2011 Ford Mustang V6 – first car to break 300 hp and over 30 mpg
Ford has announced the official fuel economy numbers for the 2011 Mustang V6, and in doing so, stakes a claim to producing the world’s first car to produce over 300 horsepower while also achieving over 30 miles per gallon (EPA). The 2011 Mustang 3.7-liter V6 with six-speed automatic is officially rated at 305 hp and 31 highway miles per gallon.
When Ford first made the claim that they intended to introduce vehicles that were leaders in fuel economy in every segment moving forward, the world largely dismissed the suggestion as nothing more than typical puffery by executives. Ford then introduced the 2010 Ford Fusion – with the most fuel efficient four and six-cylinder engines, as well as the most fuel efficient hybrid offering in the class. Still, the Fusion was nothing more than a single example – until the 2011 Ford Fiesta numbers were released – and put the small car several miles per gallon above anything currently in the class – with 40 miles per gallon highway on Fiesta SFE.
Then Ford put the world on its heels when it said that the 2011 Mustang V6 would have “expected” 30 miles per gallon – and tonight Ford announced that not only will the V6 Mustang achieve 30 mpg highway when equipped with a six-speed manual, but it will belt out 31 mpg highway when equipped with a new six-speed automatic transmission. Ford’s confirmation of an EPA-rated 31 highway mpg rating to go along with the 305 horsepower rating makes the 2011 Mustang the most fuel efficient car with over 300 hp ever produced.
“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.
Fuel economy figures broken down
Both the manual and automatic Mustang will achieve a rating of 19 city mpg, for a combined rating of 24.5 mpg for the manual and 25 mpg for the automatic. Ford says that it was able to achieve these historic numbers through a combination of external aerodynamic changes to the vehicle, in addition to significant efforts to optimize efficiency within the engine and the rest of the drivetrain.
Ford’s new 3.7-liter V6
For 2011 Ford ditches the long in the tooth 4.0 SOHC V6 in place of a more powerful, and significantly more fuel efficient 3.7-liter Ti-VCT all-aluminum DOHC V6. In simpler terms, the engine features lightweight aluminum as opposed to an iron block for weights savings, twin independent variable camshaft timing to allow for adjustments to the valvetrain in microseconds. Ford also made numerous minor tweaks, such as further polishing internal components of the engine for reduced drag and engine wear, which results in boosted power and fuel economy.
The technology behind the fuel economy
Outside of aerodynamic and engine changes, Ford also deployed its newest technology in power steering – EPAS, or electric power assist steering. EPAS utilizes an electric motor to operate power steering, effectively reducing the constant drag on the engine associated with traditional hydraulic power steering. Ford says EPAS typically provides for a one percent increase in fuel economy, in addition to a scalable steering input dynamic that minimizes the effort requires when maneuvering the vehicle at lower speeds, and normalizes when the vehicle reaches higher speeds to reduce the chance of fast reaction induced oversteer.
Six-speeds for all
Another key aspect to Ford’s bumps in fuel economy can be found in the all-new six-speed transmissions. “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.”
Ford also recently announced a $155 million investment into its Cleveland engine plant in order to produce the V6 that will power the Mustang V6.
