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Bad News for the 1,001 HP Aventador Successor, a $58k Mustang Will Have to Do

Frankly, we all love super- and/or hypercars, at least in our ritzy dreams. But the stark reality is that a $60k sports car might be a lot more fun and probably just as wild.
2024 Ford Mustang editorial 41 photos
Photo: Ford Motor Company
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My automotive radar did not focus on a lot of novelties this past couple of weeks as the Volkswagen ID.3 refresh gave me the software chills, that 800+ horsepower Honda CR-V is obviously just a showoff that will never see a production factory, and the fact that Cadillac is returning to Le Mans is also just a ruse for Andretti and GM to final gain official acceptance into the world of Formula One.

Sure, one could say the race-ready CR-V Hybrid is a proper beast that got HPD (Honda Performance Development) engineers all fired up about the feisty exploration of hybrid technology and other sustainable stuff. And the Formula One season will have a record of 23 races this year as another American venue has been added – Las Vegas joins Miami and Austin for the thrills.

Interestingly, among the ID.3 facelift, Cadillac LeMans, and Tesla’s Investor Day news, my eyes were blown out of the sockets not only by the recent Lambo confirmations about the Aventador and Huracan successors, but also by the mundane 2024 Mustang taking another elevator ride up the pricing ladder. But first things first, let us clear the Italian air a little bit, shall we?

So, codenamed ‘LB744,’ which apparently has nothing to do with the ps threshold like on the Aventador LPs of old, the Lamborghini heir apparent for the flagship sports car has been confirmed in a techy preview with no less than 1,000+ electrified ponies. Yep, that Tesla Model S/X Plaid bar was not set at 1,020 hp for nothing, now I see that. Anyway, the Lambo LB744 will boast a couple of front-mounted electric motors, ride for a while with zero emissions, and try to wipe away the memory of the iconic Lambo V12 with a brand-new... 6.5-liter V12 aided by a trio of electric motors for a total of 1,015 ps, which is akin to 1,001 horsepower.

Secondly, the successor of the Lambo Huracan has also been confirmed, apparently for a 2025 model year apparition that will wave goodbye to the V10 era. Sometime late next year, the Sant’Agata Bolognese-based Raging Bull company will present the long-awaited replacement potentially featuring a plug-in hybrid assembly, just like its bigger sibling. Only that the next Huracan iteration – or whatever it will be called – will have a twin-turbo V8 assembly tucked inside the wedge-shaped body. Thus, hurrah for those who want to be sustainable and still spend an absurd amount of money on something they can only drive at the tracks or when the road is absolutely pristine.

2024 Ford Mustang
Photo: Ford
I, for example, do not need all that wildness. I can enjoy the banter of Mustang fails, instead, thank you. Remember, the 2024 Ford Mustang – the seventh iteration of it, aka S650, is coming to a dealership near you sometime this summer. And the Blue Oval company was keen to reveal – in late February – the pricing details, aka the only other bits of info that we needed, aside from the ones regarding how it really drives and if it will be reliable or a hodgepodge just like the equally much-awaited Bronco series. Frankly, with the prices – even though they are higher than a 2023 ‘Stang (which kicks off, in Fastback form, at an MSRP of $27,770) – that are currently set, I could build and rebuild a Dark Horse a couple of times before I even hit the Huracan successor’s base asking quotation.

Sure, $31k for the Mustang EcoBoost Fastback might sound like a lot – but remember that it now has 315 hp on tap, plus all sorts of tech gimmicks that may or may not become Ford’s next reliability and quality concern. The EcoBoost Convertible is going Premium, for sure, at almost $42k, and a Mustang GT Fastback actually has the same $41,945 MSRP while boasting the fourth-gen 5.0-liter Coyote V8 with 480 hp on tap. The GT Convertible is also Premium at $51,515, but wait until you get to the $58k quotation of the Dark Horse before thinking that a few light monthly installments will do. Yeah, goodbye to that, but if I have to choose between the 500-hp V8 Mustang and rivals like the 2023 Nissan Z, GR Supra, Camaro, or Challenger – I would still go for the Blue Oval in a heartbeat. After all, it could be the last of its ICE kind…

Oh, speaking of rivals. The Nissan Z is said to be good only in Z Performance trim, meaning it costs at least $49,990 and has just 400 ponies under the hood. Its main rival, the GR Supra, is a bit costlier with the 3.0-liter inline six and also less powerful! As for the other Detroit Three options, the Chevy Camaro is but a pale shadow of its former self, and the Dodge Challenger will soon be out of reach because it is going after the EV lifestyle. The only other noteworthy option is, of course, the C8 Corvette Stingray with 495 horsepower. Hmm, that could be an interesting rival for the Dark Horse, right?

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Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the gallery includes all Mustang variants.

About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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