Mustang reveals its next coupe due in Australia in 2023 will still have a V8

Ford has released the first pictures of the next Mustang coupe and convertible due in Australia next year and confirmed it will still have a burbling V8.

The seventh generation Mustang – the first in almost a decade – has been revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in Michigan with Ford banking on it remaining Australia’s bestselling sports coupe.

To the relief of Ford fans, the next Mustang will still have a 5.0 litre V8 and be available with a six-speed manual transmission when it goes on sale locally in late 2023.

The next American muscle machine will still be available as a GT along with a new model, to be known as the Dark Horse.

 

Ford has released the first pictures of the next Mustang coupe and convertible due in 2023 and confirmed the next generation model will still have a V8

Ford Australia said this new Dark Horse model, with a ‘specially-modified’ V8 and ‘sinister looks’, would ‘set a new benchmark for Australian street and track performance’. 

Affordable sport car sales in Australia

MUSTANG: 1,220 from January to August including 261 last month

SUBARU BRZ: 730 from January to August including 98 last month

MAZDA MX-5: 337 from January to August including 58 last month

NISSAN 370Z: 15 this year and none last month 

TOYOTA 86: One this year and none last month 

‘With the introduction of the seventh-generation Mustang, Ford Australia will add an exciting new special edition nameplate to the Mustang stable, Dark Horse,’ it said.

A four-cylinder 2.3 litre turbocharged EcoBoost will continue to be available but Ford announced no new plans for a hybrid or a fully-electric motor despite Ford chief executive Jim Farley vowing to add hybrid versions to ‘our most profitable and popular cars’ by 2026.

‘Investing in another generation of Mustang is a big statement at a time when many of our competitors are exiting the business of internal combustion vehicles,’ he said.

The next Mustang will also have a large digital screen in front of the driver, to resemble a fighter jet cockpit. 

The coupe and convertible have evolutionary styling changes, over the current model, keeping a resemblance to the original design from 1964, which was originally based on the American Ford Falcon that was also made in Australia.

The Mustang is Australia’s best-selling performance coupe with 1,220 sold since January, including 261 in August, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries data showed.

Priced from $52,590, it is leaving its smaller-engine Japanese rivals for dead, having a V8 in the range which produces 339 kilowatts of power.

Mazda has sold just 337 of the MX-5 convertible and coupe this year, including 58 last month of the four-cylinder roadster starting at $37,790.

The seventh generation Mustang - the first in almost a decade - has been revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in Michigan with Ford banking on it remaining Australia's bestselling sports coupe

The seventh generation Mustang – the first in almost a decade – has been revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in Michigan with Ford banking on it remaining Australia’s bestselling sports coupe

The next Mustang will also have a large digital screen in front of the driver, to resemble a fighter jet cockpit (pictured is an artist's impression of a right-hand drive version)

The next Mustang will also have a large digital screen in front of the driver, to resemble a fighter jet cockpit (pictured is an artist’s impression of a right-hand drive version)

Toyota has sold just one 86 model this year, with a starting price of $32,180, while Subaru has managed to sell 730 of the its BRZ from January to August, including 98 last month, despite a higher starting price of $43,505.

The coupes from Toyota and Subaru, which they jointly developed, have four cylinders.

Only 15 Nissan 370Zs have been sold this year, with none of the V6 sport cars leaving the showroom in August with a starting price of $50,490.

Australian motorists have been losing V8 options since Ford stopping making the Falcon locally in 2016, a year before Holden stopped making the Commodore in Adelaide.

Chrysler last year stopped selling passenger cars in Australia which meant motorists after a V8 could no longer get the 300 SRT muscle sedan with 350kW of sheer power.

The Mustang is the only volume-selling V8 coupe sold in Australia and the most powerful performance car under $100,000.

The Chevrolet Camaro has to be converted to right-hand drive, even though it is built on the same Zeta platform as the old Australian-designed Holden Commodore.

The coupe (pictured) and convertible have evolutionary styling changes, over the current model, keeping a resemblance to the original design from 1964, which was originally based on the American Ford Falcon that was made in Australia

The coupe (pictured) and convertible have evolutionary styling changes, over the current model, keeping a resemblance to the original design from 1964, which was originally based on the American Ford Falcon that was made in Australia

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