2024 Mustang GT horsepower

Sixty years ago, executives at Ford Motor Company got a research report outlining the burgeoning market for smaller, stylish and more affordable cars aimed at the generation of young drivers born after World War II. General Motors had already dipped into this segment two years prior with the Chevrolet Corvair, but Ford had nothing waiting in the wings to appeal to the carefree youth we now know as baby boomers.

To kick start the project, a small cross-functional team began meeting in semi-secret a room at the Dearborn Inn, a mile or so down the road from headquarters. The output of the so-called “Fairlane committee” was the Ford Mustang, a product so successful that it has been in production for fifty-eight consecutive years, even as rivals like the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger have periodically faded away. The new, seventh-generation 2024 Mustang is the latest version of the iconic pony car to carry the weight of that legacy.

2024 Ford Mustang: Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary

While many Boomers are still Mustang fans, the inevitable march of time means they won’t be around indefinitely. Ford has already leveraged some of the name’s magic on the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover, but needs to cultivate new customers while simultaneously satiating the faithful to justify the continuing existence of the traditional internal combustion engine-powered Mustangs.

Ford managed to grow the Mustang customer base substantially with the 2014 debut of the current Mustang. Far more technologically sophisticated than its predecessors, it became a global product sold in 180 countries for the first time.

Given that—and the numerous spy photos circulating—it was clear that the basic shape of the new Mustang wasn’t going to change. From a mechanical perspective, this new model is an evolutionary refinement of the outgoing car, first introduced for the model’s 50th anniversary in 2014. It is still offered as a coupe or convertible and is roughly the same size and weight as before.

Fresh Metal

Despite retaining the same basic shape and dimensions, every piece of sheet metal on the 2024 Mustang is new. The previous generation adopted a more European style with deep undercuts in the side panels and a fresh take on the classic tri-bar taillamps. The new model has a more chiseled look, doing away with those undercuts, at least on the sides. The goal was to give the Mustang a distinctly American muscle car look, which largely succeeded.

The front fascia is more aggressive and utilizes a more blunt-looking grille; it continues the evolution from the 2015 model through 2019. In profile, it retains the traditional shark nose that has been part of most Mustangs, except for the Fox-bodies Stangs of the 1980s and 90s. Triple LED projector headlights are standard, but the tri-bar signature lights have now been moved to a horizontal layout with one above each main projector.

At the rear, the three-dimensional lamps of the last generation are swapped for a more aggressive version of the flush lamps used on the Mach-E. The rear face also has a deep horizontal valley running the width of the tail. As usual, a variety of easter eggs are hidden around the car, including a graphic across the bottom of the rear window featuring stylized profiles of all seven generations of Mustang.

2024 Ford Mustang: The V8 Lives!

At launch, the 2024 Mustang will be offered with upgraded versions of the powertrains currently available in non-Shelby Mustangs. That means the 2.3-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost and the fourth generation of the 5.0-liter Coyote V8. Ford is holding back on specifications so that they have plenty of news to trickle out over the next nine months or so until this car goes on sale. There’s no word yet on a successor to the Shelby GT500.

We know that both engines will offer more power and torque than before and are expected to be more efficient. The four-cylinder currently produces 310 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. (The high-performance package adds another 20 horsepower.) The changes to this engine for next year include adopting a combined dual port and direct injection system strategy. This is already in use in most other EcoBoost engines and helps improve cold emissions and drivability. The new 2.3 will probably produce somewhere between 330-hp and the 350-hp of the now-discontinued Focus RS.

The changes to the V8 are more extensive. For 2024, it employs an all-new intake system with dual throttle bodies. Each throttle body has its own intake snorkel feeding from a dedicated air-filter box right behind the grille. Ford is not saying how much power it will produce, except to emphasize that it will be the most powerful Mustang GT to date. The 2022 GT generates 450-hp while the Mach-1 comes in at 470 hp. With the new intake system, it seems likely that the GT will at least match, if not surpass the Mach 1.

Both engines pair with an improved version of the current 10-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately, not enough EcoBoost buyers have opted for a manual transmission to justify offering it for 2024, so the automatic transmission will be the only offering with that engine. Since about half of Mustang GT buyers go for a three-pedal layout, a six-speed manual remains available with the V8.

