Ford Mustang muscle car delivers first right hook

FORD Motor Company has started testing the first official factory-built right-hand-drive versions of the Mustang performance coupe and convertible in the pony car’s 50-year history ahead of its release in Australia next year.

The sixth generation of the US muscle car, which will fill part of the breach with the demise of the Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) sub-brand in Australia, will be sold in 25 right-hand-drive markets worldwide, including the United Kingdom and South Africa.

“Mustang engineers recently finished construction of the very first right-hand-drive sixth-generation Mustang,” Ford said in a statement released overnight to officially mark the start of right-hook testing.

“The prototype Mustang will be used to conduct various development tests in preparation for the car’s entry into the global market in the coming months.”While the FPV brand is winding down this year with the 351kW supercharged 5.0-litre V8 GT F, the Mustang is not expected to go on sale until late next year – about 12 months before Ford pulls out of manufacturing in Australia altogether and discontinues its final Falcon-based hero car, the reborn XR8.

Ford plans to sell the Mustang in Australia featuring either a 230kW turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine or a 325kW normally aspirated 5.0-litre V8.

Ford Australia has said it was yet to evaluate right-hand-drive versions of the Mustang to see how the US version’s performance numbers would translate compared with the US outputs for the vehicle.