W H I P S
A N D
R I D E S
A DREAM CAR WITH
SPEED THAT ONLY
A FEW WILL COME
TO KNOW THE
FULL DEPTH OF ITS
CAPABILITY
The additional oomph—20 horse-
On the Road
power—over the 2019 Mustang GT’s
5.0-liter mill is courtesy of improved
UNDER ITS HOOD LIES THE
MOST POWERFUL CROSS-
PLANE-CRANKSHAFT COYOTE
T O DAT E , 4 8 0 H O R S E P OW E R
AND 420 LB-FT OF TORQUE.
flow. Two components make the dif-
ference, and both of them come from
the flat-crank Voodoo V-8 in the Shelby
GT350. That car’s higher-flowing intake
manifold with longer runners and its
6-percent-larger 87-millimeter throttle
body (2019 5.0-liters use an 82- milli-
meter throttle body) combine with an
open-element air filter.
On the California Highway 49, blitzing the granite canyons
with a scree-showering 7400-rpm anthem. The Bullitt
does away with the sound tube fitted to the 5.0 liter in
Mustang GT models, which pipes intake noise into the
The Bullitt is a driver’s car, but you’ll
need to wring it out to know the full
depth of its capability. Catch it a gear
cabin. It relies instead on a recalibrated active exhaust as
well as the natural harmonies that are now more audible
through the open-element filter. And, Ford admits, some
sound is filled in from the car’s speakers.
too high, below 4000 rpm or so, and
this engine can feel soft. This isn’t a
Chevrolet Camaro SS, which impresses
with huge grunt at low engine speeds
and feels powerful everywhere. No,
the latest Coyote delivers more peak
power than the Camaro SS, but it
doesn’t satisfy completely until it’s fully
unwound.
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F E V E R
M A G A Z I N E