Photo: Ford
In reply to the all-in EV strategy of General Motors, the Ford Motor Company recently made a few jaws drop by promising an EV-only lineup for the European market by 2030. The Blue Oval, therefore, is already preparing for the day when new internal combustion-engined vehicles will be phased out in favor of electric passenger cars, trucks, and vans.
One has to ask himself if the upcoming Mustang will still feature a burbly V8, and the answer is yes according to Carl Widmann. Speaking to Autoweek, the chief engineer of Ford Performance said that FoMoCo currently sells "a tremendous amount of V8 Mustangs on summer tires. I don’t think the gas engine has met its day in the near term; there are still a lot of fans of it.”
Widmann made it clear that it’s up to demand whether the V8 will soldier on, but he refrains from offering the complete picture. More to the point, GM has already pledged to eliminate tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles by 2035 in the United States. That isn’t a firm promise, but it does serve as a rough estimate for the internal combustion engine’s demise.
Another detail that Widmann hasn’t mentioned to Autoweek is the slowing demand for pony cars in the United States. This particular segment has contracted massively since the early 2000s, and you can blame America’s unquenchable appetite for SUVs for this downfall. In the first quarter of 2021, for example, the Mustang sold 17,274 units. Multiply that figure by four, and you’ll get a lower yearly volume than in 2019 through 2010.
Widmann further mentions that we’re living during a time of transition, an era where you can track a Mustang Mach 1 to your heart’s content and commute to work in the Escape-based Mustang Mach-E. Opting for the GT version makes the all-electric SUV pretty interesting in a straight line thanks to a claimed 60-mph (97-kph) acceleration of 3.8 seconds while the Performance Edition is even better at that going fast, namely 3.5 seconds.
Widmann made it clear that it’s up to demand whether the V8 will soldier on, but he refrains from offering the complete picture. More to the point, GM has already pledged to eliminate tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles by 2035 in the United States. That isn’t a firm promise, but it does serve as a rough estimate for the internal combustion engine’s demise.
Another detail that Widmann hasn’t mentioned to Autoweek is the slowing demand for pony cars in the United States. This particular segment has contracted massively since the early 2000s, and you can blame America’s unquenchable appetite for SUVs for this downfall. In the first quarter of 2021, for example, the Mustang sold 17,274 units. Multiply that figure by four, and you’ll get a lower yearly volume than in 2019 through 2010.
Widmann further mentions that we’re living during a time of transition, an era where you can track a Mustang Mach 1 to your heart’s content and commute to work in the Escape-based Mustang Mach-E. Opting for the GT version makes the all-electric SUV pretty interesting in a straight line thanks to a claimed 60-mph (97-kph) acceleration of 3.8 seconds while the Performance Edition is even better at that going fast, namely 3.5 seconds.
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