Mustang. The word alone evokes only one thing – Ford’s long-running sports car, which is celebrating 60 years of continuous production in 2024. That word is the culmination of not only Ford’s brilliant marketing efforts, but also of a legacy of providing speed to the masses.
The “masses” here, of course, refer to the Americans – the Mustang has never been the cheapest sports car in the Philippines. But for those who don’t want to splash out for a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, its size is just right for enthusiasts who need something stylish and quick, while having enough room for four people and some groceries.
Following its debut in April at the Mustang’s local 60th anniversary celebration, Ford Philippines took us to Clark International Speedway this month to take its latest muscle car through its paces.
No petite pony
The 2024 Mustang is the seventh-generation model, although you might not see it immediately upon first glance.
Up front, there are still narrow and pointed LED headlights that flank huge grills, along with a functional hood scoop. But compared to the previous model, this latest Mustang looks just that bit edgier, without sacrificing the strong stylistic impressions of its predecessor.
Down the side, the Mustang’s traditional long-hood, short-deck silhouette remains. This is a design cue that harks back to the first-generation Mustang, one of which also happened to be at the track that day, courtesy of popular influencer, Reph Bangsil.
Nestling under the wide fenders are 19-inch alloy wheels, wrapped in Pirelli P Zero high-performance tires. The huge rotors of the Brembo high-performance braking system are easy to spot, too.
Out back, the traditional three-bar LED taillights have been bent inward to match the more aggressive rear styling of this new model. Completing the look are the four large exhaust pipes peeking out of the rear diffuser.
No replacement for displacement
Given that this all-new Mustang is over 4,800 millimeters long, over 1,900 millimeters wide, around 1,400 millimeters tall and features a 2,720-millimeter wheelbase, it dwarfs popular Japanese and European coupes like the Toyota GR86 and the BMW M4.
All these adjustments mean reasonable space for four inside the leather-lined cabin, which has been significantly upgraded thanks to a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, 13-inch SYNC4 touchscreen infotainment system and very supportive Recaro sports seats.
Despite a kerb weight of 1,702 kilograms, this Mustang is no slouch, thanks to the glorious 5.0-liter, twin-cam, 32-valve V8 gasoline engine in this GT model. It pumps out 488 horsepower and 567 Newton-meters of torque, coursed through a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Down Clark’s drag straight, with the vehicle set in Drag Strip mode, launches from a standing start have no drama – the stability control and Magnaride adaptive suspension work together to get all that power down. The twin-cam V8 has good torque below 3,000 rpm, but positively sings at it reaches the 7,500 rpm redline.
By the end of the main straight, we were past the 200km/h mark as I rode those huge Brembo brakes into Turn 1, an uphill left-hander with a decreasing radius and an apex at the peak. The Mustang felt firmly planted, especially with the electronic nannies keeping me out of trouble.
In fact, the Track mode electronics were so good that I could temporarily throw out my racing driver training and boot the throttle much earlier into a turn. This would normally result in a spin in a stock car with a rear limited-slip differential and this much torque, but the system made this V8 muscle car as tame as a four-cylinder GR86.
The Magnaride suspension also offered just enough compliance, even going over man-made ruts laid out on the track at 60 km/h without shattering my bones. I observed noticeable nose-dive under hard braking, but nothing particularly scary. It would have been nicer to experience the car with all the electronics off. But these safety systems do help the uninitiated get a grasp of the tower of power that this car has.
Last of its kind
The 2024 Ford Mustang could arguably be called the Ford Unicorn.
That’s because it is the last pony car standing, with rivals like the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro now relegated to the history books. But Ford continues to write history today with the Mustang, which stands alone as a viscerally stimulating homage to true American muscle.
But unlike unicorns, you can buy a V8 Mustang GT at a Ford Philippines dealership for P3,999,000. And given how much it offers, it’s no wonder that Mustangs continue to roam lands far from the “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.”
