press release
June 24, 2010, 9:10 a.m. EDT
Mustang V-6 Averages 48.5 mpg; Runs 1,457 Laps at Bristol on a Single Tank of Gas



BRISTOL, Tenn., June 24, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 sets a new record by averaging 48.5 mpg on a track while completing 1,457 laps with an average speed of 43.9 mph
Mustang is powered by a new 3.7-liter V-6 engine that uses advanced engineering and technology to deliver great performance and fuel economy
More than 51,000 entries were received for the Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge with 22 entries guessing the winning number of laps
A team of five drivers, including four Ford Mustang engineers and Ford NASCAR star David Ragan, drove the Mustang during its record run
The 2011 Ford Mustang, which made history when it became the first car ever to deliver more than 30 mpg and 305 horsepower, has set a new record by running 1,457 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway while averaging 48.5 mpg.
The Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge was designed to demonstrate that a stock production Mustang V-6 could run 1,000 laps and 533 miles on a single of tank of fuel. With the aid of fuel efficient driving techniques by Ford engineers, the Mustang far surpassed its goal of 1,000 laps.

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mus...gas-2010-06-24

 

I bet none of you lunatics will get that mileage, but you'll have a lot more fun!!

 

Well I wan't even close. I guessed 1071 or 1171 lol

 

Wow. I guess that means I didn't win the contest

 

43.9 MPH average... **** that took a long time. Almost 18 hours.

 

lol I guessed like 13xx and thought I was insane!

 

also with no A/C

 

I can't believe 24 people guessed that number though. They must have been "in the know". I also assumed they would be doing 55-60mph. Oh well.

 

They did have 50,000 entries though

 

**** I guessed 1237 laps lol I wasn't even close major props to those drivers though those are make a prius blush numbers

 

I guessed 1111 and people said I was nuts too! That is great though!!!

 

That must be the lowest speed (43.9 m.p.h.) for the 2.73 rear gears to go into 6th gear. My automatic with 3.31 rear gears doesn't go into 6th gear until 41 or 42 m.p.h.

This should help the sales of the V-6 Mustang.

 

Fuel efficient driving techniques could mean aggressive acceleration at low rpm followed by cutting the engine off and costing back down to minimum rpm and repeat. Thats normal procedure for fuel mileage competitions. An internal combustion engine is more efficient at heavier loads. That said I dont know if that would work on the steepest banks in NASCAR. At any rate they likely did things like accelerating down the banking (Using gravity) and allowing deceleration coming into the turns on the banking (That doesnt necessarily mean more or less throttle) . Much like using light throttle and allowing a car to loose some speed when climbing hills and letting it pick up speed on its own on down hills. I can guarantee they were not using the cruise control.

 

**** thats good! thats like the territory of a certain japanese hybrid, isnt it?

 

Haha, good call!

 

It's an impressive number but not likely to be reproduced in the real world, so what's the point?

 

I guessed 1227 and my wife thought it was high. Would've been nice...

 

It might not be real world driving but, it does show that Ford as a 300+ HP V6 sports car that weighs 3600 lbs and if driven conservatively it can get well above 30 miles per gallon. It's a very nice car.

 

Well sure you aren't going to achieve that kind of number in reality, but the point of the matter is that it's a fuel efficient V6. I guessed just slightly over 1000 laps myself.

 

Crazy stuff!