Pro drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr shows off his 2015 Mustang drift car in awesome snow drift video.
You don’t really need an excuse to tear around a snowy drift course in a 2015 Mustang race car when you’re pro noon Vaughn Gittin Jr, but he and his team came up with one anyway. The video below shows the pro drifter man handling his 2015 drift Mustang in the snow, but the point of the video is actually to show off the car’s new livery… Yeah right…
We can’t tell you much else about the Mustang apart from it has a V8 from Ford Racing, rear-wheel drive (obviously), Brembo stoppers, a mad bodykit from RTR and some shouty green wheels.
With the weather finally warming up, we’re thinking about fun in the sun, trips up the coast, and blasting down the beach boardwalk.
Keeping that in mind, here’s a look at five hot droptops that might be on your radar this year if you’re the type who likes to drive al fresco.
5. BMW 4-Series
BMW 4-Series Convertible
BMW’s 4-Series has a well-deserved reputation for being a great handling car (we’ve driven the coupe and can verify that). It also has a well-deserved reputation for getting pricey with options. That said, if you can afford it (base price: about $50K), you’ll have a convertible that welcomes corners.
4. 2015 Ford Mustang
2015 Ford Mustang Convertible
Newly redesigned for 2015, the Mustang does away with the live rear axle and offers a new engine choice and a revamped interior to go along with the new exterior. After 50 years, the ‘Stang is still going strong, and we think the convertible version of this generation will be good enough to expand beyond Florida rental-car fleets.
3. Jaguar F-Type
Jaguar F-Type S
It isn’t cheap (starts just $70,000, but then, sexiness of this order rarely is. It has the go-fast bits (up to 495 horsepower) to back up its looks, too. Jaguar has been known for producing sexy roadsters over the years, and this is one of the sexiest.
4. Mazda Miata
2014 Mazda Miata
This performance bargain remains as iconic as ever, and it’s even available with a power hardtop. It’s one of the best-handling cars under $30,000 and after 25 years, its earned its place in the heart of every car-lover out there.
1. Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible
We love the current iteration of the Corvette, but some people don’t want to be cooped up (pun fully intended). Well, no worry, for if you want the Stingray’s big power (up to 460 ponies) and fun in the sun, you can have both. You’ll need deep pockets, but who ever said going topless was cheap?
The 2015 Ford Mustang holds a lot of promise: independent rear suspension, a turbocharged four-cylinder engine option, and a completely new structure–all huge boons to the sports car fan. But what if your Mustang enthusiasm tends toward the straight strip variety? There’s plenty to love there, too, from the 5.0-liter V-8 in the GT to the recently announced line lock feature that makes burnouts easier.
But if you should choose to drag race your 2015 Mustang, know that you’ll void the warranty.
What, you ask? How? Why?
After noticing some fine print at the bottom of Ford’s video announcing and explaining the line lock feature, which read “Racing your vehicle will void your warranty,” Motor Authority decided to follow up and see just what that meant.
Basically, it means exactly what it says: race your Mustang and you can expect the warranty to be void.
But what, exactly, is racing? Brian Cotter, global Mustang communications coordinator, wrote via email, “If you are using this feature in an actual race (ex. at a drag strip vs. your neighbor’s Camaro) this would create a problem from a warranty standpoint.”
Cotter further explained, “[T]here is nothing wrong with testing the capabilities of the Mustang in a non-race environment. You could, for instance, test your quarter-mile time on a closed-course. This would be permissible because you aren’t competing against any other car OR against a predetermined time, etc.”
Still not quite satisfied, we asked for clarification, noting the enthusiasm with which Mustang chief engineer Dave Pericak and stability control engineer Scott Mlynarczyk when talking about the new line lock system offering a feature that allows Mustang drivers to maximize their performance at the track.
In the video, Mlynarczyk says, “We had one goal in mind, with the Mustang user who takes this to the track, and to provide a feature that we haven’t seen out there in the field before.”
Pericak adds more color to the idea, “Mustangs have a huge heritage of going out on the track. Our customers take it out on the weekends, they have fun with it. So, line lock is another example of where we’re going to allow our customers to do what they want to do. They want to take this car, they want to go to the track, they want to have fun, and this is going to allow them to do that. It’s going to be another advantage when you’re on the track versus the [inaudible].”
You’d be forgiven if you heard that and thought it meant Ford had given its blessing to Saturday night grudge matches at the local strip. But you’d be wrong.
