Liquid

Yep. Been discussed before.

rhumb

My hope is that the V6 will be retained. While a turbo 4 can be squeezed to make similar power numbers as a six, the four banger blat and buzz still says econocar to me, qualitatively, as compared to a smoother and more melodious 6. Also add a sharper, more natural throttle response, even if modern turbos are quite impressive on this point as compared to earlier turbos.

Perhaps we'll see either the 2.0 turbo at about 250-275 hp, or the 2.3 at 300-325 hp. This could still leave some room for an uprated (DI) 3.7 V6 with perhaps 350-375hp and the 5.0 at the top, also with DI and pushing 450hp in GT trim and 475 in Boss tune. Add a TT, DI 5.0 at above the 600hp range for the GT500.

Even if motor power doesn't swell even that much over the curent car, performance still should improve assuming a diet of around 200lbs and much better aerodynamics diverting and wasting far less energy tearing a ragged gouge in the atmosphere.

97GT03SVT

If you look at many of the modern turbo 4s out there they get about the same MPGs as Ford's 3.7, I think by adding direct injection they can squeeze a little more out of it. I think Ford should just stick with the V6. I can't believe Ford finally has a great base engine after years with the terrible carryover Cologne engine that got the same mileage as the GT only to dump it after 3 or 4 model years.

I say put a turbo 4 in a special edition SVO, keep the V6 as the base engine. A little massaging should give it a little more power and fuel efficiency.

Brewman

What he Said!

rhumb

And with everything under the sun going to turbo fours, something more distinctive than yet another blown four blatting and buzzing away.

mot250

Ugh! Please, no more letter designations besides those that have already been used on the Mustangs (GT, LX, GTA...). Definitely no "R" ( unless an actual race only model), or "S" as they have been over used on much lesser imports. The whole letter designation to me seems too ricey.

I don't know what would be good alternatives, maybe based on some recent topical events...Mars Edition?

05mustangman

With all this talk of Ford dropping the V6 and the V8's not going to produce as much power as they do now, it looks like the Mustang is heading back to the age when it was considered to be nothing but a secretaries car. And people who say this is great because I can get better gas mileage, if your buying a Mustang hoping for fantastic fuel mileage you are buying the car for the wrong reason. You should be buying a fiesta or a volt or maybe even a prius.

rhumb

Ford certainly wouldn't drop the V8, or likely even its HP. However, you'll see more tech such as DI, stop/start and cylinder deactivation to be able to maintain power while increasing efficiency and decreasing stink. I would imagine power to grow modestly at best, but that's only one third of the performance equation, the others being weight and drag, both of which will likely be significantly improved in the 2015 thus preserving or even enhancing current straight line performance. Handling, what with less weight and an IRS, should also improve significantly to better utilize and apply the speed the drivetrain can dish out.

The V6 may be a bit more shaky, but I think there's still a gap between even a strong turbo 4 and a big V8 that a mid-sized V6 naturally fills. The lumpier power/torque pulses and second-order shake of a big, powerful four are hard to mitigate, never mind the four banger blat. What you might end up with is a smaller, turbo/super-charged V6 in the 2.5-3.0ltr range.

In the end, while there will be sigificant changes, I don't think we'll see a replay of the '70s with their inept and clumsy attempts to address the efficiency and stink issues of that time.

jedikd

Wow, completely and utterly wrong. The V6 would be replaced by a turbo-4 cylinder making similar power to the current V6. There have been no indications that the 5.0 will be lowered in power, most likely a power bump if they add DI.

People WANT cars that get better gas mileage and still have power, these days you really can have a healthy dose of both. If you had your way the Mustang would die a horrible death as people stop buying it because it never advances or moves on.

We replaced a boat anchor awful V6 in the 05-10 cars with a smaller displacement one that got better gas mileage and had 100 more hp, but I guess if you're one of the many people who bought the 11+ because it got better MPG they should have just bought a Prius.

97GT03SVT

I think the whole 70s comparison is bogus. Back in the 1970s the American auto industry where caught with their pants down. The first poor plan was to lower the compression on these big blocks and then to downsize both the car and engines causing major drops in power and performance. Nobody expected the oil embargo, today world governments are mandating that new vehicles have a time frame to meet certain efficiency goals. I do think we will start to see cars getting smaller/lighter again but power will be equal or surpass current vehicles. In just a few short years the current base model Mustang makes more power than the previous generation GT. The 2013 GT500 with 662HP gets better MPGs than the 390HP SVT Cobra that had a gas guzzler tax!

