2024 Ford Mustang looks to broaden gas power appeal as rivals bow out

DETROIT — The seventh-generation Ford Mustang is sticking with the V-8 power that made it a global icon, even as the segment it created shifts around it.

The biggest changes to the 2024 pony car, unveiled Wednesday at the Detroit auto show, are with the interior, which now offers an optional "digital cockpit" with two connected, customizable screens. An electronic drift brake is among the available upgrades.

But the biggest news may be what Ford is still putting under the hood: updated versions of the current model's 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder and 5.0-litre Coyote V-8 with a manual transmission.

Ford's rivals have all but given up on internal combustion pony cars: Dodge is doing away with the gasoline-powered Challenger (and the four-door Charger) next year, and Chevrolet is expected to discontinue the Camaro by 2024. Ford sees an opportunity to pick up conquest sales.

"Investing in another generation of Mustang is a big statement at a time when many of our competitors are exiting the business of internal combustion vehicles," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.

The 2024 Mustang, scheduled to go on sale next summer in coupe and convertible configurations, was developed to be more of a driver's car than its predecessors. The interior now has a curved digital display made up of a 13.2-inch center screen and 12.4-inch instrument cluster.

The customized displays include a Fox Body theme, a nod to the third-generation Mustang sold in the 1980s.

"We're taking advantage of every pixel," Craig Sandvig, Mustang interaction design manager, said in the statement. "We can be creative in showing necessary driving information and give the driver control of selecting colors, classic Mustang gauges or even a 'calm' screen where only minimal details are displayed."

Ford removed physical buttons for the radio and climate control, moving those functions onto the center screen. Some of the digital displays and instrument gauge settings are similar to what's on the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.

The car also gets a new steering wheel design with a flat bottom instead of a circular one.

The automaker hopes to keep longtime Mustang enthusiasts happy while broadening the car's appeal to younger, tech-focused buyers.

The exterior features a more aggressive front end and a chiseled, angled rear, which Mustang brand manager Jim Owens described as an "edgy, sexy, disruptive design."

In a departure from the current model, Ford is offering different front end designs for each of the two engine options. The 5.0-litre GT has a larger grille, new hood vents and a redesigned front splitter to distinguish it from the EcoBoost variant.

Each engine comes with an optional performance pack that includes wider rear tires and MagnaRide active suspension.

Ford says the carryover engines have been updated and likely will have better performance specs than the current model, although it declined to provide specifics.

Ford is offering a "remote rev" feature that lets drivers rev the engine with a button on the key fob. An electronic drift brake comes with the optional performance pack.

The redesigned Mustang will feature over-the-air software update compatibility and a host of driver-assist features, though the automaker's BlueCruise hands-free technology is not among them.

Mustang sales in the U.S. are down 14 per cent this year through August, to 33,144. Canadian sales were down 24 per cent to 2,016 through the second quarter in Canda. Monthly sales aren't revealed by Ford Canda.

The car will continue to be built at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan. Ford this year touted a US$3.7 billion investment in three Midwest states, which includes money for Flat Rock to build the next-gen Mustang.