The line lock feature was clearly designed to help Mustang buyers to extract maximum performance “when you’re on the track versus” just about anything. But using the feature for that intended purpose voids the warranty.
To be clear, simply using the line lock feature on private property, or even at a drag strip provided there’s no competitor in the other lane or a purse on the line, will not void the warranty.
Cotter clarified in his e-mail, “Racing (ex. in a bracket-style competition at a drag strip) would be an issue; testing the capabilities of the Mustang at a test-and-tune day where there is no incentive for fastest quarter mile times (etc.) is permissible. You can have plenty of fun at a track without entering the realm of ‘racing.’ Issues would arise when you are specifically competing against other cars ‘wheel to wheel.’ Testing the capabilities of the Mustang is not an issue.”
How do you get a 2015 Ford Mustang to the top of the Empire State Building? For its ongoing celebration of the Mustang’s 50th birthday, Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] decided to recreate a classic 1964 publicity stunt and hoist a shiny new pony car to the building’s 86th-floor observation deck. That took some creative thinking, and some creative destruction.
Ford worked with Romulus, Michigan-based DST Industries–the same company it collaborated with on that original 1965 attempt–on the project. The team determined that the lift would be too high for a portable crane, and that the Empire State’s spire would make a helicopter delivery impossible. That’s why Ford and DST decided to employ the same method used to get that original Mustang to the top of the building: chop it up.
The team measured elevators and doors in the building, then used a scale-model Mustang to plan cut lines. Two leftover prototypes were used, one acting as a donor so technicians could determine where to make the cuts. Carts were then custom built for the body sections, then loaded up and placed in a mockup of the smallest of the three elevators the car bits would have to ride in. The sections were then weighed, and crews practiced assembling them, pit crew style.
Speed was needed, as the Empire State Building’s observation deck is only closed for six hours a day, from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. After crews finish assembling it, the Triple Yellow Mustang will be on display April 16-17, coinciding with the 2014 New York Auto Show. At 2:00 a.m. April 18, it will be disassembled and removed.
via Motor Authority
The yearly automotive shindig in Detroit is now in the books–for the press, at least. Soon, the public will get its chance to walk the halls and see the newest sheet metal coming to a stop light near you. So what should you be sure to see if you’re headed to Cobo? These are our favorite cars of the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.
While not the most powerful, nor the most daringly styled, the 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe is just about flawless in its proportions, details, and execution. This is a car we expect to hold its looks for decades to come–a future classic.
Like a hot hatch with some off-road intent, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG is an unusual but impressive little vehicle. If it’s anything like the CLA45 AMG it shares much of its running gear with, it’ll also be a hoot to drive.
Can’t decide between a coupe and a convertible? The 2014 Porsche 911 Targa is your answer. As a bonus, it comes with a robotic concierge that answers your desire to change between closed-roof and open-air cruising with an intricate dance of moving panels.
Completely out of left field for Kia, the GT4 Stinger concept is a fantastic exercise in simple lines and themes coming together to create a unique, intriguing, and beautiful concept. If this is the brand’s take on a Hyundai Genesis Coupe-like sports car, count us in.
Sharing more in the way of mechanical bits and appearance themes with the previous Corvette ZR1 than the last Z06, the new 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 promises extreme performance to go with its in-your-face looks. We can’t wait until we can get one on track.
We’re not usually huge fans of crossovers, but this two-door concept just exudes elegance and sophistication. Once again proving the merits of simple, straightforward design, the Volvo Concept XC Coupe is perhaps the first crossover we’d call truly head-turning for its beauty.
The muscle car is back, and while it hasn’t lost any of its muscle, it has gained some legitimate green cred thanks to a punchy turbocharged four-cylinder engine option. The 2015 Ford Mustang, aside from being massively upgraded in terms of suspension and chassis, is also one good-looking vehicle in the real world. Expect this one to be a massive hit with buyers when it hits the market later this year.
With looks that come off like a scaled-down S-Class, some very interesting technology inside, and one of the best interiors we’ve ever seen in a mainstream luxury sedan, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class promises to redefine affordable luxury in the modern era. You’ll want to take this one in from every angle.
Not every angle is all that flattering for the latest high-performance coupe from Lexus, but with the 450-horsepower V-8 under the hood and LFA-inspired details inside and out, the 2015 Lexus RC F has us hopeful for a truly world-class sports car driving experience.
The exterior looks like a WRX with a big wing on it, but we’re OK with that–the new shape of performance at Subaru is quickly growing on us. Add in the 2015 Subaru WRX STI’s 305-horsepower engine, updated SI-Drive powertrain management system, and the iconic blue/gold color scheme, and you have a rally-inspired bit of fun we’re aching to drive.
