Liter have it: 2011 Ford Mustang gets its 5.0 back

Ford Mustang 5.0L V8:  (Source: Ford)

Ford’s official announcement yesterday that the Mustang GT will once again wear a 5.0 badge has many Mustang faithful feeling pretty happy.    The V8, which pumps out 412 hp at 6,500 rpm and 390 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm, was previewed to journalists on December 17 at Ford’s Product Development Center showroom.  Many of you heard about this about two seconds after we did when information about the V8 spread around social media sites like wildfire.

If you want to see more of the 5.0L engine and the 2011 Ford Mustang GT, then be sure to check out this linked slideshow.

While I waited for the preview to take place, I looked around the showroom and wondered about all the great reveal parties that must have taken place there over the years.  This particular debut was a low budget affair, as are most car reveals these days, with two cars under wraps, chairs lined up in near rows and some loudspeakers.

The event started with some historical Mustang commercials.  Just to set the mood for this article, I have embedded a few Mustang commercials for your enjoyment.  You just have to love the fantastic 7.9% promotional financing they are offering!  Where do I sign up?



After the Mustang commercials were over, it was pretty clear what was next:  We were going to see the return of the 5.0 V8!  Dave Pericak, Mustang Chief Engineer, has this to say about the new engine:

What we've done is taken a brand new five liter engine it's all aluminum, with TiVCT technology, or twin independent variable cam timing, that's producing 412 horsepower, and 390 ft.lbs of torque, and married that up with a brand new six speed transmission, and we've also made some aerodynamics improvements in the vehicle, all of that together is going to give you a sports car that again produces 412 horse and gets 25 miles per gallon.

The wraps were lifted off the 2011 Mustang GT and the sound of the new engine being wrung out on a dyno screamed from the loudspeakers.  Nice.  My friend Sam-I-Am Abuelsamid over at Autoblog has written up a nice "Deep Dive" on the 5.0 motor and can read all about it in this linked post.

The 2011 Mustang GT also receives some additional updates to keep things fresh.  Some of the highlights include a Brembo brake package will be available to help reign in all that power,  upgrades to the instrument cluster, rear-head rests that are deployable, you can move them out of the way when you're not using them for rear passengers,  integrated spotter mirrors, that allows you to see in the blind spot.  Ford’s MyKey system will also be available. so if a parent actually wants to let their kid drive their Mustang, they can limit the speed and radio volume, etc.

The second car that was under wraps was the new Boss 302R, but that car deserves another post.  For now I will leave you with this great footage of the 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0L GT going through its paces...



Ford Motor Company covered my expenses so that I was able to attend its media preview.

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