Automotive News, Media & Press - 2011 Mustang V6 - first car to achieve 300+hp and 30+mpg

New Mustang V-6 With 305 HP Certified at 31 MPG Highway; Makes History as First Car With 300+ HP and 30+ MPG
12:01a ET March 4, 2010 (PR NewsWire)

New 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 final fuel economy certified by EPA this week at 31 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city.

On sale this spring, Mustang with new 3.7-liter V-6 achieves 305 hp with available six-speed automatic transmission; first car ever to achieve 300-plus horsepower and 30-plus mpg.

New Mustang already has more than 11,000 orders, half for the new V-6.

The 2011 Ford Mustang today breaks new ground, cracking the record books as not only the most fuel-efficient Mustang ever, but also the first production car in history to produce more than 300 horsepower and more than 30 mpg highway.

The Mustang's official EPA ratings - completed this week - certify that models equipped with the 305-hp 3.7-liter V-6 and available six-speed automatic transmission achieve 31 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city. The standard six-speed manual transmission is rated at 30 mpg on the highway and 19 mpg in the city.

"The Mustang engineering team aimed high and, through hard work, achieved fuel economy numbers that elevate Mustang into a class by itself," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development.

"At no other time in Mustang's history - for that matter, in automotive history - have we been able to talk about 305 horsepower and 31 miles per gallon. The Mustang truly is a no-compromises sports car," said Kuzak.

Mustang is powered by a lightweight, all-aluminum 3.7-liter dual-overhead-cam (DOHC) V-6 engine that uses advanced engineering to deliver its combination of power and economy. Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) adjusts the valvetrain in microseconds depending on driver inputs, further contributing to the engine's overall efficiency.

The fact that Mustang achieves its top fuel economy rating with the convenience of an automatic transmission also marks a shift in conventional wisdom. Ford engineered a modern six-speed automatic transmission with carefully calibrated gear ratios and shift programs to maximize economy, while still delivering high-horsepower driving fun.

"Advanced powertrains like our Ti-VCT V-6 and six-speed automatic really speak to the future of Mustang," says Barb Samardzich, Ford vice president of Global Powertrain Engineering. "We've proven that, using technology, Ford can deliver both power and fuel economy."

In addition to engine improvements, upgrades to Mustang's body, powertrain and chassis design contribute to the higher fuel economy numbers for 2011. Examples include:

New Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) system eliminates the drag of an engine-operated hydraulic power steering pump

Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions allow lower cruising revs without sacrificing off-the-line performance

Aerodynamic changes include improvements like a new front fascia, tire spats on the rear wheels, modified underbody shields, a taller air dam and an added rear decklid seal

The new 2011 Mustang already has more than 11,000 orders. Half of all the nationwide orders are for the car's fuel-efficient 3.7-liter V-6 engine. The 2011 Mustangs are also being equipped with record levels of technology, giving customers the option of choosing navigation, high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps and rearview cameras.

The new 2011 Mustang goes on sale this spring and will be built at the AutoAlliance International Plant in Flat Rock, Mich.

Pretty impressive for a sixxer pony....I must admit. Especially when you consider that this car weighs in at only a bit over 3400 lbs. I'm seriously considering it as a replacement for my current DD.

Wow these cars are looking pretty damned good, the v6 that is. 307 hp? Why would you need the v8? I would like the 6 with a matching pair of turbos, and the Gt500 body work...or is this the Super Snake? I like the other hood better, the one with the big plastic heat extractor. What can i say, im not a mustang guy.
http://www.gotbroken.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2010-Ford-Shelby-GT500-Super-Snake-Front-Side-Picture-588x441.jpg

There's that electric power steering again...yay.

The idea of a twin turbo six is neat...but it just isn't right in a mustang. That's the only problem i have with this car...i've never approved of six cylinders in a mustang or camaro. Yeah i know, it sells...but i still don't like it.

At least it's good on gas...I must give them credit for that.

with aggressive factory suspension options it should be a decent performer. add a few bolt ons and watch out factory 370z, etc.

i like what the big 3 have done. nissan, toyota, honda TRY to be performance leaders, and american makes have put them back in their place. 2nd tier performers.

go ford!

What does Camaro get? It makes about the same power and it just gets a few mpg less right? Ive never liked V8 mustangs, they have just always seemed inefficient. I mean my buddy would brag and brag about his 98 GT and when we finaly went to the dyno, he only made like 215 rwhp, my WS6 was stock at the time and made 303ish i dont remember exactly. And this dude we were with had a 98 v-6 camaro and it put down close to 180 but i dont remember what it was. This was years ago so forgive me if my numbers seem off. I was just never impressed with them. Ever. And they JUST now get a 6 speed, up to date all the GTs had 5 speeds. Come one! In freaking 2009? Even civics have a 6th gear. This may all change though with the 5.0 this year, we'll have to watch and wait.