The bottom line is that the auto industry saw rising fuel pricing coming this time around compared to the 1970s when they were caught by surprise.

My opinion is that the 5.0 will have a very long life span with several modifications made over the years to give us slight bumps in power and fuel economy every couple years or so. I predict a 30mpg 5.0 within 5 years

2012BLKV6

Honestly 30mpg in a 5.0 is conpletely attainable in the next 5 years. With DI and a lighter car it could be done. The issue is that it would require 3:31 or 2:73 gears which you 5.0 guys are not a fan of. I would love to see them release a 3:55 geared car with a tall 6th that allowed 75mph under 2k rpm.

Knight

pretty amazing difference too. But Ford retuned the 2004s to not have gas guzzler. to 17 24 still not as good as the new GT500. Just for fun we will add Garys 2000 in here too.

old standard pre-2008
00CobraR 13city 18hwy 385hp (actually 420hp)
03 cobra 16city 22hwy 390hp (actually 425hp)
04 cobra 17city 24hwy 390hp (actually 425hp)
13 gt500 17city 26hwy 662hp

new standard post-2008
00CobraR 11city 16hwy
03 cobra 14city 20hwy
04 cobra 15city 22hwy
13 gt500 15city 24hwy

97GT03SVT

I remember hearing Ford doing something to avoid the gas guzzler tax in 2004, what was it? I'm guessing something with the exhaust?

Knight

Yeah the cats are different and O2 sensors are in a different place. Most likly a computer tune difference, not sure about anything else.

05mustangman

Yes the 4.0 was replaced with the 3.7 and gets better power and gas mileage but it's still the fact that it is still a v6 not a 4 cylinder. We all seen how the SVO went with the 4 cylinders, didn't last too long. And not talking about the 5.0 losing power talking about the 5.8. It's already been said they don't expect the new generation car to have 662 hp. So there is more than likely going to be a power drop with the 5.8 if it is continued to the new Mustang. I'm all for these cars having more power and gas mileage but dropping the v6 and going to turbo 4's might not last long again. With the 5.4 I've got I can get almost 24 MPG with over 550HP. Now that is amazing.

I still think there is a lot left in the v6 in terms of power and gas mileage. Can you imagine someone pulling up next to you in your new Mustang and asking what you got under the hood, And you say "Yea it's got a 4 cylinder", people are aren't gonna take that seriously. What happened to the Mustang being a muscle car? Now it's gas mileage this gas mileage that.

05mustangman

I feel the same way, I believe the 5.0 does have some MPG to gain here without dropping any power. Yes, making the car lighter could help tremendously. 3:31 gears would be a good gear unless they are wanting wicked acceleration. In that case most people probably wouldn't care if the car is at 30MPG or 28MPG. With the 6 speed there is a lot of MPG to be gained. Even with the 5.0 gaining a decent amount of power which would be nice!

97GT03SVT

I got a couple opinions on downsizing motors and power. For one I haven't heard anything about the 5.8 losing power where did you hear this information? I think if Ford can drop this motor into a lighter car, possibly add things like direct injection they may even increase HP along with mpgs. I have heard that GM is planning on downsizing the v8s in the next Gen Corvette and camaro but power is still expected to increase along with mpgs. As far as the svo comparison goes it involved more that the perception of a 4 cylinder. The svo was more expensive than the 5.0 . I agree I think the v6 is plenty efficient but a 4 cylinder in a base model isn't a deal breaker the enthusiast can always opt for a v8

Overboost

It'll be interesting to see where SVT goes after the Trinity motor. I honestly think it's going to be a step back in size and power, and possibly even go back to being NA. At the same time, if the new platform loses a few hundred pounds, gains more modern suspension and handling tech, we may see a NA one up to the ZL1. Take the Boss DNA and let SVT run with it and make something totally new.

Twin Turbo

N/A is fine by me.............whilst the power the ZL1 and new GT500 are putting out are awesome, I've always preferred normal aspiration over forced induction (despite my username, LOL!).

Plenty to keep us guessing

Overboost

Power figures are great, but the enthusiast community that the Boss and GT500 cater to know that it's not everything. If Ford could make an NA motor with roughly 110 hp/L and a stellar power to weight ratio, I think they could blow the doors off the likes of the M3 and ZL1.