It's official: Ford to build Mustang Hybrid

Purists, you may begin your cringing session now. For most, the iconic muscle car with anything short of a thrummy V8 is absolute sacrilege, but Ford clearly has other plans. The American automaker has announced their plans of developing a hybrid avatar of the Mustang.

This announcement is a part of Ford's plan of developing 13 'electrified' vehicles by the end of 2020. Other vehicles set to get the EV treatment include the company's best-selling pick-up truck, the F150, and the large passenger van, the Transit. Ford also claimed to be developing a fully-electric compact SUV with 300 miles of range, a 'high-volume autonomous vehicle’ for commercial ride-hailing, as well as two new pursuit vehicles for the Police force.

While details about the hybrid aren't out in the open, Ford says that it will "deliver V8 power and even more low-end torque". The pony car will be produced at Ford's Flat Rock Plant in Michigan (USA) and will go on sale in North America in 2020. We reckon the Mustang Hybrid is likely to feature a motor from Ford's 'EcoBoost' range. Our bets are placed on the 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engine that develops 310PS of power, to be paired with a bunch of batteries.

All of this begs one question. Does this effectively sound the death knell for the good old naturally aspirated V8? Well, we can't be entirely certain at the moment, but are glad that we have at least four more - oh wait - three more years to enjoy the thunderous 5.0-litre Coyote V8. With 401PS and 515Nm on tap, the Mustang is quite a handful. We're praying Ford manages to keep the character of the muscle car intact with the hybrid version. After all, what's a muscle car without a rumbling exhaust, burnouts and going sideways?

Source: CarDekho.com