This is the brand new 2021 Mustang Mach-1

[shogun32]

So Let's say I want to build myself a 2017 Mach 1:

1. Wheels and Tires - Apex 19x11 are 2000$ and another 1800$ for MPSC2 in 305/30 all around.

Nothing against Apex but you can trivially find 19x11 flow-formed wheels for 300 each. And if you pay attention you can find them for half that.
Where are you doing your tire shopping? Even TireRack only charges $1680 for a set and you can frequently find practically new sets in the for-sale section for 1200 or less.

3. FTB Diff Cooler: 1500$

since when? $1075.
Sure, add labor...

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[EcoVert]

I really like that yellow

 

[Twin Turbo]

Me too. I can't wait for someone to photograph it next to an original Grabber Yellow Mustang

 

[Hack]

I personally like it, but I have no need for the handling package, so I would go for the regular Mach 1. I might get one in 23 after my vert is paid in full and if there is still a good selection on the lots.

Honestly, I don't see an issue with it being a parts bin car, it just saves you money. Technically the original 64.5 mustang was a parts bin car, it was a reskinned falcon, and the 79-86 fox bodies were reskinned fairmonts. Also the 69-70 boss 9's were mach 1's with a stripe delete and a hood scoop added

Yeah, no those comparisons don't work for me. The original Mustang had every single body panel different than the Falcon. Same with Fox vs. Fairmont. That's not even close.

Boss 429 - now you are getting closer, but they still had a lot of modifications to fit that monster motor in them. Unique suspension, IIRC the wheel arches were rolled, the shock towers were notched on and on. And to mention the Boss 429 while discounting that engine is crazy.

If the Mach 1 were a similar level of uniqueness to the Boss 429 it would be a gotta have it for me. But that would mean it would have a unique and awesome engine in it.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Mach is a good effort by Ford and it will sell. Just the appearance of the unique front end is great in my opinion.

This.

The Mach doesn't even come close to moving the needle enough for me to bump from what I have, which would be ~$25K-30K and my existing car. Too close to the same thing for that kind of money. I've already got suspension mods, and could eclipse the Mach entirely with an Aluminator XS swap and other tasty suspension/cooling bits for less.

Yeah, yeah, "it's not a Mach 1", blah, blah, blah. If I didn't already have a 5.0 S550 I'd be in the Mach's corner, but since I do the only S550 in the lineup that has the hardware to justify a trade for me is the GT500.

I'm in a similar position. I've started on mods to my 2017 for track worthiness and so I prefer not to sell it now. Plus, the Mach 1 is going to have the new manual transmission gearing. I still have my GT350 tech pack Tremec sitting in my shop. I've considered swapping it into the 2017, but I don't want to sacrifice the gearing. The coolers mean more to me than they do to you, but I think both of us are more about the power.

I wonder what the cost was on that build? At that price, I may as well slap on a blower.

Blower = ok for 1/4 mile or occasional blasts on the street, but not good for handling. Cams are expensive for what you get, but a better way to go IMO for road course work.

how's it different from the Ford nutriders constantly praising it? Zero difference. There's 2 camps here. Shut up and take my money & really Ford, really? Both camps have valid opinions. The undecided can then make an educated opinion from both sides of the arguments. How's that for an answer? In the ballpark?

Some people are overly negative. Most people aren't blindly praising it. I think you're being unfair on that one. Anyone that likes the car should be called names? That's your position?

The filth that is GM sells the SS/1LE for 45k (50k with 'premium' trim) and has been doing it for the past 5 years. And actually overtly supports Track use - something Ford won't even do for the Shelby let alone a tarted up GT+PP2. The GM offering has had ALL of the Mach1 feature set and then some, save the GT350 SWing. The higher-trim Mustangs are significantly overpriced already. Calling the Mach1 bits "upgrades" and hiking the price much past 50-53k they are just delusional.

