Ford Mustang 2024

• The 2024 Ford Mustang sticks with internal-combustion-only power, with a base 2.3-liter I4 and the 5.0-liter V8.
• The 5.0-liter Coyote enters its fourth generation with a new induction system that features dual throttle bodies and revised engine internals.
• The new Mustang ditches the mechanical handbrake and offers a drift-inspired electronically controlled handbrake for sliding.

The Mustang helped push Ford into the swinging ‘60s and captured the youth market’s changing demands. By 1964, consumers were looking more at styling and performance, and Ford’s Mustang helped sweep those buyers into Ford dealers en masse. While in a similar generational shake-up, Ford’s staying with the V8-powered Pony and giving fans more time with stick-shifted fun.

This seventh-generation 2024 Mustang’s powertrains will be familiar, starting with a 2.3-liter EcoBoost I4 that is mated exclusively to a ten-speed automatic. That’s right—Ford is dropping the manual transmission from its four-cylinder Mustang, but the 5.0-liter V8 powering GT models will still get the stick. Ford claims the 5.0-liter is the most powerful Coyote to date but has yet to reveal the numbers. Considering the current Coyote generates 450 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque, a figure close to 500 hp shouldn’t be out of the question.

As for changes over the current powertrain, the 5.0-liter V8 enters its fourth generation with a handful of revisions to make more power. The most obvious: dual throttle bodies. The 5.0-liter V8 now breathes through a pair of throttle bodies to supply more air while new camshafts make the most of the revised induction system.

Both powertrains feed the rear axle, which can be augmented with a Torsen limited-slip differential when optioned with the Performance Pack. That pack includes MagneRide dampers, a front strut tower brace, and larger Brembo brakes. An electronic parking brake clamps the rear rotors when it’s time to park. While the parking brake has finally become electrical, Ford worked with drift legend Vaughn Gittin Jr. to develop its electronic drift brake, an option designed to give you the look and feel of a mechanical or hydraulic hand brake.

2024 Ford Mustang interior.

Ford

That optional parking brake controller sits in a wholly new interior that departs from the retro styling seen in the last few Mustangs. The new interior sports a digital, 12.4-inch customizable instrument cluster that’s flanked by a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen. These displays can relay all of the essential instrument information needed at the track, or just tell you your speed and remind you that you’re listening to your favorite podcast. Ford didn’t depart entirely from its retro roots and included a Fox Mustang-inspired instrument cluster setting.

Aside from the drift handle and the new screens, Ford’s latest Mustang interior is supposed to look, well, modern. Base cars will see cloth seats with optional Micro Suede inserts. Premium models get an upgraded dash pad, EcoBoost models will see synthetic leather, and GT models will have leather seating. Upgrading from there is as easy as checking a box to spend more money for a compliment of color-coordinated belts, leather-wrapped steering wheels, and more.

The revised steering system promises quicker response and a better feel. Upgraded hardware in the steering column should give drivers a better and less isolated feel for the road surface.

As for the exterior, that’s obviously all new, designed to attract youngsters from Gen Z with its edgier approach while still looking to the past for inspiration. The three-panel tail lights and three-panel LED headlamps are unmistakably Mustang. The car looks wider at the rear than the current S550-generation car. The Mustang’s new nose helps improve aerodynamics with a redesigned splitter and hood vents. Ford notes this will still be available in coupe and convertible shells.

Pricing is yet to be determined and will be noted closer to launch, but it's almost safe to bet this pony’s price is going up. The current Mustang will set you back at least $28,865, which might make it the last Pony under $30,000. The new '24 Mustang is going on sale next summer.

What do you think of the 2024 Ford Mustang? Please comment below.

Wesley Wren Wesley Wren has spent his entire life around cars, whether it’s dressing up as his father’s 1954 Ford for Halloween as a child, repairing cars in college or collecting frustrating pieces of history—and most things in between.

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This is something that doesn't happen often. At an event in Detroit Wednesday, Ford unveiled the 2024 Mustang, the seventh generation of its defining Pony Car, the best-selling sports coupe on the planet, and perhaps, America's most beloved car.

