9 minute read
MUSTANG MACH 1
L I V I N G W I T H FORD MUSTANG MACH 1
The latest special edition is the most track-biased Mustang to come from Ford, but what’s it like to live with in the UK?
Advertisement
Words MIKE RYSIECKI / Photos LEIGH JONES, MEL CANN & SIMON BUCKLAND
The external appearance of the current Mustang Mach 1 sets the tone for the rest of the car. We recently ran a new-model Mach 1 for a week to find out how well its ‘just enough, but not too much’ approach fits with a British winter.
Now, assuming we include the anniversary, pace, race, commemorative, local/territorial, dealer, tuner and third-party variants, there have been 686 special editions of the Ford Mustang up until this latest limited-run model. This newest iteration of the Mach 1 derivative is the fifth body shape to carry this famous Mustang sub-brand.
Just as on the original 1969 version, the 2022 Mach 1 can be specified with or without the external identification stripes pack, but it’s beyond the immediate appearance that the Mach 1 reveals its true intentions.
RETURN OF THE MACH The sixth-generation switch from live-axle to independent rear suspension was always going to take the Mustang’s road and circuit credentials to a level higher than ever before. Both ends of the new car carry model-specific styling, the front is unique to the Mach 1, while the rear is shared with the North Americaonly GT350. Buyers sacrifice the adaptive cruise control and rear parking sensors for such uniqueness, but the reversing camera remains. A discreet grey boot spoiler, modelspecific alloys and an available cost-option wheel design add to the sense of occasion.
This is a best-of compilation, which offers buyers the chance to experience just how Ford’s chassis engineers think a Mustang should drive. There is a £9000 and 10bhp
There was strong competition for Mach of the day
ORIGINS OF THE MACH 1
After USAF pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947, expressions like Mach-speed, supersonic and jet-age entered everyday language. Ford had previously used the Mach 1 name for a pair of styling concept cars before bringing it forward on a production specialedition Mustang in 1969.
With no less than seven V8 variants on offer across the range, one GT badge was not enough to cover the ground. The Mach 1 was originally offered starting with the 5.7-litre, 351cu in small-block Windsor V8 and occupied the space between the 5.0-litre, 302cu in GT and the NASCAR-homologation Boss 429. The visible Mach 1 differentiators included an upgraded interior, appearance enhancements and reflective body stripes. Rear window louvres and a boot-lid spoiler were later added as dealerfit options.
Back in its heyday, the 1969 Mustang Mach 1 smashed 295 speed and endurance records at Bonneville Salt Flats. On the Trans-Am race circuits, the Boss 302 Mustang may have claimed the honours but it was the Mach 1 that earned back-to-back SCCA Manufacturer’s Rally Championships for Ford in 1969 and 1970.
difference between the UK Mustang GT and the Mach 1. But can you feel the difference, and is the difference worth the higher price?
To find out, we borrowed one for a week. Our Mach 1, chassis number 2828, came in the popular Fighter Jet Gray with the appearance pack and optional 19in Y-spoke alloy wheels. Underpinning the tasteful and understated appearance is a perfectly integrated combination of suspension and cooling improvements, which take the car to the next level.
Can you feel the extra 10bhp? Yes, particularly as the power delivery is so smooth to the 7500rpm redline and the upgraded subframes and suspension deliver a new confidence-inspiring tautness; that is the secret sauce in the Mach 1.
BORN SLIPPY Our road-test period coincided with some very damp and greasy conditions, with Britain’s A-roads covered in salt when there had been little rain to wash away the build-up. The Mach 1 utilises the GT350 front subframe, tweaked springs and anti-roll bars with rear axle cooling, rear toe-link and rear diffuser from the GT500. It is further enhanced by a model-specific calibration of the adaptive MagneRide damper software from the Shelby- badged Mustangs.
On a slippery A4, the Mach 1’s traction control was quite happy with rear-wheel
The perfect way to meet your Mach
slip, so long as both were spinning at the same speed, reserving its intervention for when one spins faster than the other.
A midweek visit to the Motoring Matters group in West Berkshire for lunch at the Halfway Inn confirmed the appeal of the car to drivers who love a rear-wheel-drive V8. Halfway Inn owner Nick Moreton is a car enthusiast with lots of high-power RWD experience; he accommodates car fans with great food, warm hospitality, and the sort of spacious car park that we all love for car-talk. And the Mach 1 certainly gained approval.
A DESIGN FOR LIFE The Federation of Historic Vehicle Club’s annual Club Expo conference at the British Motor Museum provided the perfect venue for our old-and-new photoshoot with Dr Ian Murray’s classic 1969 Mach 1. As you would expect from an audience of mainly classic Ford fans, the ’69 original stole the show.