No Ford, with the S550 at the end of it's lifecycle you're only now bothering to put a package together to compete with the reviled Camaro which was designed for big-boy use from day one. I wouldn't mind seeing the head of whomever it was who put together the useless PP2 trim on a pike by the front gate. Ford had another perfect opportunity to do it right (at least in regards to the Tremec) with the Bullitt but failed again. Back when, the king chopped off your head for such level of stupid. Frankly it's a tradition that needs to come back.

The problem with the GM offering is the engines in the cars. They just fall flat on track. Oh, and all the other things about the car that you notice immediately when you get in it.

The Mustang has competed quite well with the Camaro. Basically the Camaro is near extinction and the Mustang is thriving. Just look at the latest sales numbers.

You can try to make the competition all about specific models and the performance figures, but in the end sales are the important numbers. Sales are important both to the manufacturers and the buyers. It shows which vehicle people prefer. The Mustang.

You and I are usually pretty well aligned........but on this subject I'm not so sure. The A10 sees duty in a 600hp+ Camaro without issue. Ford have a habit of not allowing the option of the auto with their performance packages. Back in '15, the Performance Pack was manual only (apart from the 50 Years Limited edition) and the rest of the world S550s were pretty much Performance Packs in terms of specs, and yet the auto was always an option, so I don't believe it was an engineering decision.

Same goes for the 18+ PP2.....manual only, and yet the Mach 1 is effectively a PP2 in base trim, and you can spec the auto. But you can't get the auto if you go for the Handling Pack (which is pretty much just wider wheels/tires and front/rear spoilers).

I honestly don't believe it's an engineering thing, I just think they believe the "hard core" choice should be manual only. And in a shrinking market I don't think that's a good move. You want your customers to have the maximum choice in order to maximize sales.

My ideal spec would be a 10-speed with the Handling Pack but as that's not an option I'd go for the base car and just stump up for the wider wheels/spoilers myself from the aftermarket. But that means Ford have just lost $$.

As for the DCT......nope, that'll remain a GT500 unique selling point.

I agree with you that Ford should have offered the 10 speed auto with the handling pack. My first inclination is to assume that the automatic needs a specific engineering solution for track use, though. And above and beyond that, I bet it would cost a MINT to make that happen.

I'm not saying the 10 speed isn't suited for road course work. What I'm saying is that to fully qualify it for use with the handling pack would take a lot of time and cost a LOT of money. I think Ford just decided it would be too much money to do that.

 

[GreenS550]

It is true the body panels were different, but the cars often had the same parts. No handling. I owned many of them. You would modify them with "heavy duty" shocks and Addco front and rear sway bars. An F150 today handles better.

The 69 Mach 1 wasn't a "parts bin" car to make it a Mach 1. It was a "sticker and emblem" car only. The identical engine, trans, axle, wheels were available on any Mustang including a notch back. As well as on a Torino and maybe a Fairlane.

The Boss 429 wasn't a Mach 1, it was a Mustang designed for Nascar which Ford had to sell 500 of to be considered a production car. Ford lost a few thousand dollars on every one sold.

That means this Mach 1 is MUCH more unique. I am unfamiliar with the 2003-04. That may have been unique so I cannot comment on those.

I almost didn't buy the Bullitt because I wanted an A-10. Ford kept their word to Bullitt aficianados. This time we get all the goodies with a revised A-10 and torque converter.

Can't wait to get one!

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I really like that yellow

Yeah, that's a fantastic yellow, it's bright, but has a deep tint, and it's a clear yellow vs. shifting to orange (or having too much green).

I agree with you that Ford should have offered the 10 speed auto with the handling pack. My first inclination is to assume that the automatic needs a specific engineering solution for track use, though. And above and beyond that, I bet it would cost a MINT to make that happen.

That's a bummer, and I find it interesting they still apparently upgraded the 10-speed, which included additional cooling. I mean, these transmissions are stout, I can't imagine needing to account for another ~20HP vs. the GT application, I assumed the extra work was for track duty ... then, <cue_sad_trombone>, it's not available with the Track Pack.

 

[Hack]

That's a bummer, and I find it interesting they still apparently upgraded the 10-speed, which included additional cooling. I mean, these transmissions are stout, I can't imagine needing to account for another ~20HP vs. the GT application, I assumed the extra work was for track duty ... then, <cue_sad_trombone>, it's not available with the Track Pack.

