2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Overview

Also unexpected upon motoring away in our '91 was how light and torquey the old 5.0 feels. The Coyote-powered '11 certainly makes more peak torque, but at a higher rpm than the 302. Plus, the new car is around 500 pounds heavier. The result is our Fox tractored away from stoplights and grunted around surface streets in Third and Fourth gears without any revving. The new car needs more rpm to do the same thing, leaving the old 5.0 feeling distinctly lighter and snappier-at least at first.

Turn the steering wheel and the old Fox continues to feel light-and clumsy-on it's tires. There's an inherent responsiveness in the older, less-massive car, but it's near-instantly overcome by its goose-loose chassis and hopeless rear suspension geometry. Pushed harder, the new car rewards. Driven the same, the Fox doesn't so much give up as disassemble itself from a handling standpoint. Absolutely no contest there.

And quiet ... the new car is a library to the Foxes' cacophony of thunks, rattles, and tornado-in-a-tin-shed acoustics. Nearly as painful is the Foxes' cramped seating. "People were smaller then" goes the saying, and we hope that's true as the Fox offers larger drivers iron-maiden-tight comfort compared to the plush newcomer.

A toss-up is the exhaust note. The new car elicits a glorious V-8 tear when provoked; our aftermarket piped Fox is more like a high school garage band, making up in volume what it lacks in science lab refinement. We like elements of both exhausts.

Ultimately the Fox 5.0 is far more direct-dare we say, more honest-than the new car. Modern Mustang pilots go fast, corner as if in a centrifuge, and brake hard enough to dislocate an eyeball, but are more disconnected and aloof from the experience. And wouldn't I love to have one!-Tom Wilson

On The Dyno
The Internet was abuzz with the first reports of dyno numbers from '11 5.0 Mustangs, but there was some controversy about the gear choice. Some ran it in the traditional Fourth gear, while others opted for Fifth as it's the more ideal 1:1 ratio for the chassis dyno. To see if there is much difference, we bolted the car to Extreme Automotive's Dynapack chassis dyno and tested it in both gears. As you can see, the new 5.0 Mustang impresses in any gear, but the numbers are obviously a bit higher if you test it in Fourth.

4th Gear			5th Gear			Difference
RPM	HP	TQ	RPM	HP	TQ	HP	TQ
1,501	68.33	229.80	1,513	72.63	241.91	4.31	12.10
2,014	90.49	226.78	2,033	91.69	227.40	1.20	0.62
2,498	120.94	244.34	2,510	126.61	254.38	5.67	10.03
3,004	164.05	275.59	3,021	168.54	281.41	4.49	5.82
3,515	202.41	290.60	3,511	207.66	298.32	5.25	7.72
4,000	249.43	314.72	4,006	253.71	319.41	4.27	4.68
4,495	288.80	324.21	4,503	299.94	335.96	11.15	11.75
5,038	342.53	343.09	5,016	331.82	333.65	-10.72	-9.45
5,521	354.88	324.39	5,519	353.89	323.40	-0.99	-0.99
6,014	372.13	312.32	6,029	361.91	302.74	-10.22	-9.57
6,528	378.67	292.78	6,512	366.33	283.71	-12.33	-9.06
6,698	381.84	287.72	6,700	366.75	276.07	-15.09	-11.65