Still a nice engine and a good swap candidate. not sure what id swap it into. How bout a Fusion? This 6 with twin turbos in a Fusion would be a cool car. Maybe they can make a Fusion SHO.

What does Camaro get? It makes about the same power and it just gets a few mpg less right? Ive never liked V8 mustangs, they have just always seemed inefficient. I mean my buddy would brag and brag about his 98 GT and when we finaly went to the dyno, he only made like 215 rwhp, my WS6 was stock at the time and made 303ish i dont remember exactly. And this dude we were with had a 98 v-6 camaro and it put down close to 180 but i dont remember what it was. This was years ago so forgive me if my numbers seem off. I was just never impressed with them. Ever. And they JUST now get a 6 speed, up to date all the GTs had 5 speeds. Come one! In freaking 2009? Even civics have a 6th gear. This may all change though with the 5.0 this year, we'll have to watch and wait.

Still a nice engine and a good swap candidate. not sure what id swap it into. How bout a Fusion? This 6 with twin turbos in a Fusion would be a cool car. Maybe they can make a Fusion SHO.

The 2010 V6 Camaro is 17/29.

What does Camaro get? It makes about the same power and it just gets a few mpg less right?The 2010 V6 Camaro is 17/29.The Camaro's V6 makes great power as well it's just that the car is so damn heavy and it holds it back a bit.





Still a nice engine and a good swap candidate. not sure what id swap it into. How bout a Fusion? This 6 with twin turbos in a Fusion would be a cool car. Maybe they can make a Fusion SHO.Well the new Taurus is similar to the Fusion underneath (I think?) and it comes with a twin turbo 3.7L V6 so at least some of the parts are out there for a Mustang V6TT. :devil:

The Camaro's V6 makes great power as well it's just that the car is so damn heavy and it holds it back a bit.

In all truth, it could be the weight of the Camaro that holds it to 29mpg...the engine may be capable of 30+ in a lighter car.

In all truth, it could be the weight of the Camaro that holds it to 29mpg...the engine may be capable of 30+ in a lighter car.Also true. :nod:

I am waiting for 400 HP and 40 MPG...:D

I am waiting for 400 HP and 40 MPG...:DOh I'm way passed that now in my C6, over 440hp (at the crank) and 50+mpg showing on the Driver Information Center....downhill with my foot off the gas of course. :D ;)
Truth is I have seen over 31mpg on the highway at over 65+mph in this car and that was on the way home from the track after running high 10s/11.0s all day. :drive:

Oh I'm way passed that now in my C6, over 440hp (at the crank) and 50+mpg showing on the Driver Information Center....downhill with my foot off the gas of course. :D ;)
Truth is I have seen over 31mpg on the highway at over 65+mph in this car and that was on the way home from the track after running high 10s/11.0s all day. :drive:

BS! your gas guzzling V8 wouldnt lucky to get 10mpg, now send you car to me so i can verify your testing...........

LOL. Well I think must of us with more recent model V8 powered cars know that they are capable of MPG numbers well above their rated average. Even my lowly 5 speed GT was capable of 28 mpg when it was stock....despite being rated at 24. That being said, I have to wonder how far past the rated numbers these new sixxer models can actually achieve on real world highways. Hell, my wife has a Versa that's rated at 34 mpg, but she never sees that kind of mileage efficiency because she can't keep her foot out of the right pedal (phantom power rage from her days of owning a V8 powered car :D).

BS! your gas guzzling V8 wouldnt lucky to get 10mpg, now send you car to me so i can verify your testing...........:lol: :devil:

Let's see any foreign car company achieve that! :usa:

Let's see any foreign car company achieve that! :usa:

I mean... not that hard I would imagine. :eyes:

I mean... not that hard I would imagine. :eyes:I would imagine that it's not all that hard either yet I'm still not seeing any. :huh: ;)
Just as I have also yet to see one that has been able to produces a car that:

runs high 11s
goes 190+mph
pulls over .90g on a skidpad
rides relatively comfortably/quietly with AC, power everything, room for two adults and ample storage space
gets over 30mpg on the highway
costs under $49k (even less after rebates/discounts)

I would imagine that it's not all that hard either yet I'm still not seeing any. :huh: ;)
Just as I have also yet to see one that has been able to produces a car that:

runs high 11s
goes 190+mph
pulls over .90g on a skidpad
rides relatively comfortably/quietly with AC, power everything, room for two adults and ample storage space
gets over 30mpg on the highway
costs under $49k (even less after rebates/discounts)

:cry: And we aren't seeing any 300hp+ cars that get over 30mpg from GM either. Does that mean that Ford is now better than GM in your eyes? I suppose that you think no foreign manufacturers are capable of making such a car? I'm all for being patriotic, but that's a bit much. And as for the reference to the Corvette, I love Corvettes... not sure what you're getting at.

