the power down or will hold a small yet controlled angle of slip, it will accelerate and get grip out of a corner better than any other car I have owned or driven in wet/damp conditions.

So lets see, Mustang ownership might be short lived or I might really enjoy the car for its positives over the Porsche, better comfort, more toys, V8, eventually huge insane power and hopefully in the dry as good as handling with more grip, let us see.

If I go back Porsche I would ideally want my car back, not that I am bias but I've driven a lot of Porsches now and mine is more like a C2S Clubsport if such a thing exist because of the suspension tweaks I made by fitting GT3 parts, plus mine looks absolutely fantastic and I know the car needs for nothing, someone will get a truly great car. :)
 
but new for new the Mustang really has no rivals, because similar performance car from BMW, Audi and Mercedes cost so much more.

as customers looking at V8 sport cars are look at Audi's, BMW's and Mercedes costing in the 50k region.
it is no bigger or heavier than similar cars in it class, for example BMW M3, Audi S4, Mercedes C63 AMG are all similar or heavier in weight and same size.

As well as comparing the GT to more expensive rivals you also should consider the cheaper alternatives.
The new Focus RS is cheaper, with very similar performance and potential to modify (recognising there will be smaller gains). I imagine new RS owners would fancy their chances against a new Mustang GT :p
 
As well as comparing the GT to more expensive rivals you also should consider the cheaper alternatives.
The new Focus RS is cheaper, with very similar performance and potential to modify (recognising there will be smaller gains). I imagine new RS owners would fancy their chances against a new Mustang GT :p


Your comparing a hot hatch to a V8 sports car, two completely different customer base. Your making the same mistakes most UK review sites have done, they cannot find a competitors car to compare against because competitors V8 sports car cost so much more, so they simply look at what is a similar price which are hyper hatches. Yet how is a V8 RWD sports car with good equipment and decent interior comparable to a FWD/AWD 4 pot turbo banger hot hatch. Only similarities are price.

I would full on expect a Focus RS and the new Civic to be faster on a UK b road, especially in damp/wet conditions. Dry road maybe not much in it, dry track well the Ford has already lapped several seconds quicker than those hyper hatches. :)
 
That's a hell of a car for 36k! I do think you will be back in a Porsche in a couple of years though.
 
Your comparing a hot hatch to a V8 sports car, two completely different customer base. Your making the same mistakes most UK review sites have done, they cannot find a competitors car to compare against because competitors V8 sports car cost so much more, so they simply look at what is a similar price which are hyper hatches. Yet how is a V8 RWD sports car with good equipment and decent interior comparable to a FWD/AWD 4 pot turbo banger hot hatch. Only similarities are price.
All good points.

The only caveat to that is new cars with a V8 engine are becoming more rare. The move to 4/6 turbo units means your tight V8 like-for-like comparison is getting a lot smaller.

Even Porsche are going 4 cylinder.
 
That's a hell of a car for 36k! I do think you will be back in a Porsche in a couple of years though.


Certainly possible cars on my shortlist what I would like to own in the future:
E60 M5 (Just for the engine) :D
C63 AMG (6.3l V8 of course)
Porsche Cayman GT4
Porsche 997.2 GTS
Porsche 991 C4S
Audi R8 V10
Nissan R35 GTR
Lotus Exige (the newest one)
Corvette Z06 (7.0l V8 of course)
New Honda NSX in a few years maybe
Jaguar F-Type V8 AWD Coupe


Quite a list, my problem is I keep my cars too long, I really like to thoroughly not only learn driving them to their fullest extent both road and track but also enjoy modifying them as well. :)
 
All good points.

The only caveat to that is new cars with a V8 engine are becoming more rare. The move to 4/6 turbo units means your tight V8 like-for-like comparison is getting a lot smaller.

Even Porsche are going 4 cylinder.


As the last guy said, Porsche have not used V8's for many years, they are all mainly flat 6's.

The new 911's shall also remain flat 6 but with turbo chargers. :(

But hey for me Porsche best shape and best drivers cars were the 997 series, can't beat a good spec 997 Carrera or just go GTS/GT3. :)
 
Porsche haven't used V6's/V8's for ages, other than in those horrible Cayman/Panamera things.

They are flat 6.
Currently yes, in the future - less cylinders are more is the trend.
Also - I didn't say Porsche used V6/V8's ;) I know they are flat 6

Anyway, my point being : Limiting comparisons to the Mustang as it must have a V8 is too short sighted. The only similar new cars remaining with V8's are the C63 and the Lexus RCF.
 
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