ford mustang

2016 Ford Mustang SVT / GT350 caught testing at the Nürburgring

July 31, 2014 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

There are some Mustang faithful that have worried that the globalization of Ford’s next generation pony car will be diluted from their vision of what a Mustang should be. Independent suspension has some concerned (while others applaud) as does talk of turbo charged four cylinder engines. We all know by now that the new GT will be properly powered by a V8 and most people seem pretty excited about the new look, but what else is coming down the pipe?

Well, for starters, it sounds like the GT350 moniker is going to make a return, with performance bumped by a dose of SVT goodies. The folks at TouriClips have caught a pair of what appear to the the 2016 Shelby GT350R model on track at the Nurburgring.

If you had any worries that the next generation might not be quite enough, this video should quell them. The flat plane crank Coyote V8, said to produce somewhere north of 500 horsepower sounds delicious.

Mustang adds line lock but racing will still void your warranty

April 25, 2014 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

In case you have missed it, earlier this week Ford announced that the 2015 Mustang will be equipped with an old skool drag racing tool: line lock. Line lock allows the front brakes to remain engaged, locking a vehicle in place, while the driver puts heat into the rear tires, (read:spinning them!). While this has obvious hooning benefits, primarily creating huge, smokey burnouts, line lock’s primary use is to allow a car to hook up and haul ass down a drag strip. Of course this has sent many internet based ~~morons~~ gearheads into a tizzy as they think Ford is giving them a license to go racing in their new ‘Stang. They couldn’t be more wrong.

For years, pretty much every owner’s warranty guide has contained a clause that says something to the effect of “taking part in any form of competition will render a vehicle’s warranty void”. The cats at Motor Authority did some reading and found the line “Racing your vehicle will void your warranty” in the Mustang’s paperwork, so they set out to find out exactly what that meant by speaking with some of the engineers involved in the project. Basically, what they are saying is that an owner can partake in a track day, but the first time there is actual competition, the warranty is kaput.
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St. Patrick’s Day Classics in Connecticut

March 18, 2012 by Tom Williams 1 Comment

On an unseasonably warm Saint Patrick’s Day I drove my wife and son up to the small town of Portland, Connecticut in our current test car, a 2012 Honda Civic Si coupe. Sure, we enjoyed fine Irish fare at a local pub, but what I really wanted to see was the classic car dealership just down the road, F40 Motorsports. While F40 has a national reputation for buying and selling antique, classic and exotic cars, it has also gained recognition for being the center of the TV series ‘Chasing Classic Cars’.

Sure, I love admiring the shiny exotic cars parked in the showroom-it’s not often I can drive 45 minutes and look at a pair of Ferrari Dino’s, a Lamborghini 400GT and a ’58 Corvette without even moving. While that’s all good fun, I also get great enjoyment on viewing cars that are in a slow state of decomposition, but more on that in a moment. You’ll see pictured above a 1950 Jaguar XK120 fixed head coupe. On returning home that evening and seeing Chasing Classic Car’s Facebook page, it appears the Jag was a barn find that had just been pulled out that day, seeing daylight for the first time in years. The appeared straight, but missing a lot of trim. It should be interesting to follow the car on the show to see its future.

There is an irresistible lure to seek out the abandoned, forgotten cars that are left to the elements at shops like these, and it was with delight I was able to get up close. Check the image gallery below, but what we found varied from the eclectic Lancia and VW Transporter, the classics, including a Rambler and Mustang, and the sad Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Triumph TR-4, the latter seemingly tethered to the earth with weeds. Finally, I did find the shot of a Mercedes-Benz 300E whose roof appears to be getting chewed by the hood of a Jaguar XJ-6 amusing.

I hope all of you had a fun and safe Saint Patrick’s Day. It was a pleasure admiring these cars, and I am thrilled to share them with you. Enjoy.

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Mustang + wet road = #driftfail

March 18, 2012 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

It might be the first day of Formula 1 season, but some folks need to see some stupidity to get their day off to a good start. What better to watch when recovering from St Paddy’s Day than a Russian dash cam video.

There is a reason that recent years of Ford‘s pony car have traction control. Big horsepower and a solid rear axle can be a tad unwieldy when mishandled. This driver found that out the hard way when the ‘Stang got loose on a wet road, jumped an island and punted an unsuspecting Peugeot.

Check it after the break.

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When Mustangs and 7-Up Mixed

October 31, 2011 by Tom Williams 14 Comments

I subscribe to a fun little site called Bring a Trailer, which features classic, unique, rare, and plain odd cars for sale. I was especially intrigued at a recent post about a highly original 7-Up Mustang. Um, a what? It’s no secret that Ford is famous for trotting out limited, or special edition Mustangs on a regular basis, but there was some mystique to this, so some exploration was needed, since a little notoriety always adds interest.

