As the electric car era begins, there are many reasons to believe that a V8 engine Ford Mustang it may not be long for this world. With Ford announcing it will only offer EVs in Europe by 2030 it’s worth wondering if a V8 Mustang will survive after that date.
All we know for now is that an EV Mustang would need to be ready for sale in 2030 if Ford wants to continue selling Mustangs in Europe (and deliver on today’s promise). This may not seem very attractive, but you may be surprised to learn how much success Ford Europe considers the current Mustang. Having only been reintroduced into Europe in 2015, Ford now calls it the “best-selling sports coupe in the world”. Does this mean that it is a decisive product for Ford? Probably not. But it is another reason to imagine that the automaker will have to seriously consider building an electric Mustang in the shape of the current car.
Of course, Ford could continue to sell new generations of V8 Mustangs in other markets like the US – alongside an EV version that is also shipped to Europe after 2030 or at any time. In a sense, it is doing this now with Mach-E. But I think that all of this offers us some difficult programming points to work with when imagining what to expect from the next generation of Mustang – which is, again, potentially the last to offer a V8.
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If we assume that Ford is going to launch a fully electric Ford Mustang sports car in 2030, that leaves a sufficient gap between now and then for what I’m calling the lame duck generation. I would anticipate the next generation Mustang it will be a light upgrade from the current platform and obviously still offers the V8 and manual transmission that enthusiasts demand. But how much attention could this car receive when Ford engineering teams are working hard on the next electric generation of the future? What will be the budget to make it look like a new car compared to the current generation?
These can be important questions, because if this is the last generation to have a V8 engine, people will want it to be very good.
Of course, the current Mustang is incredible. It offers one of best performance value proposals in the world, is available in almost any price range, with half a dozen engine options, all of which seem capable of carrying the Mustang’s legacy very well. But will the next generation? Even if it’s just a light upgrade, a stopgap for the EV car? Is it just a series of special editions adjusted? Or will Ford ship the V8 with something we will never forget?
My hope is that Ford will save some special “last days of V8 cars” for after the introduction of the EV Mustang sports car – in end next generation, not this one. That’s when the argument for selling a V8 sports car becomes even more difficult to make and Ford really has to fight to keep the model out there in countries like the US while it dies in Europe and elsewhere.
But we’re not there yet and I don’t want to be worried about what’s to come before we need it, at least not in the specific Mustang case. At the moment, this is potentially the last opportunity for Ford to sit down and deliver its “craziest dreams” combustion Mustang. I want to imagine that it is being done with the same level of dedication that brought us the latest Ford GT, with secret basement meetings and pressure to build something that consolidates Ford’s legacy in motorsport.
Yea, resume old plans to take the Mustang to Le Mans and really move on. The next decade has the potential to be a last-minute enthusiast’s frenzy, and the reintroduction of the GT and Bronco has proven that Ford can really deliver these things. Just give Mustang the same attention.
We don’t know about the next generation of the Mustang yet, nor about any future EV versions. But of course a new Mustang is coming, and I think it’s worth pointing out what can be something very exciting – the final shape of the Mustang V8 perhaps – while there’s still time.
