Photo: Ford / edited
NASCAR's next stop is Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The ninth round in the 36-race season will be paced by a brand-new Mustang in Grabber Blue, namely an almost stock GT fastback.
Save for the custom exterior graphics and extra lights, including the roof-mounted light bar, this pony is similar to the GT fastback you'll soon find at dealers nationwide. Ford's redesigned Mustang will pace six more races, beginning with the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23.
The remainder consists of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, Ally 400 at the Nashville Superspeedway, Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course, and the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington on September 3.
Ford continues to run silhouette racers with S550 design cues. The S650 will enter NASCAR no sooner than 2024 with power coming from the naturally-aspirated V8 in use today. As for the series-production model, we're dealing with a 5.0-liter Coyote with a few differences over the third-generation engine of the outgoing S550.
The most obvious of differences are the additional intake and throttle body for more air, therefore resulting in bigger bangs and more power. There are three levels of power to speak of, beginning with 480 ponies and 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) for the GT. Specifying the optional active-valve exhaust system results in a small bump to 486 horsepower and 418 pound-feet (567 Nm) of twist.
Ford chose 486 rather than 485 because Dodge's 392-ci HEMI produces 485 horsepower. The cam-in-block V8 is torquier, though, at 475 pound-feet (644 Nm) in the 2023 model year Challenger and Charger. Both of them are going the way of the dodo. The Charger will return as a three-door coupe with – get this – electric muscle.
It's a little curious that Ford didn't bring the Dark Horse to pace the NOCO 400, for it currently stands at the very top of the Mustang's range. The replacement for the S550-generation Mach 1 features a few upgrades, including connecting rods from the 5.2-liter Predator supercharged V8 mill of the S550-gen Shelby GT500.
Both the GT and Dark Horse come standard with a manual transmission, with Getrag supplying the manual in the GT and Tremec the transmission in the 500-horsepower Dark Horse. Lower down the spectrum, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost now comes standard with an auto.
Looking at the bigger picture, including the sales figures of the Mustang in the United States, it doesn't come as a surprise that the manual cannot be specified with the standard engine. Thoroughly redesigned for this application, the four-cylinder turbo makes a respectable 315 ponies and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) on full song.
At press time, there is no information available on what will replace the GT350 for the S650 generation. As for the GT500, word has it that Ford is currently testing two mules: a fastback-styled coupe and a convertible.
The remainder consists of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, Ally 400 at the Nashville Superspeedway, Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course, and the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington on September 3.
Ford continues to run silhouette racers with S550 design cues. The S650 will enter NASCAR no sooner than 2024 with power coming from the naturally-aspirated V8 in use today. As for the series-production model, we're dealing with a 5.0-liter Coyote with a few differences over the third-generation engine of the outgoing S550.
The most obvious of differences are the additional intake and throttle body for more air, therefore resulting in bigger bangs and more power. There are three levels of power to speak of, beginning with 480 ponies and 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) for the GT. Specifying the optional active-valve exhaust system results in a small bump to 486 horsepower and 418 pound-feet (567 Nm) of twist.
Ford chose 486 rather than 485 because Dodge's 392-ci HEMI produces 485 horsepower. The cam-in-block V8 is torquier, though, at 475 pound-feet (644 Nm) in the 2023 model year Challenger and Charger. Both of them are going the way of the dodo. The Charger will return as a three-door coupe with – get this – electric muscle.
It's a little curious that Ford didn't bring the Dark Horse to pace the NOCO 400, for it currently stands at the very top of the Mustang's range. The replacement for the S550-generation Mach 1 features a few upgrades, including connecting rods from the 5.2-liter Predator supercharged V8 mill of the S550-gen Shelby GT500.
Both the GT and Dark Horse come standard with a manual transmission, with Getrag supplying the manual in the GT and Tremec the transmission in the 500-horsepower Dark Horse. Lower down the spectrum, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost now comes standard with an auto.
Looking at the bigger picture, including the sales figures of the Mustang in the United States, it doesn't come as a surprise that the manual cannot be specified with the standard engine. Thoroughly redesigned for this application, the four-cylinder turbo makes a respectable 315 ponies and 350 pound-feet (475 Nm) on full song.
At press time, there is no information available on what will replace the GT350 for the S650 generation. As for the GT500, word has it that Ford is currently testing two mules: a fastback-styled coupe and a convertible.
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