Mustang V8 and manual gearbox look set to stay

IN AN automotive landscape where electrification is rapidly taking over, there is one saviour for those who like driving the good old-fashioned way and that’s none other than the next-generation Ford Mustang.

Ford CEO Jim Farley has revealed that the new Mustang will make its global debut on September 14.

“Excited to confirm that we’ll unveil the all-new, seventh-generation @FordMustang on September 14 at the Detroit Auto Show. It’s a stunning car and I’m excited to share it with the world!” Farley said on Twitter.

But what we find most interesting is the “#SaveTheManuals” hashtag that followed the announcement.

Manual gearboxes are becoming a rare commodity in the performance car world as customers have increasingly gravitated towards today’s much-improved autoboxes, but Farley’s statement all but confirms that the new Mustang will still offer a stick shift option to customers.

While hybrid powertrains are inevitable, it appears that the new muscle car will retain its V8 engine option.

Earlier this year Ford Performance director Ali Jammoul told Australian publication Wheels that although the company needed to find ways to make it more eco-friendly, the V8 engine would continue for the foreseeable future. He also reassured us that any future electrified Mustangs would deliver the “DNA and essence” of the pony car nameplate.

Hybrid Mustangs could come sooner than we think. Back in 2020 Autocar, citing inside information and patent drawings, reported that the new Mustang would likely be offered with a hybrid system that pairs a V8 engine to a pair of electric motors mounted on the front axle. Although this would transform the Mustang into an allwheel drive model, we’re pretty sure that Ford would still offer a rear-only drift model of some kind.

Then again, judging by the number of videos on the internet showing Mustangs crashing at Cars and Coffee events while trying to perform burnouts, maybe the all-wheel drive is not a bad option for some drivers.

THE new Mustang will make its global debut on September 14.