Future classic: Ford Mustang GT

By Charlie Calderwood

| 17 Jun 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Future classic: Ford Mustang GT

Hold the funeral cortège for now, petrolheads, and acknowledge the Blue Oval as your saviour: the Ford Mustang, returning for a seventh generation, is now the only car on sale in Europe with a V8 and a manual gearbox.

That alone is worthy of commendation, but this pony is far from the last nag left in the stable.

How has Ford done it in a world of booming crossover sales, hybrid this and EV that?

Today, the Ford Mustang GT is the only car on sale in Europe with a V8 and a manual gearbox

It doesn’t take an industry insider to spot that this car owes a lot to its predecessor.

The bodywork and interior are different, but the Coyote V8, now the UK’s only engine option, has barely changed, and the underpinnings beneath the fresh styling are hardly revolutionary.

There are changes, though, such as the two large screens ahead of the driver instead of a traditional dash.

The bigger, 13.2in central display is a welcome addition: it’s slick and sharp, but we’d rather a few more of the climate controls had remained as buttons.

The new Ford Mustang GT is a grown-up pony car that can rival the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW

The smaller, 12.4in display in front of the driver is nowhere near as evocative as the twin binnacles in Mustangs of old, but at least Ford has taken the opportunity to have some fun here.

There are the usual options of a calm, clear layout or a more aggressive one, plus digitised versions of the chromed instruments of a ’60s Ford Mustang or the black-and-white dials of an ’80s Fox Body.

That sense of fun continues on the road. The naturally aspirated V8 sounds fantastic, as you’d expect.

You can enjoy the soundtrack driving around on half-throttle, at which level the Mustang is already faster than most other traffic.

The Ford Mustang GT’s cabin includes two screens, one of which replaces the instrument binnacle

Fully plant the pedal, however, and it’s no old-school Detroit lugger: it revs to a thrilling 7400rpm, pulling strongly all the way. But it’s not merely about speed.

Whether deploying doses of aural bliss, picking ratios via the chunky-feeling gearshift or throwing the car around with its satisfying steering, the new Ford Mustang is vibrant in everything it does.

Performance cars that are this involving down a B-road are exceedingly rare these days, and none sound as good this side of a Ferrari.

The 440bhp Ford Mustang GT isn’t subtle, especially in Grabber Blue

This new Ford Mustang is hardly cheap, but it doesn’t cut corners like pony cars of old.

The interior is now up to European standards, as is its handling.

Only the heft of the body – more two-door saloon than coupé in size – stops it from matching Porsches as a pure sporting instrument.

It’s a bit brash for European tastes in Grabber Blue (a £1150 option), but those customers who feel abandoned by the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW should put their snobbery aside and consider the way this new Mustang has stepped up to the plate.

It now teeters on the threshold of pony car and luxury GT – and there’s not a Ford badge to be seen, if that helps.

Images: Jack Harrison