Ford starts building RHD Mustangs, UK deliveries commence

Ford has been building the Mustang for over five decades now and every iteration of it has created plenty of interest in the eyes of the petrolhead. The iconic Pony car however has always rolled out of the factory as a Left Hand Drive model, basically shutting doors on all countries that have the steering wheel in the right place and drive on the left side of the road. But the latest generation Mustang is different, because for the first time, Ford has realized that the Mustang has a wider appeal and must be made available to the countries the carmaker has kept it out of till now.

Although we have known for a while that the Mustang will be produced as a RHD model too at Ford’s Flatrock Assembly plant in Michigan, North America, production has commenced only recently and that’s reason to rejoice. UK receives first deliveries but Ford has India on the cards too and there could well be a rumbling V8 Mustang heading our way soon. 

There are two versions of the Mustang, fastback and convertible and 80 percent of UK buyers till date have preferred the Fastback. Among engine choices, the 5.0-litre 416PS V8 has been chosen by 70 percent buyers while the remaining 30 percent have opted for the 2.3-litre 317PS EcoBoost mill. The 6-speed manual gearbox gets marginal preference over the 6-speed automatic. We don’t expect the manual gearbox to make it to India going by the trend seen among sportscars imported to the country.

UK prices hover in the range of Rs 30-35 lakh but our higher tax structure and a premium on the Mustang since it will be a halo car for Ford will most likely ensure prices in India to cross well over the Rs 60 lakh mark.