Next-gen Mustang won't be electrified at launch

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

The Ford Mustang will get another generation next year, but it won’t be a hybrid, as rumoured.

The seventh-generation Ford Mustang is being worked on right now over at Ford HQ, but while rumours have long linked it with a hybrid version, it seems the current pair of four- and eight-cylinder engines will continue with the new model as they are.

That’s according to Ford Authority, which added that it is unclear if the new Mustang will benefit from any power bumps or not.

Ford's mighty Mustang Mach 1 is here, so now Kiwis can get their hands of the Mustang made from Shelby GT350 and GT500 bits.

There’s a chance Ford could make the 236kW/448Nm High Performance Package-equipped 2.3-litre turbo four the base model (which isn’t actually that much more powerful, but has a better torque spread than the standard Ecoboost), while the V8 could use the gruntier 345kW/556Nm Mach 1 engine as the starting point for the eight-cylinder models (up from 339kW/556Nm).

There’s also a chance Ford will trickle down some goodies from the Shelby parts bin, like that 567kW 5.2-litre supercharged engine or its more track-focused chassis.

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This isn’t to say Ford will never give the Mustang electrical assistance. In fact, it probably will, considering Chevrolet is building a hybrid Corvette as we speak, and it can’t resist environmental pressures forever.

Ford also won’t be giving the Mustang all-wheel drive at all, says Ford Authority, which would give the rear-driven Mustang a point of difference to the forthcoming all-wheel drive Corvettes.

Aside from the powertrain, the next Mustang is expected to get a massively redesigned interior, which might be “quite radical” compared to the current model. It will also look markedly different on the outside, with the Ecoboost model reportedly adopting a friendlier expression compared to the GT’s angry face.

In any case, we’ll hopefully see the seventh-generation Mustang before the end of the year, before it goes on sale in 2023.