Ford Mustang V10 revived

The Ford Mustang is synonymous with V8 engines, having been offered in every model year of the famous pony car bar one in its 60-plus year history.

While you can now get one with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, there has only been one V10-powered Mustang, and now it’s made its public return after a restoration by Ford itself.

Built in 2001, this Ford Mustang Boss 351 was based on the ‘New Edge’ fourth-generation Mustang, but instead of the 4.6-litre or 5.4-litre V8 under its bonnet, a 5.8-litre V10 – shortened from the 6.8-litre engine in the Excursion SUV and Super Duty pickups – was shoehorned into the engine bay.

Good for 313kW and 542Nm at the time, it was made as an after-hours project by Ford engineers, more to show what they could do rather than what they would do, having raided the parts bin for a six-speed manual transmission and nine-inch rear end.

As you may have guessed, it never made it to production, and the car was largely forgotten about until recently when Ford’s US heritage fleet manager, Matt Korczyk, decided to give it a birthday.

Pulling together original members of the team who built it, the V10 Mustang has been treated to new electronics to bring it up to date, as well as a good service.

Strapped down to a dyno, the refreshed Mustang Boss 351 made 375kW at its wheels, far more powerful than a new Mustang Dark Horse, all in a body that’s lighter than Ford’s current products.

“When we fired the car up and rolled into the pull, everybody in the room stopped talking,” Korczyk said. 

“The V10 has a sound all its own. It's raw. Mechanical. It doesn't sound like anything we'd build today. It sounds like a group of engineers got together and decided to do something completely unreasonable just because they could.”

Following the partial restoration, the V10 Mustang Boss 351 will remain on Ford’s heritage fleet for promotional purposes.