Bad Deal: UK-Bound Ford Mustang GT Loses 41 HP, Costs Extra $25K
Even the Dark Horse makes well under the 480 horsepower of a regular V8 Mustang sold in the States.
The Ford Mustang has only been officially on sale in the U.K. for eight years. It was important to Ford to finally make its flagship available to the world, and we're sure our friends on the opposite side of the pond appreciate the thought, even if it came long overdue. Unfortunately, ever-tightening emissions laws over there have a habit of hampering performance (if not outright killing certain enthusiast offerings entirely), and you need only glance at the output numbers of the five-liter Coyote V8, as it's offered in the GT and Dark Horse trims, to see proof. Turns out British buyers will have to sacrifice some power for the privilege of right-hand drive.
Ford Great Britain published the figures today, and they look like this: 439 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque for the Mustang GT, down 41 hp and 17 lb-ft compared to its American counterpart; and 446 hp and 398 lb-ft for the Dark Horse, falling short of North American vehicles by 54 hp and 20 lb-ft.
Weirdly, Ford doesn't offer the EcoBoost Mustang in the Isles, which likely wouldn't have taken such a hit, so the cheapest pony car on offer is the GT at £55,585, or $70,352—and the Dark Horse works out to be almost $13K more than that. Some pill to swallow when Stateside buyers can get into an EcoBoost for $33,160, or a V8 coupe for $44,950.
But of course, it's much harder to find naturally aspirated eight cylinders over there, and the Mustang is still the country's cheapest vehicle with a V8, detuned though it's been. Ford indicated to Autocar that it plans on selling the no-holds-barred, 800-hp Mustang GTD to select customers in the U.K., and hopefully, it'll find a way to avoid a similar cut to output. You could say that's enough power to spare, but then excess is kind of the whole point of the GTD, isn't it?
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