CARS.COM — The updated 2018 Ford Mustang GT ups its horsepower to 460 and lowers its zero-to-60-mph time to less than 4 seconds, with changes that include a tweaked 5.0-liter V-8 engine and new 10-speed automatic transmission. Ford announced today that the extra output and 10-speed transmission pair with a new Drag Strip mode to dip the Mustang GT's 60-mph time to the sub-4-second range, which Ford says is faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera.
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Drag Strip mode is selectable like the Normal, Sport, Track and Snow/Wet modes. What's unique is how this quarter-mile mode manages the new 10-speed automatic transmission for optimum straight-line acceleration.
"In Drag Strip mode, the engine torque doesn't drop when you're shifting. You get peak engine torque and horsepower straight through thanks to our new Ford-built 10-speed transmission," Mustang chief engineer Carl Widmann said in a statement.
The GT's 5.0-liter V-8 now uses a direct-injection fuel system to help boost power, as well as torque, from 2017's 435 hp and 400 pounds-feet of torque to 2018's 460 hp and 420 pounds-feet. The sub-4-second times come with the optional Performance Package, including Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires for extra traction to manage the newfound power and torque.
Not only 5.0-liter versions get the Drag Strip mode. The turbocharged four-cylinder (EcoBoost) 2018 Mustangs also receive the driving mode and an additional 30 pounds-feet of torque versus 2017 for a total of 310 hp and 350 pounds-feet. A 2018 Ford Mustang EcoBoost with Performance Package is said to hit 60 mph in less than 5 seconds.
Despite the news, Ford isn't announcing exactly how fast the Mustang GT is to the decimal point (3.8 seconds, 3.9999999 seconds, etc.). In Cars.com's V-8 Muscle Car Challenge, a 2016 Mustang GT with manual transmission ran 4.7 seconds to 60 mph, while a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS with manual transmission hit the same in 4.3 seconds. We look forward to strapping our data-logging equipment on the 2018 and testing its zero-to-60-mph time when it goes on sale in the fall.
