For us guys this side of the pond it's not often you get a chance to drive a muscle car, as not every version of the iconic muscle car being available in the UK - at least not from a dealer and with the wheel on the right hand side of the car. So, when Ford a short while ago announced that they were bringing the Mustang to these shores I felt a pang of excitement at the prospect that one day I could buy a right hand drive V8 Mustang, albeit in a few years and probably second hand.
Although I’m not currently in the market for a big V8 coupe (wish I was), I couldn’t have been more pleased when I received a call from a friend in the business who offered me a chance to drive one.
Later that day, I’m sitting on the sofa reading my current copy of evo with a cup of tea in hand when suddenly the photo frames and the plate of biscuits I have skillfully balanced on the windowsill start shaking. Just as I start to worry that my house is falling down my phone begins to ring, it's my friend, he's outside. I peer out the window to see my driveway consumed by this vast bonnet that just seems to go on forever, until I finally see my friend waving back at me. I head outside and walk around the car, taking in the sheer size of the thing whilst appreciating the little design details that point back to the original. For example, the iconic rear lights and the menacing front grill with the pony taking pride of place. It's the third detail that I spot that makes me fizz a little, it is simply two numbers ‘5.0’, it's the V8! And I couldn’t be happier.
J HughesIt's the third detail that I spot that makes me fizz a little, it is simply two numbers ‘5.0’, it's the V8! And I couldn’t be happier.
Trying my hardest not to dance on the spot like an overexcited 10 year old who has eaten too many Skittles, I make my way around to the driver's door and open it, and I’m greeted with sumptuous leather seats and an interior that wouldn't be out of a place on one of your luxury German barges. I drop into the driver’s seat which is comfortable and supportive, I push the clutch and press the start button and am met with that glorious sound that only a V8 can make. I reverse out of the drive and click the semi-automatic box into sport, which activates the paddles on the steering wheel. Just as I go to mash the pedal into the carpet and drive like my name is Frank Bullitt my friend gently reminds me that this is a muscle car with a 5.0 V8 and not to go too mad with the heavy foot that I usually apply (he knows me too well!). With this new information I decide to ease my way in, not wanting to turn the car into the nearest ditch, or worse - incoming traffic.
The only problem was that even with the lightest of touches on the fun pedal I felt like I was driving the infamous Eleanor from Gone in 60 seconds, she was begging me to push it harder and release her from her shackles. And of course I felt obliged to do so, even if it meant starring in my own epic car chase. So as the road cleared and also wide enough!, I decide to indulge myself - after all, it's not often you get an opportunity like this. I mashed the right pedal and the whole car came alive. The V8 growled and the back squirmed as the rear tyres lit up, and then like a time delay on a bomb the car did nothing before launching down the road. This had the effect of producing the biggest smile on both mine and my friend’s face, a quality that I look for in every car.
I think it's for this very reason that our love affair with the muscle car still exists today, because in this day and age where hot hatches are capable of Nurburgring times that only a few years years ago were the preserve of supercars, it’s somewhat refreshing to get in a car that, although quick in its own right, actually makes you smile at relatively low speeds, just because of the sheer theatre of the thing.
This is what the muscle car has in abundance. Everywhere I went people turned to look and even if you say you are not interested in what other people think, it sure is a nice feeling when you get that thumbs up at the lights or a compliment when filling up at the pump (which happens quite a bit in a 5.0 V8). Maybe then, going forward, instead of searching out cars that offer the fastest lap times which we can’t get close to on the roads, it would make more sense to look back towards something like the Mustang, and buy something that makes us jump up and down on the spot like an excited 10 year old - all for half the price of the ring master heros from Germany…
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