2024 Ford Mustang Might Turn Out to Be the Most Important ICE Vehicle of 2023

Let us take a moment to remember how it all started. Back in 1964, a designer loved the World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane so much that he suggested the name to Ford for its new series of little and nimble sports cars. An alternative view is also available – a market research manager added the nameplate to the focus groups because he was a breeder of quarter horses.

Well, irrespective of the actual origin, it is safe to say the name Ford Mustang has stuck through the ages. Today, the originator of the pony car segment is the longest nameplate still in production at the Blue Oval company. And while it may have lost the sales edge to one of its diehard enemies, it is still one of the most beloved sports cars all around the world.

But enough musing about its history and glory. Let us talk about contemporary issues. First and foremost, the current state of affairs - where the Dodge Challenger outsold both the Mustang and Chevy Camaro during the past quarter - is not going to last too long. And there is a simple explanation: a paradigm change is coming, and fast.

The top-selling muscle car on the American market is pretty much doomed to an alternate eternity of sustainability. This is because the EV revolution has taken over at Stellantis and the parent company of Dodge ordered the brand to make do with a final 2023 model year of ICE-powered Challenger and Charger sales. They, of course, thought about every angle and determined that no less than seven ‘Last Call’ special editions are to satisfy both collectors and money-grabbers alike.

Then, from 2024 onward, it will be open EV season for the Banshee powertrain and the production version of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept, complete with no less than nine battery-powered levels of oomph. As for General Motors, after a period of uncertainty, the rumor mill has again found enough food for thought to assure us that Chevy’s Camaro might survive past the sixth generation’s lifespan.

Also, from around 2024 or even 2025, the iconic Camaro nameplate might share the same fate as Corvette and Cadillac’s Escalade – there are whispers of seeing these legendary models going solo as sub-brands, complete with expanded model rosters. So, the 2024 seventh-generation S650 Ford Mustang might soon find itself alone ruling the two-door coupe and convertible niche across the American market.

This kind of makes Ford’s decision to travel alone to the soon-forbidden ICE zone a potentially bonkers genius move. Remember, soon after the Blue Oval company officially revealed the first pictures and details regarding the new iteration – during an event called “The stampede” – the Detroit automaker also confirmed that no electrified or full EV powertrain versions are in the cards. At least, not for now, that is. Which, by the way, means at least a couple of model years.

Recently, the Blue Oval also gave everyone a fitting Christmas present – a lot earlier than tradition calls for it – by revealing the “Ho, Ho, Ho horsepower” specifications across the board. Naturally, the all-new 2024 Mustang Dark Horse will sit at the top of the range, at least until Ford brings the Shelby GT350 or GT500 out of retirement once more. The good news is that Dark Horse fans will have the pleasure of taming the most powerful 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine that was ever created by the company. The official rating of the naturally aspirated mill is 500 ponies, thanks to the fourth generation of the iconic V8.

Next up down the line, the 2024 Ford Mustang GT packs up to 486 horsepower “thanks to a new dual-throttle body design with an available active-valve performance exhaust system,” and the base Mustang EcoBoost will roast tires the turbocharged 2.3-liter way, complete with 315 hp and 350 lb-ft. (475 Nm) of torque. Meanwhile, the Coyote V8s crank out the same amount of twisting torque – 418 lb-ft (567 Nm) when the Mustang GT is equipped with the glorious-sounding active-valve performance exhaust system (480 hp and 415 lb-ft/563 Nm without it).

That is not bad at all, especially when considering the $27,795 (MSRP, Coupe) 2023 Chevy Camaro has a 2.0-liter turbo engine with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission and packs just 275 horsepower. Additionally, the top-selling 2022 Dodge Challenger starts from $30,940 with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and TorqueFlite eight-speed auto, churning out 305 horsepower – which is still below the Mustang EcoBoost! Now, far from us placing any bets on the outcome of the pony race, but it is pretty safe to assume that if the Challenger and Camaro continued down the same ICE path as the 2024 Mustang, they were probably in big horsepower trouble…