To say that information about the 2015 Ford Mustang has trickled out slowly would be the understatement of the decade. Here's most of the information you've been dying to know in one compact, easily digestible nugget. Think of it as a Fig Newton that can rip massive burnouts.
The car was unveiled in December, and then as the months passed, Ford doled out the car's actual specs as if they were some junta performing water torture on a political dissident.
Okay, it wasn't that bad. But it's taken a long-ass time for Ford to reveal much of the information that comes out when a car debuts at an auto show or on the Internet, like how much it will cost, how much it will weigh or — and this part is kind of important when we talk about Mustangs — how much power it will have.
In part this is because Ford wanted to unveil the Mustang in a way that would coincide with its 50th anniversary, but also have to do a staggered global release with the car debuting in Europe and Asia next year. They had to keep the hype machine fresh.
As of this week, we finally know many of the most important things about the car. Our knowledge of the 2015 Mustang is nearly complete. We're still missing a few details, like zero to 60 mph and quarter mile times or fuel economy ratings, but hey, we're getting there.
So here's a roundup of everything we know about the new Mustang, all in one place. Who's got their deposits in already?
Power
Three engines now. We knew that all along, but this week we finally found out how much power each of them would have.
The 5.0-liter Coyote V8 now has 435 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. It remains the top dog with a powerplant carrying over from the old Mustang, plus a few tweaks derived from the Boss 302. No one should complain about that, because the modern 5.0 is a fantastic motor.
Below it sits the new 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which has supplanted the V6 as the base performance-oriented engine. This one has 310 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque. Ford says it has a broad, flat torque curve and nearly 135 horsepower per liter that makes it a "performance car whose drivers are more inclined to use it." If only they could do something about that goofy name.
Finally, at the bottom of the ladder for fleet sales, airport rentals and people who are more concerned with looking good in a Mustang than going fast (Just kidding, it's plenty fast) there's the V6. It's been slightly downrated to 300 horsepower and 280 pound-feet. Still, this is a solid motor, and that's more than enough power for a base-engine pony car.
Performance
Like I mentioned earlier, the zero to 60 mph and other essential times aren't out yet. The outgoing GT 5.0 did it in about 4.5 seconds, and the V6 did it in about 5.3 seconds, so we can expect these cars to be similar if not better. Ford doesn't release official times, so this one's gonna be up to you, us, and the buff books.
And of course, the Mustang has an independent rear suspension for the first time since the Cobra of the late 1990s and early 2000s, except now it's across the entire line. The old car was no slouch in the handling department and now it's about to get better. Check out Jason's article on the Mustang's IRS to see why that's a big deal.
You're probably going to want to opt for the Performance Pack, which is an option on the V8 and EcoBoost cars. (Sorry, not the V6.) They include retuned springs, better cooling, a thicker rear sway bar, a strut tower brace, a better final drive ratio, and Brembo brakes on the GT, among other tweaks.
Ford claims that during testing, the 2015 Mustang GT was consistently faster than the old Boss 302.
Weight
Ah, weight. What a clusterfuck this was when it came to the new Mustang. There was quite a bit of confusion over how much the car would actually weigh, especially after noted tuner Steeda claimed the car would gain as much as 300 pounds. That was before they admitted they didn't actually weigh it, of course. We later revealed that it will gain a few pounds, but only a few.
Frankly, with all of the safety improvements and a totally revised and more complex suspension, a gain of less than 100 pounds across the board really isn't bad at all.
Just over 3,500 pounds for the EcoBoost? We can live with that. Even in its heaviest configuration, it's still lighter than the Camaro and Challenger.
Price
The Mustang is supposed to be affordable for normal folks who wanna go real fast and look like sexy, interesting Americans. And fortunately, this new one won't break the bank.
Ford already has all this good stuff on their official site where you can build and price the new Mustang, but the base V6 fastback coupe starts at just $23,600. The EcoBoost starts at $25,170, and the V8 GT starts at $32,100.
Here's a list of prices that includes destination charges and all that good stuff.
What's Next
Production of the new Mustang actually began this week, and our pals at Mustang6G hear that it will be on sale in September for the coupe and October for the convertible.
Clearly, a new Mustang is likely to be a strong seller, but I think the really interesting thing here will be which engine sells the best. Will buyers opt for the base V6, or will they ignore it in favor of the more performance-minded EcoBoost? Or will the turbo fail to find an audience?
Part of me thinks you should just splurge for the V8. Who knows, maybe there are people willing to give a turbo four-banger Mustang another try.
It sounds promising so far. Now bring on the Shelby GT350R, please.