In continuous production since 1964, the Ford Mustang pony/muscle car is one of the best-known American automobiles in the world. Currently, in its seventh iteration, the nameplate is building one legend after another behind it.
Many folks are focusing on the exploits of the S650 iteration after Ford released the latest Mustang into the wild at the end of summer. Many are cherishing both the existence of the EcoBoost and especially of the Coyote V8 version – Mustang GT and Dark Horse – as they don't have to worry about having to retire soon or changing their lifestyle to suit the EV revolution. Or not just yet, at least.
Unlike the Chevy Camaro, which is biting the dust with no successor in sight. Or the Dodge Charger and Challenger, which are transforming for the EV lifestyle with the Charger resuming its original two-door slot and allegedly getting Hurricane inline-six mills and Banshee EV options instead of the iconic Hemi V8. But there's still time to see most of them – especially at the local quarter-mile dragstrip.
For example, the good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace channel on YouTube have a nice set of brawls featuring a Ford Mustang, a prominent and brawny F-150 pickup truck, and a mighty Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. As for the Mustang, this isn't an S650 but rather S550's last hurrah – the Mach 1 special series.
The action takes place, as always, at Island Dragway in Great Meadows, New Jersey, and according to the description, it happened during a Black Friday event. While some use the occasion to hit their card limits in swift shopping sprees, these racers were doing the best thing with their cars – putting them to trails in head-to-head combat on the prepped tarmac.
The grey-orange-and-black Ford Mustang Mach 1 first lined up with a white Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and clearly took the 707-horsepower sedan by surprise when it rocked the first start with great skill and panache – the Blue Oval coupe easily won the skirmish with an ET of 11.57s against the Mopar's shameful 12.89s result. Clearly, something was amiss with this Mach 1 as even the S650 Dark Horse with the drag pack and a front seat delete barely manages an 11.8s performance!
A fair player, the Mustang owner granted the Hellcat a rematch and, as per usual, they switched lanes. A lot more attentive and eager to win, the Mopar racer red-lit the second start and crossed the finish line first, thanks to a higher trap speed. However, the ETs showed that the mighty Mach 1 again took home the victory – 11.52s versus 11.71s.
Thirdly, we thought the mildly tuned Mustang (according to the owner, it has "an E 85 tune with long tube headers and sticky Mickeys") would make short work of a big Ford F-150 XL, but it was clear the driver knew what they were doing – and instead the Mach 1 got a much better run for the money than initially with the Mopar. In the end, there can be only one – although it was a lighter Single Cab and also dropped the tailgate for better aerodynamics and a more lightweight build, the F-Series had to admit defeat.
However, this was quite an exciting race – the Ford Mustang Mach 1 won by a minimal margin: 11.66s versus 11.82s, and it was probably all thanks to the superior trap speed (120 mph versus 116 mph)! Cool, right?
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. Full profile
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