Aussie role in new Ford Mustang

August 17, 2013 by Alastair Sloane

Ford Mustang

Ford’s decision to build right-hand-drive Mustangs almost certainly means that Ford Australia’s designers and engineers will be involved in the development of the 51^st-year model.

Why? Because Mustang’s traditional live rear axle will be dropped for the new model in favour of an independent suspension, something that Ford Australia and its fully owned go-fast arm Ford Performance Vehicles has specialised in with rear-drive Falcon-based models like the FPV GT.

Also, Ford Australia has pushed for more of a global role for the supercharged 5.0-litre Coyote V8 that FPV developed with its former partner, British-based Prodrive.

But Falcon is no more after next year and FPV needs a long-term project. That’s where the 2015 Mustang comes in.

FPV would not only help with the sports coupe’s development, its supercharged 335kW/570Nm Coyote V8 would end up under the standard Mustang bonnet as the premium global engine, thereby helping to shore up FPV’s future.

A smaller four-cylinder Ecoboost engine – now optional in the Falcon range – is likely to be available globally in the Mustang.

The current standard US Mustang comes with either a 227kW 3.7-litre V6 or 331kW 5-litre V8 engine.

The flagship Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang runs a 5.8-litre supercharged V8 delivering 494kW at 6500rpm and 845Nm at 4000rpm to the rear wheels via a six-speed Tremec manual gearbox.

Around 530Nm is available from 1000rpm and 760Nm from between 2200-5800rpm.

French carmaker Renault has won the 2025 European Car of the Year award with the all-electric R5 supermini (pictured). It’s the brand’s second win in a row, following the new Scenic’s gong in 2024. The R5 led the vote count from start to finish from the 60 jurors in 23 countries. It received 353 points, beating the Kia EV3 (291 points) and the Citroen C3/e in third place with 215 points. It’s Renault’s eighth win in the 62-year history of the Coty award. The R5 goes on sale in the UK this month. There are two main drivetrains: a 90kW motor/40kWh battery model with a 300km range, and a 112kW/52kWh example with a 400km range. The R5 starts in price at £22.995, or $NZ50,000.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are among carmakers urging the European Union to get a favourable trade deal with US President Donald Trump. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) wants to keep open trade with both the US and China. It fears Trump, who promises heavy tariffs on Chinese imports to the US, will look unfavourably on countries that continue to trade freely with Beijing. Ola Kallenius, president of the group and chairman of the management board of MB, said in a letter to EU leaders: “Overall, it is essential to recognise that trade with China and the US is most vital for the prosperity of the European economy.The EU should seek a grand bargain with the US and attempt to avoid a potential trade conflict.”

A go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move. The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque. The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.