Apparently, in 1990 7-Up teamed up with Ford in a promotion to give away 30 7-Up Edition Ford Mustangs for the 1990 NCAA Basketball finals. Audience members would have to sink a shot from center court, and win the car. At the last minute, the promotion was scrapped, but the car was essentially ready for production. Ford went ahead and built the car, which is essentially a 1990 Mustang LX 5.0 Convertible, and sold it as a limited edition model, with no mention of 7-Up. But the looks of the car make the relationship clear, with Deep Emerald Green Clearcoat paint, white leather interior, and white canvas top (trademark 7-Up colors) and Mustang GT alloys.

Ford had intended to build a total of 5,000 of the ‘7-Up’ cars, but stopped at 4,103. Of those, 1,360 were 5-speed manuals, the remaining 2,743 were equipped with an automatic. Interestingly, 261 cars were exported. While little more than an appearance package, the 7-Up Mustang is a fun and interesting little factoid from the history book of one of America’s most beloved cars.

The Garage thanks a dedicated 7-Up Edition Mustang site for the useful information cited here.

Ford Mustang Named 2010 Daytona 500 Pace Car

January 20, 2010 by Tom Williams 3 Comments

Race fans are going to be treated to quite a preview of the 2011 Ford Mustang GT, as the ‘Stang will be the official pace car of the 2010 Daytona 500. One of NASCAR’s most famous races, Daytona kicks off the new racing season. This is the first time a Mustang has ever served as a pace car at Daytona, and ends a forty year drought for Ford (the last Ford to pace Daytona was a 1970 Torino GT convertible).

The 2011 Mustang GT’s most promising feature is under the hood-a new 5.0 liter V-8, good for 412hp. The pace car will be a Race Red glass roof GT. The pace car is distinguished from regular GT’s with a Daytona paint scheme, Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace and mufflers, unique wheels, special interior treatment and lit sill plates. Ford is going to offer the car to the public, but you had better hurry-a total of only fifty cars will be offered. The actual pace car is going to be auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Collector Car Auction on January 23rd. It’s a safe bet that once sold, all fifty cars will be locked away in climate controlled garages.

Pony Up! Ford Previews ’11 Mustang V-6

November 30, 2009 by Tom Williams 1 Comment

2011 Ford Mustang V-6

When your nemesis is a Camaro V-6 that puts out 304hp versus your 210hp, you need to act on that. Although the Mustang was just freshened up for 2010, Ford is addressing the greatest weakness of its base V-6 model with an all new engine for 2011. Coming this summer is a 3.7L four valve per cylinder, quad cam V-6 making 305hp. It is smaller, lighter, more efficient, far more powerful and free-revving, with a 7,000rpm redline. The new engine is joined by all-new six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.

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Mustang Payback: High school student schools his shop teacher

August 17, 2009 by Gary Grant 9 Comments

High school student Derek Murrell has one of the coolest auto shop teachers around. Bill Rosenblum is not only a shop teacher, but is also a veteran drag racer who works hard to expose his students to motorsports. Derek thought it would be pretty cool to race against his teacher, so he entered the 2010 Mustang Unleashed contest.

Derek won the contest which means that he & Rosenblum got to build and race a pair of 2010 Mustangs! Of course tech didn’t realize that Derek would receive some driver training from a drag racing legend!

Part two is after the break, where we find out if 11:35 in the quarter is quick enough for the teen to beat the old man!
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G4TV gets smokey with the 2010 Mustang

May 27, 2009 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Formula D Champion Vaughn Gittin spends some quality time in the 2010 Ford Mustang with G4TV’s Alison Haislip in this super smokey video. No, they weren’t hiding behind the smoke makin’ naughty. Gittin teaches the fair maiden how to do a few donuts and then takes her out and ~~flogs her~~ scares the living bejeebers out of her.

Fun stuff!

Video Games – E3 2009 – Attack of the Show

Let the drag wars begin: Cobra Jet Mustang joins the fray

November 4, 2008 by Gary Grant 2 Comments

First up to the line: Dodge Challenger

Pulling up along side: Ford Mustang Cobra Jet

Is that really the way it goes? Well, to be truthful, no. Ford has been hard at work building a variety of race ready Mustangs for a couple of years now. Want to go to Le Mans? No problem. SCCA World Challenge? Ford’s got you covered. Miller Challenge? Well duh…the series was built around the Mustang. No matter what type of motorsports you want to enter, Ford had a Mustang for you. Race ready, straight out of the showroom. Except for the drag strip. That has all changed.

Let’s face it, Ford has a pretty strong drag racing background and those SVT guys weren’t just going to sit back and watch the Mopar guys chew up local drag strips across North America without giving them a run for their money.

Way back in ’68 the first Cobra Jet was built, releasing 50 lightweight machines on the drag community. The cars won the first time out and kept on winning. This new car is available through any Ford store, over the parts counter of all places. That’s right, you are not buying a new car, rather a very fast collection of parts!

After the break, check out the incredible stats of the new car. There is no mistaking the Mustang FR500CJ for anything but a drag racing machine.
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