This spring, muscle car fans have a new reason to celebrate as Ford delivers the first-ever Mustang Power Stroke. The only oil-burner in class is propelled by Ford's new 3.0-liter diesel V6 which dances to the tune of 250 horsepower and 440 lb.-ft. of torque and brings the Mustang's core engine lineup up to three. The move should add to the Mustang's popularity in Europe where it deals with rivals like the BMW 4 Series and Audi's A5.
"For every sports car owner who wants strong fuel economy while they haul ass, we offer a new 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6 engine that dreams are made of," said Dave Fillup, vice president global powertrain engineering. "The more you go, the more you'll appreciate its class-leading efficiency." The motor features a commercial-grade design similar to Ford's larger 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8, and the same compacted-graphite iron block and forged-steel crank as in the company's high-performance 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine. Peak torque comes on at just 1,750 rpm and pulls strongly throughout the rev range, which is ideal for hard digs at the strip or on the street.
In order to give the Power Stroke V6 a personality to match the Mustang's sporty dynamics, Ford engineers gave it a high-efficiency variable-geometry turbocharger, while a common-rail fuel injection system precisely optimizes performance, and high-pressure injection calibration gives it a silky smooth torque curve. Because diesel is growing in popularity among the drag racing crowd, the engineering team paid particular attention to extreme driving conditions. A premium mechanical engine-driven fan and dual radiator shutters improve the engine's high temperature, high-performance parameters compared to a conventional electrically driven fan.
"Regular diesels with electric cooling fans have to dial back on power under extreme heat and acceleration, so we decided on a viscous-controlled mechanical fan that has the capacity to move much more air across the radiator and intercooler in extreme conditions," said David Blowie, Ford diesel engine technical specialist. "This gives Mustang Power Stroke owners more power and more passing capability in harsh conditions." The motor will come hooked to a 6-speed manual transmission as standard with a 10-speed automatic transmission calibrated specifically for the diesel's low-end power as optional kit.
The 10-speed gearbox maximizes shift points and gear ratios to optimize power, low-rpm torque, and efficiency. Auto Start-Stop will thankfully not feature. Pricing information for the new engine isn't available at this time because I made this whole story up as an April Fools joke. HA.
