Ford Reveals Why Mustang GT And Mach 1 Lost Horsepower

An all-new Ford Mustang will be arriving soon. The seventh-generation pony car, internally called the S650, will arrive as a 2024 model. Until then, the sixth-gen Mustang remains on sale. We recently reported the Dodge Challenger stole the No. 1 sales spot from the Mustang in the so-called pony car wars for 2021. The Chevy Camaro, as expected, came in at a distant third. An all-electric Camaro or, alternatively, an all-electric muscle sedan, is said to be in the works.

But it's the Mustang that Ford should be worried about as a younger generation of buyers seems less interested. The Mustang Mach-E has partially stolen the spotlight. Yet there's another possible reason why Mustang sales have faltered: a 10 horsepower drop in the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 found in the Mustang GT and Mach 1.

Speaking to Muscle Cars & Trucks, Mustang Marketing Manager Jim Owens explained why the naturally aspirated V8's output dropped: CO₂ regulations. "Both the Mach 1 and GT, we had new LEV III requirements and what we had to do to meet those requirements was reduce HP and torque a little bit," he said. "You don't wanna take out horsepower but we gotta be compliant to sell… you won't feel the performance difference of it unless you're a 10/10 driver."

There are some things that are simply unavoidable. However, there are some solutions Ford can offer customers. "I know Ford Performance is always looking at different kinds of calibrations that we sell on the aftermarket… we have performance packages that are post-title, 50-state legal and CARB approved that can take you up there… I'm sure the FPP engineers are working on this current version of it."