:cry: And we aren't seeing any 300hp+ cars that get over 30mpg from GM either. Does that mean that Ford is now better than GM in your eyes? I suppose that you think no foreign manufacturers are capable of making such a car? I'm all for being patriotic, but that's a bit much. And as for the reference to the Corvette, I love Corvettes... not sure what you're getting at.

The point is that it's not that they can't, it's that they don't.
When they try to do such, they're smaller (more efficient) engines actually hurt them.

I mean... not that hard I would imagine. :eyes:

Then why don't they do it? The only foreign car I can think of that even comes close is the Nissan Z but it's only rated at 26 mpg highway, about the same as what our V8s get.

:cry: And we aren't seeing any 300hp+ cars that get over 30mpg from GM either. Does that mean that Ford is now better than GM in your eyes? I suppose that you think no foreign manufacturers are capable of making such a car? I'm all for being patriotic, but that's a bit much. And as for the reference to the Corvette, I love Corvettes... not sure what you're getting at.

GM does make a car with 300+ hp and 30 mpg... the Vette. But in some aspects, yes, Ford is superior to GM. Take management for example, Ford wins hands down. Even the biggest GM fanboy will admit that GM was mismanaged for years.

CAFE is going to force all the makes into the same little tiny car bottle. 2 passenger jelly beans with 1.0 liter turbo diesels.

CAFE is going to force all the makes into the same little tiny car bottle. 2 passenger jelly beans with 1.0 liter turbo diesels.

Not necessarily. CAFE is a corporate average, so if a car company sells a lot of hybrids, flex fuel cars and economy cars then they can still make some big cars and cars with big engines. BTW, even if a company fails to meet CAFE standards, it's not like they go out of business, they just have to pay a fine. How do you think Ferrari meets CAFE standards in America every year? They don't, they pay the fine, pass it along to the consumer, and continue to sell their cars.

Im not impressed, my modded cobalt ss has done this for years, 300 WHEEL horsepower and 35mpg highway. Heck even some 6 speed LS1s can do this with a tune. As for a stock car, the 09 Cobalt SS with the GM stage 1 kit does it too.

:cry: And we aren't seeing any 300hp+ cars that get over 30mpg from GM either.GM does make a car with 300+ hp and 30 mpg... the Vette.Exactly.




I suppose that you think no foreign manufacturers are capable of making such a car?Ahh the old "oh we could do that if we really wanted to, we simply choose not to though" response. :lol:
Sort of reminds me of the guys in junior high school that used to claim that they could bang the hottest girl in school if they wanted to, but they just "didn't want to" so they passed. :jest:

It's a feat, a true accomplishment...if it was so easy to do, then they would.

:cry: And we aren't seeing any 300hp+ cars that get over 30mpg from GM either. Does that mean that Ford is now better than GM in your eyes? I suppose that you think no foreign manufacturers are capable of making such a car? I'm all for being patriotic, but that's a bit much. And as for the reference to the Corvette, I love Corvettes... not sure what you're getting at.

Several people on Camaro5 have gotten as high as 32mpg in their 2010 v6 Camaro.

impressive for the new Mustang V6 :) i like the new mustang redesign. As for other cars getting good mileage my car is putting 409rwhp and can still pull 31-33mpg highway at 65-75mph

The Camaro's V6 makes great power as well it's just that the car is so damn heavy and it holds it back a bit.





Well the new Taurus is similar to the Fusion underneath (I think?) and it comes with a twin turbo 3.7L V6 so at least some of the parts are out there for a Mustang V6TT. :devil:

The new Taurus is a rebadged Volvo S80, the Fusion is a rebadged Mazda6, neither car was actually developed for Ford, nor in house by Ford. Most of their cars are rebadges their Jap or Euro sub companie's, the Mustang, Ranger, and F150 being exceptions off the top of my head.

On topic though, looks like the new Mustang may do better than compete with the new Camaro.

well my turbo 4.6 4v can easily get 30mpg if i drive it easy enough... but that isnt EPA certified. and neither are any other v8's. "i can get 'this' or 'that'" isnt epa certified.

chevy cobalt = 260hp/30mpg---- EPA estimated
chevy corvette= 436hp/26mpg--EPA
chevy camaro = 426hp/24mpg---EPA

we all get better then EPA if we want to. but epa certified is what it is. nothing else is.

