Doing it Wrong: Why Ford Shouldn't Scrap The V6 Mustang #blogpost
As many of you know, it’s now a rumor that Dord will be scrapping the 3.7 “Cyclone” V6 mustang from the lineup, leaving only the inline-4 eco boost and V8 GT. With the announcement of the Ecoboost, it seemed inevitable that the V6 had a replacement on the rise. The car was hyped beyond belief, being the major change for the S550 generation lineup.
The Ecoboost is a good performance car. It has balance, being a practical sports coupe with a peppy turbo four (just get the manual). It also offers the best power and torque numbers for cars south of $30,000, with the 3.7 Mustang V6 just behind it.
Even with all the good this car is, Ford would be missing a great opportunity for an even better platform by scrapping the V6, along with removing a rather desirable engine option for the consumer.
Potential
The V6 motor configuration is an oddball. It’s quite peculiar that people praise a V6 in a Nissan yet boo the prospect of one in a muscle car chassis. It offers a more balanced N/A alternative to the V8. The 3.7 cyclone is very much similar to the 5.0 coyote. Both of them were game changers compared to the older mid 2000’s motors.
The 3.7 is a platform worth modifying, and when stock rests comfortably at the 305 horsepower mark. Fun fact, it makes the same power and torque as the EJ motor found in the 2016 Subaru WRX STI.
Ford V6s
Ford themselves has V6 variants that would be amazing in a mustang application. The 2017 Ford GT is proof that the v6 platform is still worth looking at. Even the ford raptor has a 3.5 liter Ecoboost V6 that makes 450 horsepower. There are a few custom mustangs with the 3.5 liter engine swap, or just the F-150 turbos bolted on.
Why Do We Need The V6?
As you probably know, the mustang and Camaro have a bit of a rivalry going on. Chevrolet raised the bar by slapping corvette motors into all the V8 Camaro models (techniclly starting in 2014 with the LS7 powered Z/28).
Ford has to compete, so the mustang GT will get faster, Become more expensive, and ditch the prospect of manageable power. A 3.5 V6 option with 400 horsepower would be amazing, especially with a new chassis and a sports pack option.
The V6 is also still appealing to consumers. When I was looking at mustangs, my decision fell to choosing the the eco boost or V6. The I4 had more power, easy power gains because of the turbo, and better gas mileage. The v6 had guaranteed reliability, better long term modification potential, and the charm of a good sounding, N/A motor. People shopping for cars like to have options, and people still buy the V6 for multiple reasons.
Doing it right: The Chevrolet Camaro V6
Chevy is killing it right now. Rather than making the four cylinder boot out the V6, they’ve just ade the V6 better. The V6 Camaro can be bought with the 1 Le package, which is the exact same performance pack that comes on the 1 Le Camaro SS. That car blows the Ecoboost Mustang out of the water, and one ups the V6 mustang with 35 horsepower.
Ford needs to keep the V6 in the mustang lineup. It’s a charming motor that still has relevant performance and plenty of potential. If anything, the death of the 3.7 should be to update the motor. A twin-turbo Raptor 3.5 V6 would be a thrill, and up the V6 muscle car category.
Comments
I never get the fact why people hate on v6s in a muscle car… For some purposes they are better then a v8, and not only in fuel economy!
for some purposes
Muscle cars not included
Ford has been doing a lot of work with V6s. Like you said the GT and Raptor are just two examples. Imagine a redesigned 3.5l F150 motor optimized for higher RPM and with about 400hp stuffed into the mustang when the GT eventually becomes a 500hp monster (which sounds awesome BTW)
I think if they up the power and the price of the V8 then the V6 will find it’s way back in because they need to appeal to the core customer. They need a cheap car and the 4 pot really isn’t all that. To be honest I’m baffled as to why someone would opt for the 4 pot Mustang over the Focus RS. The RS is faster and more practical. Horses for courses I guess but in my eyes there’s an obvious choice there. Even here in the UK where you’d have to remortgage to run the V8 the 4 pot only makes up like 5% of sales or something ridiculously low,
*20% of sales
http://www.autoblog.com/2015/08/25/uk-ford-mustang-buyers-v8-manual-red/
The RS costs more than a 5.0 so that’s why people buy the ecoboost stang
they should replace the v6 with the inline 6 barra engine
Win-win situation…At one side the 6-cylinder Mustang can be stayed and Ford Australia can continue production of the engine.
That would be a cool throwback to the ‘60’s i6 mustang! I’m not sure how simple it would be to source one though. I jumped to the 3.5 because of the current availability, since it’s already mass produced in current trucks.
Somebody over here in aus already dropped a Barra in a mustang for burnouts and its mental
I love my 3.5 liter V6 in my SHO 👌🏼
Personally I would LOVE to see the 6 cylinder ecoboost from the Taurus SHO/Lincoln MKS and MKT in the mustang. I’ve got the ecoboost in my MKT and it makes that 4900lb boat MOVE, and it gets pretty decent fuel mileage for what it is. I never understood why they haven’t used that in the mustang.
i would like if ford remove the v6 engine and replace it with an inline 6 engine
there you go, just like the 60’s mustang 6 banger engine
There’s an Australian I6 Ford. Look up to XR6 and XR6 Turbo. That would be awesome in a Mustang in my opinion
https://youtu.be/VcuXLuUI8wg
I’d rather the V6 low end Camaros beat their mustang counterparts than lose to Shelby’s though. From what I’ve seen the 1LE is the best handling low end muscle car, but the best high end is still the GT350R
The 3.7 is obsolete with the ecoboost being better in every way.
You won’t see a 3.5 v6 ecoboost unless it’s replacing the v8 entirely. It wouldn’t make sense for them to have a 435hp v8 and a 450hp turbo 6. They would be too close in performance (just as the turbo 4 and v6 were)
There are varying versions of the 3.5, with a non raptor variant making 400 and another making 350. These would be more reliable than a future 2.3 pushing those numbers. I address the fact that the mustang will be getting faster to compete with the Camaro, and the future mustang GT would be making more than 350 or 400 crank.