2024 Ford Mustang GT Makes 486 HP, EcoBoost Gets 315 HP
2024 Ford Mustang GTPhoto: Ford
Update, 10:00am, December 15, 2022: Today, Ford officially announced the SAE-certified horsepower figures for the 2024 Mustang lineup. The base-model 2024 Mustang EcoBoost makes 315 hp (up from 310) and 350 lb-ft of torque, which Ford describes as “the most standard horsepower ever” in a Mustang. The automaker estimates the EcoBoost-powered Mustang will get 22 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined, an increase of 2 mpg highway and 1 mpg combined. The 2024 Mustang GT makes 486 hp and 418 lb-ft of torque with the optional active-valve performance exhaust. Without the active exhaust, the GT makes 480 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque, which Ford says is the most standard power ever in a naturally-aspirated V8 Mustang. (The current Mustang GT makes 450 hp and 410 lb-ft.) And finally, the top-of-the-line performance model, the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse, makes 500 hp and 418 lb-ft of torque from an upgraded version of the Coyote 5.0-liter V8. According to Ford, that makes the Dark Horse “the most powerful non-Shelby edition ever.”
Below, please find our original article on the 2024 Mustang EcoBoost, GT and Dark Horse, first published on September 14, 2022 when the all-new Mustang was revealed at the 2022 North American International Auto Show.
A lot has changed in the nearly 60 years since the first Ford Mustang was introduced. The pony car, originally pitched as stylish budget-friendly transportation for young people, became a high-performance enthusiast icon. We traded carburetors for fuel injection, and more recently, electrification. Cassettes, 8-tracks and CDs have been replaced with satellite radio and Bluetooth, and tactile buttons have been traded in for touchscreens. Now, we have a new model that seeks to evoke the pony-car past while also embracing (some of) the future. Meet the 2024 Ford Mustang, the seventh generation of the model that launched a movement.
Check out our mega-gallery of 2024 Mustang images from every angle, including detailed interior photos!
2024 Ford Mustang GT ConvertiblePhoto: Ford
The first thing you’ll notice with this latest rendition of Mustang is the styling. The lines are recognizable, with a general resemblance to the sixth-generation S550 currently on dealer floors, but the new model feels slimmer, more svelte.
Up front, the aggressive grille is reminiscent of early Mustangs, as tradition demands. GT models get their own grille and bumper design, with twin nostrils that are more cohesively integrated compared to those on the sixth gen. A single horizontal plane defines the top of the grille as well as the headlights, which now include new three-segment turn signals that illuminate in sequence, as we’ve seen on Mustang tri-bar taillights for a while now.
As always, the new Mustang will be available in coupe and convertible form. The coupe’s roofline feels lower, which is likely just a trick of the eye. Ford says the beltline has been lowered for a sportier look, and the automaker insists that the shape of the door opening makes it easier to get in and out while wearing a helmet.
2024 Mustang GT with Performance PackagePhoto: Ford
The biggest design difference is at the rear. Instead of a lip overhanging an angled tail panel, the 2024 Mustang’s taillights are puckered into a concave V-shape. Eddie Kahn, the vehicle engineering manager for the new Mustang, told journalists this is the most aerodynamic Mustang ever. The new shape of the tail and all-new underbody panels help control airflow and increase downforce.
2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoostPhoto: Ford
Ford calls this “Mustang’s most powerful generation,” but we don’t yet know just how powerful. The engine choices for 2024 will be familiar: the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbo 4-cylinder, or what Ford calls the “most powerful 5.0-liter Coyote V8 ever.” Ford representatives told Jalopnik that exact horsepower and torque figures will be released closer to the launch of the 2024 model. We do know that the Coyote engine gets dual throttle bodies in the 2024 Mustang GT, which should boost power output, and Ford says the 2024 model will offer “the most naturally aspirated horsepower of any Mustang GT” (for context, the current most powerful naturally aspirated Mustang in the lineup is the 470-hp, 410 lb-ft Mach 1). For 2024, the Coyote V8 will be available with a six-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic transmission; the EcoBoost is automatic only.
2024 Ford Mustang with Premier interior package.Photo: Ford
Available with either engine, the optional Performance Pack brings a Torsen limited-slip differential, wider rear wheels and tires, and 15.3-inch front and 14-inch rear Brembo brakes. Optional with the Performance Pack are MagneRide adaptive dampers, upgraded Recaro seats, and an active exhaust; GT models get a standard engine oil cooler with the Performance Pack.
2024 Mustang owners will be able to flex from afar with Remote Rev, a button on the key fob that lets you remotely rev the engine from outside the car. I can imagine owners remote-starting their cars from bed, just so they can fall asleep to the sound of that revving engine.
Photo: Ford
Also new for the seventh-gen is Ford’s performance electronic parking brake, also known as the “drift brake.” This is an adaptation of a Ford aftermarket item first offered for the Focus RS: A “drift stick” lever to actuate the electronic parking brake for tail-out hooning. New Mustangs with the Performance Pack get an old-style parking brake lever on the console that activates the electronically-controlled parking brake — not for safe parking, but for encouraging huge slides. The drift brake works in conjunction with the new Mustang’s customizable drive modes to assist in achieving YouTube-perfect tire-smoking drifts, on a closed course, naturally.
Inside, the styling has matured a bit. The new Mustang gets a huge screen panel serving as both the instrument cluster and center-dash display. Base models will have two separate screens housed in the panel, while Premier and GT trims get a full-width mega screen reaching from the instrument cluster to the center stack. The display is fully customizable, with instrument panel settings ranging from aggressive performance modes to a “Calm” mode that minimizes distractions — or a setting that recreates the look of the gauges in the Fox-body Mustang.
Photo: Ford
Ford calls this “the most digital Mustang ever,” and it shows, with stereo and climate controls handled by the touchscreen rather than physical buttons. “Integrating [these features] into a digital display was popular in research with Millennials, Gen-Z and traditional Mustang drivers alike,” Ford interior design manager Ricardo Garcia said in a press release. We might not be quite as thrilled about that as Garcia, but we’ll save our judgment until we get the chance to poke at those touchscreens ourselves.
The optional leather upholstery has been smoothed out, giving a more satin appearance to soft touch points including the steering wheel. The accent stitching has even been tightened up, with closer stitching, and there’s a new Carmine Red interior color. And for the ultimate in interior customization, buyers can choose asymmetrical striped seatbelts. The new Mustang also gets overhead USB ports, conveniently located to power things like video cameras, dataloggers, or other track-day gear.
Photo: Ford
“Investing in another generation of Mustang is a big statement at a time when many of our competitors are exiting the business of internal combustion vehicles,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the press release announcing the 2024 Mustang. That’s a clear jab at Dodge, which is simultaneously celebrating “last call” on the V8-powered Challenger and Charger while hyping up the all-electric vehicle due to replace them. While Ford is making huge strides with the electric Mustang Mach E and F-150 Lightning, it’s clear that the automaker takes pride in continuing to offer a conventional V8 in its muscle car.
The 2024 Mustang will go on sale beginning in summer 2023. Power, pricing, and performance specs are all expected to be released between now and then.
Photo: Ford
Check out our mega-gallery of 2024 Mustang images from every angle, including detailed interior photos!
