It’s been a long time coming! In fact a 17 year hiatus to be exact; but now it’s here and after teasing us with a pre-release video, Ford Performance has finally made available specs and photos of the 2021 Mustang Mach 1!
And it is a beauty!
And a perfect fit between the Mustang Bullitt and the Shelby GT‘s at the top.
In fact you could go further and say quite literally, that since the Mach1 is the most Track Ready of the Mustang fleet, that it follows that the Mach1 is in fact a blend of the Bullitt and Shelby as they share common parts.
The 2021 Mach 1 comes with 480 horsepower from it’s factory tuned 5.0-liter V-8 and 420 lb-ft of torque. This is the same as the Steve McQueen inspired Bullitt, and it also includes the six-speed manual transmission from the Shelby GT350, now with rev matching, as well as a 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters as an alternative option.
The manual-only Bullitt has proven that it was able to reach 0-60 mph in 4.3 sec’s and hit the end of the quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds at 115 mph. It is expected therefore that Mach 1 do at least the same if not better given some shared parts from the Shelby range.
For example, the Mach 1’s Coyote V-8 gets the intake manifold, oil-filter adapter, and engine oil cooler straight from the Shelby GT-350! Additionally, the Mach 1 also shares the GT350’s front and rear subframe with stiffer bushings but it also borrows from its’ bigger sibling, the 760-hp Shelby GT500, the rear axle cooling system, rear toe link, and rear diffuser!
If that’s not cool enough (no pun intended), throw in four new 4.5-inch exhaust tips at the rear making the sweetest tones whilst MagneRide dampers – now standard on the Mach 1 – hold the ride perfectly in balance!
Shelby styling also continues with the Mach 1’s lower front vents being borrowed to provide two cooling paths; driver’s side to cool the engine while the passenger side cools the transmission. You may also notice two large intakes integrated into the grille that cool the engine and transmission oil also.
The pony badge sits nicely between the air holes up front and of course those Mach 1 badges adorn the front fenders and the rear bootlid.
The Mach 1 sits very nicely standard on 19-inch five-spoke wheels finished in Tarnished Dark painted aluminum, which are a throwback to the Magnum 500 wheels of the Mach 1 from ’69. Once again standard is the rubber of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and the Mach 1 exterior colors are seven fold: Iconic Silver, Shadow Black, Oxford White, Velocity Blue, Twister Orange, Race Red, and Grabber Yellow. In addition, the satin-black vinyl side and hood stripes come in options of either red or white.
For those wanting more from their Mach 1, Ford will offer the option of an appearance package – only in Fighter Jet Gray with a host of orange accents that include the stripes, Brembo brakes. and stitching on the seats – and the fully equipped and more aggressive Handling package! You can of course have both!
For the most aggressive and track capable Mach 1, buyers can opt for the manual-only Handling package, which includes exclusive staggered 10.5/11-inch aluminum wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, adjustable front strut top mounts, an even higher-downforce front splitter, and a swing rear spoiler with Gurney flap from the GT500. Ford claims that the Handling package’s upgrades, along with the Mach 1’s new underbelly pan, which is 20 inches longer than the Mustang GT Performance Pack Level 1’s pan, give the Mach 1 a 150% boost in downforce compared to the PPL1 Mustangs.
This is of course a limited-production for the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1, which is expected to hit the dealerships in the Northern Hemisphere Spring 2021 (Autumn for us Southern Hemisphere Aussies), with an estimated starting price of around $USD50,000. It is not yet known if any of these will make their way to Australia in Right Hand drive format, however given that the Bullitt made it to our shores, we’re hopeful the Mach 1 will be seen on our streets also.
In regards to the rest of the line-up, including the lifespan of the Bullitt, Ford made the comment that it is “not sharing full details on the ’21 model year Mustang lineup at this time.”
More on that later then! For now though, it’s great to see a worthy Mach 1 return to the Ford stables.
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