Agreed, I thought I already made it clear on the first page...........a car's rated average mpg and the "best" mpg it's capable of are two different things. Just about every car made these days can achieve mileage better than its official rating. So if your car was rated at 25 mpg, but achieves up to 30 mpg.......it's safe to assume that a car that's rated at 30 mpg will be capable of quite a bit more than 30 mpg. I honestly don't know what all the "my car makes a kajillion HP and still gets 40 mpg" stroking in here is all about.

The problem too is the damn weight; The new Camaro is 200lbs too heavy. Ford Mustang is still low on weight while Challenger is the heavier.

Same GM V6 engine in the lighter Mustang would do same mpg..

GM was mismanaged for years and now they have a chance to listen;

THE NEW CAMARO IS TOO HEAVY, it will get beat by the new Mustang in performance(straigth line and cornering), fuel economy and finally by sale numbers. If GM dont listen to people for the new Camaro and dont try to improve it, we might end up facing 2002 again...end of Camaro.

I love the LS series engine and I will get a 2010 camaro in a few years, but when the new 5.0l will be out, everyone will be astonished by the hp/liter ratio and how better it is than the 6.2l from GM because of the DOHC and the 4v bla bla bla...

I dont give a shit because I know the tremendous potential of the LS engines, but the average car guy dont, and dont give a shit. They'll just brag about how his small 5.0l beats a 6.2l....

I hope GM will respond quickly to this 5.0l Mustang!!

The problem too is the damn weight; The new Camaro is 200lbs too heavy. Ford Mustang is still low on weight while Challenger is the heavier.

Same GM V6 engine in the lighter Mustang would do same mpg..

GM was mismanaged for years and now they have a chance to listen;

THE NEW CAMARO IS TOO HEAVY, it will get beat by the new Mustang in performance(straigth line and cornering), fuel economy and finally by sale numbers. If GM dont listen to people for the new Camaro and dont try to improve it, we might end up facing 2002 again...end of Camaro.

Holden is already revising the Zeta chassis for better fuel economy and to make it lighter. They are tossing out as much metal as they can and maintain it's crash rating. The Camaro will get lighter.

Several people on Camaro5 have gotten as high as 32mpg in their 2010 v6 Camaro.

fuckin stole my avatar!

fuckin stole my avatar!

Actually I've had it for a few years here, just never was real active since I dont have an LSx ride yet. (I'd like to get a 05+ Corvette but I have to pay off my Dodge Dakota first)

Holden is already revising the Zeta chassis for better fuel economy and to make it lighter. They are tossing out as much metal as they can and maintain it's crash rating. The Camaro will get lighter.

If that's true then that's great.

when the new 5.0l will be out, everyone will be astonished by the hp/liter ratio and how better it is than the 6.2l from GM because of the DOHC and the 4v bla bla bla...

the average car guy dont, and dont give a shit. They'll just brag about how his small 5.0l beats a 6.2l....



Also all the car mags will eat this up and will push it hard through the media.

its crazy to think that the fox 5.0 had 205 hp and only got 17mpg. the new v6 has 300 hp and gets 30 mpg. technology, ya gotta love it

its crazy to think that the fox 5.0 had 205 hp and only got 17mpg. the new v6 has 300 hp and gets 30 mpg. technology, ya gotta love it

Interesting..........

5.0L: 225hp, 17 city/24 highway-ish
3.7L: 305hp, 19 city/31 highway

While that increase in numbers may seem impressive on the surface, over 25 years of technological progress has yielded a whopping 2mpg increase in city fuel economy. That, and when you put an LX 5.0L next to one of these new 3.7L Mustangs, believe it or not it will be a driver's race.

Color me as not that impressed.

Interesting..........

That, and when you put an LX 5.0L next to one of these new 3.7L Mustangs, believe it or not it will be a driver's race.

Color me as not that impressed.


one runs 14's, the other should run 13's. not sure thats much of a race.

The problem too is the damn weight; The new Camaro is 200lbs too heavy. Ford Mustang is still low on weight while Challenger is the heavier.

Same GM V6 engine in the lighter Mustang would do same mpg..

GM was mismanaged for years and now they have a chance to listen;

THE NEW CAMARO IS TOO HEAVY, it will get beat by the new Mustang in performance(straigth line and cornering), fuel economy and finally by sale numbers. If GM dont listen to people for the new Camaro and dont try to improve it, we might end up facing 2002 again...end of Camaro.



my bet is a (GM)DI 3.6 would get BETTER than 30 in a stang. there are aero improveents to the stangs underbody as well as weight.

thats sweet