Chassis Tweaks

Very little hasn’t been touched in some way, but the same basic front strut and integral link independent rear suspension layout carry over. Among the most extensive changes were to the steering system, which gets a new rack with a faster ratio, a stiffer shaft and reduced compliance throughout for a better feel.

The overall architecture hasn’t changed, but Eddie Kahn, vehicle engineering manager, told Forbes Wheels, “We’ve changed many of the links, we’ve changed some of the attachment points, we changed the chassis setups. We do have a new lower control arm, aluminum control arm in the car, we changed the knuckles.”

Drifting for the Masses

Another feature exclusive to V8 Mustangs in 2024 is an electronic drift brake. Developed with the assistance of Vaughn Gittin Jr., it enables, as someone is likely saying somewhere, “epic” drifting action. Like most modern cars, the Mustang is ditching the cable-actuated parking brake in favor of an electronic system that uses the stability control hydraulic actuator to apply the rear brakes.

Opting for the drift brake gets you a handle that looks like a traditional park brake, but it’s really an electronic switch. The track mode app switches the parking brake programming to drift mode, which actuates the brakes much more rapidly when pulling the lever. According to Khan, it will apply “four to five times more pressure than something you can do with the conventional mechanical hand brake.”

The result, based on Gittin’s input, is the ability to kick the tail out almost instantly to initiate the drift. The four-cylinder gets the same switch-activated system—but not the drift brake—used on most cars with something that looks like a window switch on the console.

2024 Mustang Tech: Digital Vibes for the Kids

Even more significant changes come to the cockpit of the new pony in favor of a much more 2020s vibe. The cabin experience is clearly where Ford hopes to draw in a younger generation of sports car buyers. The traditional dual cowl dashboard is ditched in favor of a massive digital environment. Base models get a separated dual panel configuration with a digital instrument cluster display in front of the driver and a landscape 10-inch touchscreen in the center.

Ecoboost Premium and GT models get a continuous arrangement with a panel stretching from the driver’s side pillar across the center of the dash. Like many other recent new models, it looks like one panel when off, but there are, in actuality, two displays hidden under the glass: one for the instruments and a 13.2-inch touchscreen for infotainment.

Like other automakers, including Rivian and General Motors, Ford’s interface designers have leveraged the Unreal 5 gaming engine software to produce the graphics and animations within the system. There is no shortage of moving pixels when changing drive modes, cluster graphic themes or anything else.

Despite not arriving until mid-2023, the new Mustang is staying with the current Sync 4 infotainment system rather than adopting the new Android Automotive-based system that is on the horizon. Sync 4 has been reskinned for the Mustang to make it look consistent with all the other graphical elements. Features like line-lock for easy on-demand burnouts and track apps also carry over.

Interior Style

For the physical rather than digital elements of the Mustang, designers have also made a range of upgrades to materials and finishes. There will be a carbonite package with plenty of visible carbon fiber trim. Interior surfaces that previously featured simulated animal grains have shifted to smoother grains, while other surfaces are now being laser etched with patterns like white noise. Speaker bezels are seamlessly integrated into surrounding panels; sometimes, the interior ambient lighting colors can come through the grilles.

Since the same basic structure is retained from the previous generation, Ford has kept the same power top system for the convertible. Like the outgoing model, when retracted, it sits flush with the surrounding bodywork giving the convertible a clean profile.

Hybrid Mustang is Dead

One feature that Khan confirmed is that the new Mustang will not get a hybrid powertrain. A hybrid was under development for at least a few years using the same system found in the Explorer and F-150. However, with the roaring success of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford decided that a hybrid wasn’t needed. The expense of adding another powertrain in a declining market segment wasn’t worth the effort.

Will the new tech-forward approach to the interior and improved performance have what it takes to attract a new cohort of owners to the family that was started nearly six decades ago? We’ll get a better picture a year from now when the all-new 2024 Mustang begins arriving in showrooms.

This generation will likely be the last iteration of Mustang powered solely by an internal combustion engine; future generations will likely follow the lead of Dodge and its e-muscle cars and get a battery only. If owning a showroom-new V8-powered pony car is a box you still want to check, now’s your time.

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