Despite its complex, faceted shape and wild styling, the next Nissan Maxima may end up looking quite a lot like the Nissan Sport Sedan Concept. At least, that’s what Nissan is telling the world. We’ll believe it when we see it, but we want to believe.
For our entire collection of Detroit Auto Show news, videos, live photos, and more, be sure to visit our 2014 Detroit Auto Show page.
No more leaked images, this is the real deal. Ford lift the lid on the brand new 2015 Ford Mustang.
After all of the speculation, all of the spy shots, all of the leaked images and all of the hype, the brand new 2015 Ford Mustang is here. Ford fanboys, take your hats off now. The new Mustang is here with a new sharp suit, a new four-cylinder Ecoboost engine, and, perhaps most importantly, a suspension design that isn’t from the sixties.
At the back there’s a new sophisticated independent rear suspension setup rather than a sketchy live rear axle. The front suspension has also been changed quite dramatically compared to the current car, a double-ball joint independent front end with MacPherson struts replaces the reverse-L of the current car. This is important if you want to go around corners without crashing. Or compete with European cars. Apparently the Ford engineers benchmarked the new Mustang against the BMW M3 and Porsche 911 – blimey.
Under the bonnet there’s a selection of new or revised engines. The base V6 model uses a 3.7liter naturally aspirated V6 producing around 300hp, next up there’s the 2.3liter Ecoboost four-cylinder developing 310hp, and the big daddy 5.0liter V8 produces more than 420hp. All engines send power to the rear wheels, obviously, through either a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox.
In the middle of the car there’s a new, more up-market feeling interior with all of the classic muscle car-inspired looks that you could ever want. A long strip of (real) metal spans across the dashboard and there’s leather on the dash and central stack, too. Aircraft-inspired toggle switches and controls complete the look. In terms of quality and feel the interior is miles ahead of the 2014 car, but there is still some nastier looking plastics around the transmission tunnel and door panels to remind you that the Mustang is the working class hero’s supercar not some posh car built to ferry bankers and accountants from their dreary offices to their favourite swanky ‘lounge bar’ – or something.
The Mustang is still undoubtedly a typical American muscle car in terms of style. It’s big, it’s brash and it doesn’t look subtle at all. But we reckon it’s a fantastic looking car, the lines toward the rear of the car are sooo smooth, and we like the intricate little details in the rear tail lights. The front of the car is typically aggressive with the classic Mustang grille and those razor sharp headlights.
Overall, it’s a great looking car, and we suspect that many Mustang shoppers won’t be interested so much in the technology or the performance, but more the car’s styling and the whole ‘burnouts when the cops aren’t looking and drag between the lights’ theme that the iconic Ford muscle car represents.
Ford will keep performance figures, including 0-60 times, close to its chest until some stage during 2014. But the new V8 Mustang supposedly features a launch control mode to maximise traction off the line, and is expected to hit 60mph in under five seconds.
Now watch the videos to learn about how the new Mustang was born…
With the launch of the new 2015 Mustang less than twenty-four hours away more leaked images hit the web.
The new 2015 Ford Mustang is perhaps the worst kept secret of 2013. Ford has planned the official reveal for the fifth of December but the car has already appeared online through a series of leaked images showing the car in the December issue of AutoWeek magazine. But those images are all blurry and mysterious looking, so maybe the big surprise hasn’t been given away after all…
Er, no, the jig is sadly up, Ford. Because,TIMEhas now posted official, legitimate, high resolution images of the new Mustang on its website. And this confirms two things; one, the new pony car is one handsome devil, sharing styling cues with the awesome Evos Concept and classic Mustangs, and two, Ford’s launch of the new Mustang has been a total shambles.
Still, at least none of the technical details have been leaked yet, probably. We know that there will be three engine options initially, a 300hp 3.7liter V6, a 310hp 2.3liter turbo four-cylinder and a 5.0liter V8 pushing out over 420hp. And we know that the new car is physically smaller than the one that it replaces, and we know that it is around 90kgs lighter than the outgoing Mustang. Oh, and we also know that the new Mustang uses an independent rear suspension setup rather than a live rear axle. But that is absolutely everything that we know!
We’ll need to wait until later today to learn the exact performance specifications. So there is at least one crumb of detail that is being kept a secret until the car’s official reveal… Well done Ford. You did good.
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