Ford Mustang

Sports Car, News, Vintage Car

The Stig names Ford Mustang as ultimate stunt car

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The all-new Ford Mustang has been named the ultimate stunt car by Ben Collins, aka The Stig.

Also a top Hollywood stunt driver, racing driver and former Stig (for eight years) on the BBC's Top Gear - Collins has a new film out called "Ben Collins: Stunt Driver". In the new film, the Ford Mustang fastback - powered by a 5.0-litre V8 engine - beats an array of high-performance road and competition cars during 48 hours of explosive, high-speed challenges featuring aerobatic planes, helicopter gunships and military machines.

"The point of this adventure was to find the perfect car for an epic, high octane, Hollywood-style car chase, and it's the iconic Ford Mustang that gets top billing," Collins said. "Mustang has starred in many a classic car chase during the past 50 years, and is still the stunt driver's weapon of choice to leave the bad guys standing in a cloud of tyre smoke."

Collins' movie stunt driving credits include the James Bond films Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre, as well as The Dark Knight Rises and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. Collins has also competed in Le Mans, GT and NASCAR race series.

The Mustang helped Collins evade baddies in his new film with all-new front and rear suspension systems including integral link independent rear suspension, and standard performance brake packages behind 19-inch wheels. The lightweight chassis delivers up to 0.97 g-force when cornering, says Ford. Launch Control also helps, with the 5.0-litre V8 Mustang sprinting from 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds.

"Mustang has made more than 3,700 movie appearances and has kept cinema-goers on the edge of their seats in car chases from the legendary 'Bullitt' sequence in 1968, to the first movie to feature the all-new Mustang, 'Need for Speed' in 2014," said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. "Being named the ultimate stunt car in 'Ben Collins: Stunt Driver' further cements Mustang's place as an automotive and screen icon."

The all-new Ford Mustang is now on sale in the UK now with prices starting from £29,995 (EcoBoost) and £33,995 (V8). The new DVD, Ben Collins: Stunt Driver is out this week.

Coupe, Convertible, News

Ford Mustang adopts world-first knee airbag

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The all-new Ford Mustang is the first vehicle to be equipped with a new type of knee airbag that is integrated within the lid of the glove box.

Ford says that utilising the glove box lid instead of the instrument panel helps maximise passenger space. Rather than a textile fabric airbag, the technology consists of a moulded plastic design, sandwiched between the outer and inner glove box lid surfaces.

At 46cm long and 28cm wide, the glove box airbag weighs 65 per cent less than a conventional knee airbag but offers comparable protection. In the event of a collision, a tiny gas generator inside the glove box lid inflates the bladder in 20 milliseconds, pushing the lid exterior outwards to provide leg protection. The weight reduction also improves fuel efficiency and the innovation has so far been granted 23 patents.

"This is a new way of thinking about airbags. We went back to the drawing board and in the course of a year went through hundreds of prototypes to get it just right," said Ford restraints manager Sean West. "With this design we were able to combine the functions of two separate parts into one single part to save on space, weight and components; and move the instrument panel further forward, ensuring there was more room for the front passenger."

Altogether the all-new Ford Mustang is equipped with eight airbags as standard and has been awarded the highest-possible safety standard by North American authorities. 

Available as a fastback or convertible with 5.0-litre V8 or 2.3 EcoBoost engine, it's on sale in the UK from £29,995 with right-hand drive for the first time in more than 50 years of production.

Coupe, News

Ford Apollo Edition Mustang up for auction

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Ford has created a unique, Apollo Edition Mustang to Celebrate the innovation and inspiration of Apollo Missions.

The special Mustang is set to benefit Experimental Aircraft Association youth education programmes as it goes under the hammer at the Gathering of Eagles charity event, July 23, at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015.

All proceeds from the sale of the car will benefit EAA youth education programmes, including the Young Eagles, which has provided free introductory flights to more than 1.9 million young people since 1992, helping grow the next generation of aviators.

"The Apollo programme delivered astonishing innovations in technology and achieved a national goal of landing the first human on the moon," said Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the Ford board of directors. "The entire programme was extraordinary - one of our nation's greatest technological achievements. With this year's stunning Apollo Edition Mustang, we salute that spirit of American ingenuity with the quintessential American automobile - Ford Mustang."

Design and engineering teams Led by Ford Design Manager Melvin Betancourt, transformed the 5.0-litre 'pony car' into the Apollo Edition Mustang - with 627 horsepower and 540 lb.ft of torque.

The exterior features a one-of-a-kind glossy pure white and pure black non-production paint scheme that delivers a creative connection with the NASA Apollo program. There's a carbon fibre front splitter, rear diffuser, rocker mouldings and accent treatments, along with unique LED underbody lighting to symbolise atmospheric re-entry.

Performance enhancements include a Ford Performance supercharger and shifter, X-pipe with side and rear exhaust, sport-tuned suspension, six-piston Brembo brakes and custom Forgiato 21-inch performance wheels. 

The theme carries into the cabin with exclusive interior details, including performance gauges, modified instrument cluster, unique sill plates and embroidered elements in seats, trim panels and floor mats.

The Apollo Edition Mustang was modified by MAD Industries, led by Chris Mangum. Interior enhancements were designed by Ford's Betancourt and Nicole Rush, and created in-house by Ford's design fabrication team. Additional contributors to the project include Ford Performance, Eibach Springs, Carbon 2 Carbon, BASF automotive refinish, Gibson performance exhaust, Pirelli tires, Forgiato wheels, Rigid Industries LED lighting, SourceSE by sPod, 3M window film, PIAA Corporation, Brembo, APR performance, FOCAL/The Source AV and Odyssey battery.

The Apollo Edition Mustang will be on display all week in the Ford hangar at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015.