To add to that, I would LOVE to see a more entry level 2.0T EcoBoost Mustang now that the V6 has grown its own pair. Available with ALL options the other models can be had with. Then, if Hyundai did drop the Tau V8 in the Genesis Coupe, the Mustang and Genesis would match up quite nicely as competitors. I've been saying that ever since the new V6 was a rumor. There is room for a 210-230hp entry level model now, and the cost of adding such model could be offset by increased volume to rental fleets and younger buyers. Leave the 2.73, dual exhaust and limited slip standard, and it would get 35+ mpg on the highway. Perfect way to raise Ford's average for CAFE. Chevy was rumored to be dropping in a 2.0 Turbo engine into the Camaro. Why not Ford?! I think GM decided against it due to the performance being lackluster with the Camaro's weight, but fortunately the Mustang's platform is lighter. I'd bet a 2.0T EcoBoost model could come in under/around 3300 lbs.

What do you guys think?

 

Hyundai says the 4.6L Tau wont fit. Of course, there is always a next generation.

 

Honestly, while I readily agree that this sounds great on paper, I'm unsure it would cost any less to build a turbo four pony than it does to build the V6 model, and I'm betting that, in the end, they would deliver similar performance. If a turbo four comes our way, I look for that engine to be a V6 replacement rather than a supplement. In fact, with several reviewers now having complained that the V6 Mustang lacks low end grunt, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that oft-rumored scenario occur. And with the 2011 Sonata bringing a 274hp 2.0L DI four that produces it's peak of 269lb-ft of torque from 1500rpm to 4500rpm, I wouldn't be surprised to see Hyundai do the same.

An engine with those specs likely wouldn't make the base Mustang any faster, but it would provide the sensation of torque the V6 model lacks, and it would bring a superior mpg rating to the table as well. Still, I'm excited about the V6 model, and I'm anxious to see what people manage with it.....in fact I'm thinking about buying one myself.

 

At the end of day, my money would be spent on the stang. I'd take any of the others too if I had extra

 

Is it me or does it seem like we have already become jaded with our new V6 Mustang and have now moved to trying to find fault? Maybe it is just me...

I am now seriously considering one for my wife and daughter to drive for a DD. The price is great and I would be able to have a little twisty road fun in it from time to time.

Has anyone seriously given any consideration to what one of these little suckers will run like with just a tune and some gears? 3.73s or 4.10s would REALLY wake this thing up (not that it is slow now!). Just look at the gears the 370Z is running for instance or how much RPM it has to turn to get that little extra power it has above the now BASE 3.7 Ford V6 with unleaded fuel. Ford did great with all three Mustang drive-trains. Actually the Shelby is the only one I can still complain about: Come on Ford, are you so afraid to make 600+ HP that you will not put that TVS blower on the 5.4?

 

I read that too, which, if true, is just plain stupid on Hyundai's part to shut off the potential future option.

For some reason, which I have yet to truly fathom, the Asian automakers seem to have some sort of allergy about creating their own pony cars. Most of already have the requisite RWD platforms and healthy V8 motors to plug into them should they so decide, yet they all seem to rationalize themselves into knots so as not to actually make one.

My guess is that, with the pony car market showing some real life now (that SUVs are rightly seen as silly fat pigs of vehicles thus loosing their macho cache), and with at least Hyundai and perhaps Nissan sticking their toes into that pool, that one of them will make the plunge and will be shocked at its success (even if that would be a "duh" moment for the rest of us). Imagine 370Z or H Coupe size and chassis dynamics combined with V8 grunt and music.

Ah, memories of Cobras, Sunbeam Tigers, TVRs and any number of other combinations of overseas adroitness mated with American muscle to create a "hybrid" car we all can love.

So who might be first, to take this musing to its overextended end?

Nissan 560Z
Hyundai 460 Coupe
Infiniti G560
Toyota Supra 500
Lexus SC 500
Other?

 

Ah, how fickle and fleeting our affections are!

I would hardly say jaded by any means. Rather, I think everyone's still trying to digest the idea of a V6 Mustang that is genuinely quick and fun to drive, as opposed to its previous rental car/secretary's car/can't afford a GT iteration.

As you mention, the potential of the 3.7 is virgin territory with huge potential. I highly suspect that performance bits for this V6, rather than being an afterthought compared to the V8 market, will burgeon to a huge realm of its own. You can probably measure in minutes before the gears, intakes, exhausts, headers, etc. start hitting the market.

 

I agree. The original Mustang was available with 120 hp I6, so I don't see why a 230-240 hp Mustang is a problem.
And that would also be a good engine if Ford ever decide to import Mustang to Europe.

 

The only Genesis Coupe I've seen is on 24!

 

Actually yes! The Classification has to be flexible. Case in point...no modern car today could be considered a pony car using 1960's standards..they are all bigger and heavier. So the goal post needs to move. The catagory isn't defined by one car but more of the cars that surround the target car.
If the mustang became the size of a challenger in weight and over all dimensions then it in my opinion it is not a pony car. If you still want to consider all these pony cars or muscle cars or what ever then that's cool..this is all just my opinion.

Assuming the Mustang is the pony car of the bunch The challenger and Camaro in current for are not. There could be a time when the mustang isn't in anyway shape or form a pony car. When that day comes I'll ammend my opinion.

If you still want to consider all these pony cars or muscle cars or what ever then that's cool..this is all just my opinion.

 

Yeah, it's hard to come up with definitions for these terms that everyone will agree on. Many car magazines have been referring to the new Mustangs as sports cars, but fifty years ago a sports car meant two seats, two doors, four cylinders, ragtop, manual transmission, no luxuries, and oil leaks and electrical failures were almost considered mandatory. If we stick to that rigid definition, there's almost nothing on the market that can be called a sports car.

 

Now I know this will sound like I'm drinking the blue oval kool-aid and admittedly I haven't driven a Genesis coupe but I have checked out the H up close and personal a few times in dealer lots and showrooms and I wouldn't even contemplate buying one over an '11 V-6 Stang. I found the interior incredibly cramped (I had no trouble fitting in my '93 Probe GT or my '98 Integra GS-R w/sunroof), the trunk is shallow and useless and the whole car feels cheap.

 

Its just a game or catch up, even with the 4.0L adding an S/C or turbo will surpass its equivalent 05to10 stock GT, I assume the same for the new 3.7 compared to 5.0.