I think I worded my post very poorly. I was mainly thinking of cooling for track use as the engineering they would need to do for the 10 speed auto. It sounds simple, (just add a radiator with brackets and some cooling lines, right?), but I would think it's still very expensive to fully qualify the design for production and for proper longevity to ensure the components will last long past the warranty period in whatever environments they might be used in.

 

[DarthMalice]

I want to see an orange one.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I think I worded my post very poorly. I was mainly thinking of cooling for track use as the engineering they would need to do for the 10 speed auto. It sounds simple, (just add a radiator with brackets and some cooling lines, right?), but I would think it's still very expensive to fully qualify the design.

Oh, it's my understanding the A10 in the Mach I __is__ upgraded with additional coolers, and other changes[?]

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Yeah, from the Ford press release:

Drivers can also opt for an available 10-speed SelectShift™ automatic transmission with an upgraded torque converter and unique calibration that enables optimizing torque capability, shift character and overall enhanced performance. A second air-to-oil cooler increases cooling capacity by 75 percent.

Underline emphasis mine, but doesn't that read like a pretty significant A10 upgrade for the Mach I?

 

[shogun32]

I assumed the extra work was for track duty

you misspelled 'truck'. I would be surprised if any of the enhancements came out of the Mustang design team but rather the F150/250 guys. Coolers for towing are conceptually no different than a solution for track cooling.

 

[IronG]

My guess is the people that are against it are those that can't afford it. And there's no shame in not being able to afford a new car. But to knock it notenot knowing what it is it's just silly.

I for one can afford it and I'm going to buy one. Can't wait!

I like your thinking....unfortunate but true....really for anything not just Mustangs. I will hold out until my2022 and hope they release a Grabber Blue version. If not, I would most likely go Twister Orange. Most likely will be the last new Mustang I buy unless they come out with a Boss version before they go hybrid/EV. At which point I will turn my attention to 60's vintage Mustangs. My fav is a 66 fastback, but will take a notch if the quality is there. For those that do not like this one for whatever reason, start saving for the hybrid or EV versions as they will be even more expensive then the Mach 1's.

 

[Elp_jc]

Two related questions gang: How much heavier is a 10R tranny with all accessories (coolers, etc) than a Tremec TR3160? And how about an MT-82 vs Tremec TR3160? Curious about that. Thx.

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

Yeah, no those comparisons don't work for me. The original Mustang had every single body panel different than the Falcon. Same with Fox vs. Fairmont. That's not even close.

Boss 429 - now you are getting closer, but they still had a lot of modifications to fit that monster motor in them. Unique suspension, IIRC the wheel arches were rolled, the shock towers were notched on and on.

I think you misunderstood what I posted, notice I said reskinned. Basically they used the falcon platform and gave it totally new body, but the dash and the suspension was the same. Same with the fox body and fairmont, the 79-86 foxes had the same dash as the original fairmonts, and everybody knows the fox platform had the same basic suspension design. Certain models have some tweaks, Like the SVO, the 93 cobra, and the fox body t-birds had longer lower control arms to widen the track width.

As for the Boss 9, they started with a mach 1 minus the engine and trans and sans the stripe package before sending it to Car Craft Engineering for modification to fit the engine in there and the suspension mods. Ford could have put that engine in anything to make it legal for NASCAR, but they chose the mustang. Unlike the BOSS 302 which SCCA required the car and driveline to be the same as what ford put out on the track, and they had to sell x-number of units to be put on the streets to make the car legal for competition. NASCAR only required 500 engines to be put out there in any vehicle they choose.

 

[martinjlm]

Two related questions gang: How much heavier is a 10R tranny with all accessories (coolers, etc) than a Tremec TR3160? And how about an MT-82 vs Tremec TR3160? Curious about that. Thx.

MT-82 is just under 124 lbs. Tremec 3160 is just over 121 lbs. And just for giggles, the TR-9070 DCT is 229 lbs.

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