After decades of being teased by the cheap thrills of American pony cars, Europeans can finally buy brand new Ford Mustangs of their very own. Great news for fans across the Atlantic! Except their version isn’t quite as good. Or affordable.
Alex over at Car Throttle has applied his penchant for narrating comparison lists to look at the U.S. and Euro-spec Mustang, and come up with a breakdown of why our version is so much better. Sorry, I mean, “how they’re different.”
In case you’re too lazy to sit through a whole video, it’s basically:
- The U.S. car gets hood vents, which are banned in Europe because of apparent pedestrian safety regulations.
- The U.S. V8 cars are more powerful, but the reason is not something I would have guessed– it seems that the exhaust had to be tweaked in order to accommodate the steering shaft for England’s right hand drive. (Presumably the EU countries wouldn’t have this issue.) Anyway the difference is supposed to be significant– U.K. spec V8 cars are down 25 horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque with the changeover.
- European cars have different differentials; a 3.55:1 versus the U.S.’s optional 3.73:1.
- Headlights and taillights are different– the U.K.’s rear lights are clear with amber blinkers, while we get that cool sequential “slide-style” blinker in the America. Up front Europe gets reflectors instead of cool daytime running lights in the “three-slash” design.
- Side mirrors are a little different.
- Right-hand drive cars don’t get the Recaro seat option.
- Europe doesn’t get the GT350 or V6 Mustang at all.
- And finally, the Mustang is way cheaper in America. While you could pick up base V8 in the States for about $33,000, the same spec would be closer to $47,000 in England.
So if you really love the Mustang, move to America. Kidding, of course. It’s great that the car is finally studying abroad this semester. The jingoist in me is weirdly satisfied that the American-spec V8 has just a little more juice, but at least you get the goofy Scion-inspired tail lights over in England. [Giggles.]
Serious question though– are Mustangs as much of a mass health hazard in Europe as they are over here?