Ford Mustang Mach 1 for Australia
Unlike the Shelby GT350 and GT500, this track-focused pony car will be available globally – including hereUPDATED 14/10/2020 2:30pm: Ford Australia has announced what we reported on Monday – that the Ford Mustang Mach 1 limited-edition will join its line-up, with 700 examples now confirmed for local delivery from 2021. Like the 1969 original, the new Mach 1 pays homage to Chuck Yeager, who became the first pilot to break the sound barrier (Mach 1) in his Bell X-1 on this day 73 years ago. Pricing and specs will be announced closer to the car's release.
ORIGINAL STORY PUBLISHED 12/10/2020: The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 will be a global model produced in both left- and right-hand drive and therefore officially available to Australians – unlike the Shelby GT350 and GT500.
The news was confirmed to Ford Authority late last week and we understand will be officially announced by Ford Australia in the lead-up to this weekend’s Bathurst 1000, despite the company previously ruling it out for local release.
The new Ford Mustang Mach 1 (pronounced Mack, as in the truck, one) resurrects a name first used for a faster version of the Ford pony car back in 1969 and brings worthwhile powertrain, chassis and design upgrades over the Mustang Fastback GT on which it’s based.
At this stage it’s unclear how many of the more powerful, track-tuned Mustangs will be offered Down Under and when – or for how much.
But the sharper ’Stang will likely become hot property in Australia, where all 700 examples of the Mustang BULLITT limited-edition were quickly spoken for well ahead of final local deliveries in mid-2019, and where the high-revving Shelby GT350 and ballistic supercharged Shelby GT500 remain officially off-limits to Aussies.
First revealed in June following an extended teaser campaign, the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is positioned in the US between the range-topping GT350 and GT500.
In Australia – where the Mustang remains Ford’s best-selling passenger car and third most popular model behind the Ranger ute and its Everest SUV cousin, and easily the nation’s top-selling sports car despite a 35 per cent sales slump this year – the Fastback GT is priced from $64,190.
The Mustang Mach 1 borrows its 345kW/556Nm 5.0-litre Coyote V8 from the BULLITT, which makes it more powerful than the standard GT (339kW) but less so than the US version (358kW).
Like the standard Mustang GT, the Mach 1 is also available with a 10-speed auto, which should broaden its appeal even further over the manual-only BULLITT.
However, despite bringing the same outputs as the BULLITT, the Mach 1 scores the uprated Tremec 3160 six-speed manual gearbox from the Shelby GT350, which employs a twin-disc clutch and offers shorter shifts and rev-match technology.
So expect the Mach 1 to be priced anywhere between the manual-only BULLITT ($73,688) and the homegrown supercharged Mustang R-Spec ($99,616), 500 examples of which were produced by Herrod Motorsport, which has since followed up with two further 500kW-plus blown Mustangs commemorating blue oval racing legends Dick Johnson and Scott McLaughlin.
The beefier manual transmission is just one of many Shelby components that have migrated to the Mach 1, which also adopts the GT350 V8’s intake manifold, oil filter adapter and engine oil-cooler, increasing cooling capability by 50 per cent.
The 10-speed auto, meantime, will get a beefed-up torque converter and revised calibration to deliver a sportier shift schedule than the standard self-shifter, plus another air-to-oil cooler that boosts capacity by up to 75 per cent for improved cooling during prolonged track use.
The faster Mustang also gets thicker anti-roll bars, firmer front springs and stiffer rear subframe bushings, plus a rear toe-link from the GT500.
Ford’s latest MagneRide calibration, a stiffer steering I-shaft, new EPAS calibration, larger brake servo and Michelin PS4 tyres complete the chassis tweaks.
The Mach 1 is fitted with 19x9.5-inch front and 19x10.0-inch rear five-spoke Tarnished Dark-painted aluminium wheels.
US buyers of the manual Mach 1 are given the option of a Handling Package that adds a high-downforce front splitter, front bumper winglets, a new rear ‘swing’ spoiler, rear tyre spats from the GT500 and wider (10.5-inch front and 11.0-inch rear) 19-inch Magnum 500-replica wheels.
Cosmetically, the Ford Mustang Mach 1 features plenty of design cues from the original ’69 car, including a new diamond mesh hexagonal grille that incorporates two porthole air intakes that double as fog light surrounds.
Between them is a big new front air-dam, complemented by aggressive side skirts and a large rear diffuser that’s lifted from the GT500, plus dark grey or black accents on its body, mirrors and rear spoiler.
Inside, there’s white stitching, a white cue-ball shifter, new kickplates and an updated screen for the 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, plus Mach 1 badging and an engraved vehicle plate.
For the record, the manual- and LHD-only Mustang Shelby GT350 is powered by a 392kW/582kW 5.2-litre V8 with flat-plane crank dubbed Voodoo, making it Ford’s most powerful naturally aspirated sports car and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS of Mustangs.
The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, meantime, packs a 566kW/847kW supercharged 5.2-litre V8 that delivers 0-100km/h acceleration in just 3.5 seconds thanks to a new Tremec seven-speed dual-clutch auto with launch control.
Related: Limited-edition 578kW Ford Mustang revealed
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