Official NHTSA document suggests Ford is looking to bridge the gap between the base EcoBoost and the V8.
As it stands, there’s a massive gap in terms of power between the Ford Mustang EcoBoost and the beefier GT, with the two being separated by no less than 125 ponies. Not to worry as the Blue Oval might be working on a third variation of the ‘Stang to slot between the two flavors of its beloved sports car. Hagerty has discovered a document filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that could serve as a clue in regards to a mid-range Mustang in the works for the 2020 model year.
The adjacent document provides VIN decoder information and shows the 2020 Mustang as having two versions of the turbocharged four-cylinder 2.3-liter engine. One of them is the standard 310-horsepower output, while the other is a “TBD” output. With good reason, Hagerty speculates Ford is looking to up the pony power ante to allow the Mustang better compete with the Chevy Camaro and its 3.6-liter V6 engine pumping out 335 hp.
It should be easy-peasy for the folks from Dearborn to extract more oomph from the EcoBoost engine taking into account the 350-horsepower Focus RS uses the same engine. Of course, this is all speculation at the time being, but even Ford hints it’s cooking up something, with a company spokesman declaring the automaker “is always elevating Mustang and will share more exciting news this spring.”
Considering the entry-level Mustang kicks off at $26,395 while the cheapest V8 is $35,355, Ford has plenty of room to squeeze in a mid-range model to bridge the current $8,960 gap between the two models.
With spring inching closer, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out what Ford has in tow for the 2020MY Mustang. By the way, we’re still waiting for the final output numbers for the Shelby GT500, although “over 700 horsepower” already sounds extremely appealing.
Source: NHTSA via Hagerty