Wearing the chassis code S650, this new Mustang isn't entirely new, using the platform that debuted with the S550 Mustang in 2014. So, the hard points and the greenhouse are the same as before, but there are a lot of tweaks that add up to make the S650 look and feel different than its predecessor. "We're starting from a really strong place with the current generation car," Mustang lead engineer Ed Krenz tells Road & Track. "Specifically, the platform is really fit for what we're trying to do. Let's upgrade everything a little bit where we can, but do it smartly."

The base 2.3-liter EcoBoost is all new and benefits from a dual-fuel system that uses both port and direct injection and a new twin-scroll turbocharger with an electronically controlled wastegate. The 5.0-liter V-8 is the fourth-generation version of Ford's beloved Coyote engine, now sporting a dual-throttle-body intake system fed by openings on either side of the larger front grille. Ford isn't providing numbers for either engine yet, but the EcoBoost will offer an improvement over the 330 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque of the previous model, and the V-8 should offer at least 480 hp.

Transmissions are carryover, a standard six-speed manual with auto rev-match functionality from Getrag, and Ford's own 10-speed automatic. With automatic cars, the Mustang is fit with a new feature called "Remote Rev," whereby the engine can be started and revved by pressing a button on the key fob. (It's not available on manual Mustangs for obvious reasons.)

While the strut front and integral-link rear suspension are largely the same—save for new links on cars with 19-inch wheels—Ford promises that this is the most "athletic" Mustang yet. Eddie Kahn, the vehicle engineering manager for this new Mustang says weight should be right around the same as the S550. A new steering rack with a faster ratio (15.5:1 vs 16:1) and stiffer mounting points is said to improve on the S550's (already excellent) steering feel. "It only takes 15 seconds to feel the difference in the steering between this generation and the prior generation," remarks Krenz. "In a blind taste test, it's a massive difference. There's nothing subtle."

The Performance Pack also makes a return for both the EcoBoost and GT and brings with it a strut-tower brace, a Torsen Limited-Slip Differential, staggered tires, and bigger Brembo brakes and optional MagneRide dampers. Notably, the GT Performance Pack uses six-piston Brembo calipers up front with massive four-piston calipers in the rear.

Like a lot of modern cars, the Mustang has ditched its mechanical parking brake for an electronic switch. But, some S650 models come equipped with an "Electronic Drift Brake," which progressively locks up the rear wheels alone depending on how far the driver pulls the handle. Co-developed with drift star Vaughn Gittin Jr., the EDB looks like a small traditional parking brake, though the bolts on the side can be removed for customers to fit a vertical handle.

Shared hard points make for a design that feels familiar, though Ford went for an "edgier" overall look. The biggest changes are at the extremes, with new and unique front fascias for both EcoBoost and GT models, and at the rear, with a sharp, angular taillight design and a deletion of the black plastic panel that connected the two. Expected Mustang hallmarks are present and accounted for, including the triple-segment front and rear lights, and U-shaped grille.

Inside, the S650 Mustang is dominated by its large screens for gauge cluster and infotainment system. Base models have separate screens for each, while higher-trim versions have both integrated into a shared housing. As you'd expect, there are all sorts of configurations for the gauge cluster, even including a Fox-body display. The infotainment system is a version of Ford's Sync4, though there's a Mustang-specific drive-mode menu powered by Unreal Engine used by many video games.

Pricing won't arrive until closer to the 2024 Mustang's on-sale date sometime next year. We're also eagerly anticipating performance figures.

This new Mustang comes at an interesting time for American performance cars. Just last month, Dodge showed off the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, a preview of an upcoming electric muscle car while announcing the end of the line for the current Charger and Challenger. The Mustang's oldest rival, the Chevrolet Camaro, likely won't survive beyond this current generation. Soon enough, the Mustang could be America's only internal-combustion sports coupe. Given the typically long lifecycle for Mustang models—this is only the seventh generation in nearly 60 years—and the fact that Ford, and the world, is headed towards an electric future, this could also be the last internal-combustion Mustang.

"Are we going to be able to do it forever? I doubt it," says Krenz. "But we're going to do it for now."

Chris Perkins Senior Editor Chris Perkins is the Web Editor for Road & Track magazine.

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