Ford has unveiled the new 2013 Ford Mustang just ahead of its 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show debut. And straight off the bat, the Shelby GT500 version, with 650hp, hits a home run as the most powerful Mustang ever produced.
The new 2013 Ford Mustang might not showcase a huge update in terms of body design, but there are vast cosmetic tweaks which set it apart. There’s projector beam HID headlights with LEDs, a more aggressive upper front fascia, and a spruced up interior with optional Recaro bucket seats.
As for the model variant updates, the 2013 Ford Mustang GT gets a revised 5.0-litre V8 engine producing 313kW of power, up from 307kW. This is matched to a new Select Shift automatic transmission which has a full manual mode, i.e. it won’t change up a gear unless you tell it to.
The new 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 gets subtle styling changes to the exterior, including removable plastic foglight covers for those times when you’re really pushing it on a track, as well as a colour-coded roof as opposed to the contrast setup on the current model.
Finally, last but certainly not least is the new 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. We’ll just get straight to the point with this; it will feature an engine boasting a massive 485kW (650hp) of power, making it not only the most powerful Mustang ever, but also one of the most powerful mainstream production V8 engines around.
Full details will be revealed shortly (look out for more updates at the bottom of this article in the next 24 hours), but Ford has said the power will come from a 5.8-litre supercharged V8 derived from the current 5.4-litre unit. Top speed will crack the 200mph barrier, that’s an extremely impressive 322km/h in a car which is generally regarded as mainstream and relatively inexpensive in comparison.
To make sure all that power, and there’s a lot of it, gets to tarmac as best as possible the new 2013 Ford Mustang will come with two different suspension options, including a Performance pack with a Bilstein adaptive system providing in-car damper control matched with a Torsen limited-slip diff, and a Track pack with additional engine, transmission and differential oil coolers.
An interesting new feature to the new Mustang is the introduction of Track Apps, which uses a 4.2-inch display in the cabin to convey to the driver various acceleration times (quarter mile, 0-100 etc.), and also braking g force. It also allows the driver to monitor air-fuel mixture, and engine and transmission temperatures.
Although the Ford Mustang isn’t as popular as its main rival, the Chevrolet Camaro – so far this year 76,368 sales vs. 61,516 in the US – the new 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is sure to change that when it arrives in US showrooms during the first half of 2012.
Stay tuned for more updates as the new Mustang is yet to be fully unveiled. The LA Show starts tomorrow (Australian time).