En route to Gaydon in Warwickshire, we were able to fully experience the unique exhaust tuning, enhanced power steering and the effect of the GT350 airbox and intake manifold. The short-throw Tremec gearbox (also from the GT350) has been upgraded with rev-matching, which reproduces perfect heel-and-toe downshift throttle blips.
The gearbox is great to use and encourages maximum shifting simply to enjoy the perfectly spaced ratios. It’s is a leap forward in sophistication from the more agricultural MT82 manual fitted to the regular GT.
What we couldn’t experience at normal road speeds was the claimed extra 22 per cent of downforce from the extended underbelly and improved underbody aero control. That, along with the GT350 oil-to-air engine oil, transmission and LSD cooling, is for track days during a warmer season.
Our final on-test destination was a Sunday morning cars-and-coffee meet at Podium Place in Newbury, where the Prestige and Performance Car group were gathered for the type of car-centric discussions that we all enjoy. The Mach 1 instantly drew in the performance car crowd, armed with questions and demands for more details.
There, we met Mustang owners Matt Cook and Paul Tucker, who were more than ready for a shotgun ride while their own cars drew more than their share of admirers.
As a previous-model Boss 302 owner, Mustang buying guide author Matt was quick to acknowledge that the Mach 1 has surpassed Ford’s previous best efforts for road and circuit capabilities. Meanwhile, Paul was so impressed that he leapt straight to
Mustang wins – game, set and Mach
TECH SPEC
2022 MACH 1
ENGINE 5036cc (307cu in),V8, quad-cam, 454bhp @ 7500rpm, 390lb.ft torque, dual electronic fuel injection with open air induction, 87mm throttle body, oil-to-air cooler TRANSMISSION RWD with Tremec 3160 sixspeed manual gearbox, limited-slip differential, both with additional cooling SUSPENSION MagneRide adaptive suspension with unique Mach 1 calibration BRAKES Six-pot Brembo front callipers WHEELS & TYRES Unique Mach 1 optional 19in Y-spoke wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 255/40R19 (front) and 275/40R19 (rear) tyres INTERIOR Black leather with unique Mach 1 orange stripe identification, white cue-ball manual gearknob on short-shifter EXTERIOR Mach 1-specific front bumper cover, front splitter, belly pan, rear spoiler and rear diffuser, Mach 1-specific appearance pack PRICE From £56,955 (as tested £59,255) figuring out which body colour best suited the Mach 1’s appearance package. Grabber Blue was his favourite on the day.
YOU’RE GORGEOUS To describe the Mach 1 by a dry list of its spec updates over an ordinary GT would be to miss the most important characteristic of this evolution of the Mustang. The key to understanding this car is by driving and enjoying the way in which the enhancements have been tightly integrated into a single model. The finesse of the steering, the precision of the gearshift, the sound of the extra power from the variable exhaust – each fine enough on their own – are multiplied when combined with the freshly calibrated suspension settings.
Ford’s suspension engineers have pulled a master-stroke as each step through the normal, sport and track modes produces a small but still meaningful change, while the leap from the bottom to the top of the settings stack is truly purposeful.
That this is accompanied by a matching set of exhaust tunes is even more satisfying. The real trick to this car is its sophisticated mechanical and electronic integration in which all of the upgrades and improvements support and enhance each other in harmony.
With the most common Mustang upgrades taken care of in the Mach 1, Ford has left an obvious gap for aftermarket vendors to fill. For example, the pop-out blanking plates in the front grille are a nod to the previous Boss 302 – with scope for fitting driving lamps or brake cooling ducts depending on the owner’s personalisation preferences.
Other than the preferences around appearance, the only real decision buyers need to be aware of is seat choice; the standard heated and cooled seats are ideal for comfy cruising, but given the Mach 1’s handling capabilities, we would urge you to opt for the much more supportive Recaro upgrade instead.
BRITISH MOTOR MUSEUM
Our thanks to the British Motor Museum for the use of the venue for photography. The museum is known for having one of the top car collections in the world, but it is much more than just a motor museum. From a comprehensive archive and picture library, education and learning programmes, a spectacular calendar of specialist motoring events, clubs, rallies, group visits, corporate team-building and conference facilities, there is a lot more at the venue to be discovered. The museum has announced an increased schedule of more than 30 events for 2022 including the Old Ford Rally celebrating 35 years of the Capri 280 on Sunday 17 July. 0e479381-0069-45af-b2a9-c0a37e1e14de 0e479381-0069-45af-b2a9-c0a37e1e14de
