For the 4th Year Running, the Mustang Is the World’s Most Popular Sports Coupe

For the 4th Year Running, the Mustang Is the World’s Most Popular Sports Coupe
Can you believe how long it took Ford to globalize the Mustang with the S550? But the resources poured into the current generation of the pony car weren’t in vain. For the fourth year on the trot, the Mustang is the best-selling sports coupe in the world thanks to 113,066 sales in 2018.

For the 4th Year Running, the Mustang Is the World’s Most Popular Sports Coupe

Once forbidden in Europe, the Mustang is up 27 percent so far in 2019 in this part of the world. Not bad for the 55th anniversary of the nameplate, let alone a pony car that sells in places as far as Australia and Peru.

“We broke the mould when Ford launched the Mustang 55 years ago,” explains Jim Farley, president of global markets at the Ford Motor Company. “Nothing says freedom, the wind in your hair and the joy of driving like Mustang; it’s an icon. The roar of its V8 on a spring day, there’s nothing better. No wonder it’s the most popular sports coupe in the world.”

Speaking of roaring V8s, the 2020 model year paves the way for “the most powerful four-cylinder sports car offered by an American automaker.” The High Performance Package for the 2.3-liter EcoBoost brings the output up to 330 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque.

Turning our attention back to sales, the Mustang was available for purchase through official channels in 146 countries last year. More than 500,000 examples of the S550 have been sold since 2015, including 45,000 in Europe.

The best, however, is yet to come. For 2020, the Mustang also gains a supercharged V8 that Ford calls the Predator. The Shelby GT500 promises more than 700 horsepower from the 5.2-liter blunderbuss, but on the downside, only a dual-clutch transmission is available.

Ford is also working on the Mustang Hybrid and a Mustang-inspired electric crossover. Not long now, the S650 will transition to an all-new platform that’s currently utilized by the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator. So far, the CD6 supports hybrid and plug-in hybrid applications.

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