We love a good muscle car versus sports sedan brawl, especially when, on paper, the two seem rather evenly matched. There is, however, more to this than meets the eye, which is why this drag race ended in a blowout win.
Before we get to the engine specs, here are a few pros and cons for each car. First, the Mustang comes with a six-speed manual transmission, while the driver of the Lexus doesn’t have to worry about shifting gears themselves—although to be fair, the GS F's eight-speed automatic gearbox isn’t exactly one of the fastest transmissions out there.
Furthermore, that Lexus is heavier than the Mustang by at least 100 kg (220 lbs), which can make a difference when you’re racing someone. Never think that weight doesn’t matter or that taking on a single passenger can’t affect the outcome of a straight-line pull.
So then, the engines. Both cars feature naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 units, channeling power to their rear wheels. Being a 2016 model year Mustang GT, it’s powered by a Coyote V8 with a stock 435 hp (441 PS) and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque. Add this car’s bolt-on mods (intake, exhaust, E85 setup) and those numbers go up.
As for the Lexus, its 5.0-liter V8 is good for 467 hp (473 PS) and 390 lb-ft (530 Nm) of torque, which looks good on paper, but the truth is the GS F was never quite as quick as most of its direct rivals, and this slightly modified Mustang definitely took advantage of that.
In a way, this race was over before it even began, even though we were expecting the Japanese sedan to put up a slightly better fight than it did. But no. It rolled over and showed its belly when faced with that Coyote V8’s newfound grunt. As Shang Tsung would say, flawless victory.
Furthermore, that Lexus is heavier than the Mustang by at least 100 kg (220 lbs), which can make a difference when you’re racing someone. Never think that weight doesn’t matter or that taking on a single passenger can’t affect the outcome of a straight-line pull.
So then, the engines. Both cars feature naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 units, channeling power to their rear wheels. Being a 2016 model year Mustang GT, it’s powered by a Coyote V8 with a stock 435 hp (441 PS) and 400 lb-ft (542 Nm) of torque. Add this car’s bolt-on mods (intake, exhaust, E85 setup) and those numbers go up.
As for the Lexus, its 5.0-liter V8 is good for 467 hp (473 PS) and 390 lb-ft (530 Nm) of torque, which looks good on paper, but the truth is the GS F was never quite as quick as most of its direct rivals, and this slightly modified Mustang definitely took advantage of that.
In a way, this race was over before it even began, even though we were expecting the Japanese sedan to put up a slightly better fight than it did. But no. It rolled over and showed its belly when faced with that Coyote V8’s newfound grunt. As Shang Tsung would say, flawless victory.