04 September,2016 09:00 AM IST | | Harket Suchde
Ford India has finally brought in the Mustang to our shores. And not just any old ’Stang; it brought in the super-aggressive V8
To say the Mustang is stunning is to say the sun is kinda bright. It looks evil, aggressive, and just plain bada'' - reverent to its legacy but with a distinct twist of modernity. That silver equine logo with the flowing mane, the three-slat tail-lamp, facets that evoke semblances to the originals that birthed this legend.
Mustang's interiors are not as classy as the exterior
That badge is housed in a trapezoidal grille and is part of a front fascia that Ford describes as "shark bite", and is flanked by new HID headlamps. The swoop of the roof-line is pronounced, but not to the point where it looks kitschy, and the rear still has those delightful three-slat tail-lamps, only they are now illuminated by LEDs.
The Mustang gets Sync 2 - the latest from Ford's connectivity solutions
The interior is a bit more functional in comparison. The fact that the steering wheel is in its spiritual home, on the right, will jump out at you. The interior is functional because it is mono-chromatically awash in all blacks, greys and silvers.
Transmission is still an old school torque converter. Pics/Aditya Dhiwar
Ford claims this two-door Mustang is a 2+2 coupé, but, honestly, the two in the back need to be decidedly short, and weigh as much as an anorexic supermodel to fit in the back with any degree of comfort, especially considering this model carries the GT (Grand Touring) badge, which means it was built for long road trips more than anything else. The car does come with tech like Ford SYNC 2, with voice command capabilities, an 8-inch touchscreen or all those toys that modern cars require these days. The boot space, too, is a decent 383 litres, very GT; however, most of it is taken up by the full-sized spare wheel strapped into it.
You forget about all of that as soon as you fire up that 5.0-litre V8 bad boy, though. The engine produces 401 PS and 515 Nm, and has no turbo sullying the whole affair. In India, the Mustang GT only comes with the V8 - which is great - and only with a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission - which isn't so great - because we would have liked the option of a traditional stick-shift 'Stang.
In the Track mode, the engine response is at the maximum, traction control is at the minimum, and the sound is turned up to 11. Other modes include Normal, Sport+ and Snow/Wet mode.
The Mustang has a kerb weight of 1,770 kg, and you can feel that weight holding you back as you push pedal to metal. It bellows and roars loudly enough to delight and Ford claims a top speed of 250 km/h, which, considering we hit 210 km/h on the back straight without effort, seems doable. The six-speed autobox, though, is an old torque converter. So, apart from possibly giving low fuel efficiency, you will also experience unwanted delay unless you time your shifts absolutely on point when on the paddles. You can't down-shift aggressively, and the paddle-shifts aren't of the highest quality.
The ride is taut enough to keep things steady on the track, but pliant enough not to cause too much hurt on India's roads.
The biggest revelation from the Mustang GT came in the handling department because this was supposed to be a non-cornering drag machine. If you play it conservative, brake early and use all the width of the track, you'll
notice a bit of under-steer. Brake late and hard, whack the car into the corner and tap the accelerator, and you'll have amazing sideways action.
The stopping power is capable, with ABS infused disc brakes allowing to shed speed with an intuitiveness that was confidence-inspiring. Sadly, we couldn't extract full performance from all five laps we were promised, because towards the end of lap three, the car ran a temperature and went into safety mode.
The Mustang GT comes with front, curtain, side-impact, and even knee airbags for both driver and passenger apart from the usual fare.
Did we say the handling was the biggest revelation? Let's correct that, the price was. Because the GT is available at just R65 lakh (ex-Delhi). Expect that price to rise to R80-odd lakh on-road since the GT will come in from Ford
US's Flat Rock plant as a CBU. At that price, it is still the most affordable V8 out there.
