2011 Mustang Delivers With New 5.0L V8
Some would say the golden age of Mustang performance came from those years during which the infamous 5.0L decal adorned the fenders. Offering peppery performance in stock form, it would become a bastion of speed and power for modification fanatics. Growing out of the venerable 302 race engine program of the late sixties, the 5.0L was capable of easily doubling its output without endangering any of its internals.
And although the updated 4.6L engines that followed were potent enough, they never quite caught on with those looking to up the ante. Lacking the displacement and the robust nature of the old 5.0L, even the most recent of the 4.6L V8s couldn’t match the output of the new Camaro SS. So, if you’re Ford, why not resurrect that famed badge, and bring the Mustang GT back into the limelight of musclecar performance?
Why not indeed. Meet the 2011 Mustang GT, replete with 5.0L V8 under hood. But this new 5.0L is in no way, shape, or form a resurrection of that old block. Sure, it still displaces exactly 302 cubic inches, but long gone is the camshaft location and rocker arms, replaced by overhead camshafts and 32 valves. And the horsepower? 414, augmented by 390 lb-ft of torque.
But perhaps best of all is the news that the 2011 Mustang GT will replace its GT fender badging with a pair of badges proudly declaring the displacement of the engine behind.
