Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine is safe for the foreseeable future, despite the fact that Ford has announced plans to introduce a hybrid version of the Mustang pony car in 2020, Australia’s Motoring reports. Ford announced the Mustang hybrid in January of last year, saying that the gas-electric car would deliver “V8 power and even more low-end torque,” thanks to an electric motor or two, and an internal combustion engine of unknown configuration and displacement.
“I don’t know of any end date” for the Coyote V8, Ford Mustang Vehicle Engineering Manager Tom Barnes told Motoring. “Right now is a pretty good time for gas-engined muscle cars. There are a lot of them around — it is pretty amazing. There is still a lot of demand for them, even if it’s not hundreds of thousands of units.
“There are still a lot of people who love the sound, the feel, the performance of a V8.”
The Ford Mustang hybrid’s development, Barnes says, is being driven primarily by ever-tightening fuel-economy regulations and emission restrictions, and will initially be available only in the United States. Ford on Sunday announced that it will invest $11 billion into electrification through 2022, and bring out 40 new hybrid and battery-electric cars worldwide in the process.
The car is still at the stage where fundamental questions were being resolved, Barnes says, but he’s excited for the possibility that a hybrid powertrain could allow engineers to grant the Mustang a personality distinct from the existing EcoBoost and V8 powertrains.
The pony car could even pack several different personalities, each accessible with the press of a button.
“It will have different personalities probably,” Barnes said. “We have selectable driving modes right now [in Mustang] which kinda gives different personalities to the car. I think that will be continued in the hybrid and you might have a broader range or something like that. Don’t know, these are just thoughts I have.”
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