We test its speed and endurance in the upcoming new Ford Mustang GT to Le Mans.
2024 Ford Mustang GT
The Ford Mustang is as American as apple pie and baseball, but it also holds a special place in the heart of France. Especially in this city, about a three-hour drive southwest of Paris, the world's largest automakers have gathered here every June for the world's greatest sports car races for more than a century.
I'm talking, of course, about the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a two-hour nonstop endurance test that pushes people and machines alike to their limits – and often beyond them. Ford had a lot of success with this, and they even made a movie about it, with the iconic GT40 winning the championship in the '60s, and its modern successor, the GT, taking the class title in 2016.
In 2024, Ford returns to Le Mans with a new challenger, the next-generation Ford Mustang GT3, to compete in LMGT3 with the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini.
We watched Mustang make his debut at Le Mans there, but playing in the race is only part of the story. Sometimes it's the journey and not the destination that matters, sometimes it's the opposite, but the best part of this trip is the journey and the destination. That's because we drove the seventh-generation Mustang GT from Paris to Le Mans, the first time the Australian press drove the American muscle car before it arrived there later this year.
2024 Ford Mustang GT
It's a tricky start, though, as the Mustang GT wasn't designed for the streets of Paris. The French capital is full of narrow roads, cobblestone streets, and seemingly perpetually congested highways, which isn't ideal for a 5.0-liter V8 muscle car.
The six-speed manual transmission meant I got an unplanned workout on my left leg, but after a tough hour of driving through the crowded streets, we found ourselves on the highway heading southwest towards Le Mans, the first chance to release the Coyote V8 engine under the hood.
The V8 engine is tuned to make 347kW of power and 550Nm of torque (372kW and 566Nm of torque for the limited-edition Dark Horse), which is not only powerful, but also sounds great. Electric cars may be fast (or even faster), but when the tachometer hand points to the red line, there's nothing better in the world than the roar of a V8 engine.
This becomes clear once we arrive at Le Mans and watch the Mustang GT3 in action. Compared to the more modern planar crankshaft V8 engines found in the Chevrolet Corvette and McLaren 720S, this Ford is powered by a relatively "old-school" V8 that sounds deeper, hoarse, and better on the track and on the road.
2024 Ford Mustang GT
As we moved away from Paris and closer to Le Mans, we ended up speeding down French country roads, slowing down only at each quaint hamlet to admire the occasional historic castle. The road has become more tortuous, which gives us the opportunity to experience the handling of the GT, which is a question mark after experiencing the dark horse in the United States last year. The new Hero model is designed to be the sharpest version of the Mustang, so there are concerns that Ford may not have sharpened the GT too much, opening up a bigger gap between them.
Fortunately, this fear is unfounded, and the GT is clearly one step ahead of the previous generation. The Mustang is still not the sharpest sports car on the market, but it's definitely better than ever, with direct steering, responsiveness, and a responsive chassis.
The most high-tech upgrade of this generation is reflected in the interior, where the all-new digital display combines a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.3-inch infotainment touchscreen into a single element that tilts towards the driver. While it won't be to everyone's taste, as it ditches some of the retro elements of the previous generation model, it does take the Mustang one step further into the 21st century.
2024 Ford Mustang
Depending on the settings chosen by the driver, Ford has developed six different dashboard options. The main three modes are Normal, Sport, and Track, which are inspired by GT supercars and Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs, along with Calm Mode, which provides only necessary data, such as speed, in a simplified format. The last two modes are a nod to the 1980s "Fox Body" Mustang, and the digital versions of their round analog dials are available in "Day" and "Night" modes, with the former using white graphics and the latter using a vintage green dial.
Once we arrived at Le Mans, Ford had another surprise in store for us. Paul Swift is one of Britain's top stunt drivers, and Blue Oval has teamed up with him to help showcase the potential of the Mustang's new stunt, the drift brake.
Developed by drift master Vaughn Gittin Jr, the electronic parking brake lever allows you to lock the rear wheels to allow the car to coast or turn quickly. Swift and his team of experts let us play with this new toy, quickly parking the Mustang into a parallel parking area and drifting around the track.
The 2024 Ford Mustang GT3 is unveiled at Le Mans
Not only is it a lot of fun to drive a V8 rear-wheel drive car and smoke from the tires, but drift braking also makes it easy and highlights the playful nature of the Mustang. It's the opposite of electric cars, and while die-hard fans may hate the Mach-E name, it allows Ford to stay true to the spirit of the coupe and convertible.
While there's no definite news yet, such as the Mustang coming to Australian showrooms in the second half of 2024, we already know that the six-speed manual model will start at $77,002 and the ten-speed automatic model will start at $80,902. The GT will be the only convertible model, with a V8 engine and an automatic convertible priced at $86,102.
After arriving at Le Mans from Paris, we had the opportunity to sit down and watch the new Mustang GT3 race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. One of the Proton race cars rounded out the podium, a fitting way to end our road trip, highlighting the connection between Ford, Le Mans and now the Mustang.