Introducing a new car in the market is not a particularly easy task, considering the R&D that goes into it. But introducing an evolution of a car that has a history of more than 50 years and millions of fans swearing by its name is something transcendent! Such is the iconic status of the Ford Mustang that a video game with even a hint of cars is incomplete without it, and an enthusiast who can’t spew the names of all the Mustangs in under 10 seconds is no enthusiast at all! And building something that is an evolution of an icon like that is no walk in the park. But Ford… pretty much nailed it.

Why do we say that? Because we got a chance to taste the brutish fury that a Mustang brings to the table. A 6th-gen Ford Mustang, to be precise. And recently, during the xBhp Power-Tour 2019, we got to revisit the icon in Dubai, a Mustang GT this time around, and our love for the American Muscle lives on. And why would it not? It has everything that those little cars that we collected had. Long hoods, short tails, a trio of vertical bars as the taillight, and the Mustang insignia, which is as literal as it gets. The 6th generation of the Ford Mustang, the Mustang GT that we got to drive, is everything that we mentioned and more!

We acquired the Mustang GT for our driving session courtesy of UDrive, a car rental in the UAE. While car rental sounds pretty boring, one which has a Mustang GT in its fleet can be anything but that. Just book your ride and pick it up. As we mentioned, we drove the Mustang some time back here in India, and when we got the GT in Dubai, it was a concentrated shot of nostalgia, which made us think about all the fun that we had the last time around.

When you are driving a car fit for drag races, your attire should also look like one… and a confident one at that. With this cool graphic tee from Rare Rabbit, we had the driver part nailed… Mustang? You’re up.

We are really glad that when the folks at Ford went back to the drawing board for the new-gen Mustang, they had the old one on their minds too. The long hood is the first thing that one notices. It looks good, but more than that, it houses the venerable engine that powers this beast of a car. The headlight, despite being more modern-looking, retains some of the muscular lines of the old. The front was reworked too, with the scoops on the front bumper, but as always, it is the grille that takes the cake. There is just something about that Mustang insignia that sets one’s heart racing. The same goes for the muscular lines all along the body of the Mustang and that signature rear, this one, with a bold GT badge on it.

Clicking pictures of a fast car like this needs steady hands but the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) of our OnePlus 6T’s shooter made sure that we had at least a little room for error.

Inside the car, things are not as exotic as some other sports cars, but then again, you don’t pay as much for this particular off-the-hook sports car! And by no means are we implying that the interior is not plush and accommodating. What we mean is that once you look at the steering wheel with the Mustang insignia, the paddle shifters and the long hood, which you know houses a monster, mundane things like interiors do not matter. All that matters is you, your Mustang and the endless possibilities that come with a 5L V8!

It is a cardinal sin not to have played Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005). Those who have played know that a guy named Razor drove a Ford Mustang, and guess what, he was the top boss! Switch the car on, and as soon as the massive V8 comes rumbling to life, you know why such a hugely popular title had the Mustang playing a titular role in it. Put the car in drive, floor the pedal, and it is almost like you are a teenager again.

You are almost compelled to put the accelerator to the floor and watch the thing go. When you actually drive the Mustang, you know that this car is Fast and Furious, your insides shout I Am Legend, and if you don’t make the most of it, this moment will be Gone in Sixty Seconds! The acceleration is insane, courtesy of almost 400 bhp of power and 515 Nm of torque. And once it gets going, there is no stopping it. We are sure that you will run out of breath much, much before the Mustang does. But the sound, the drug-like sound of the V8 clouds your senses, and only the realisation of the fact that this is not a video game is what stops you.

With UDrive, you just download the app and register, wait for verification, locate and book a car, enter your pin (received after verification) to activate the car, and you can drive away in a car like the Mustang. To return it, you just leave it at any location within the city where you got the car from!

The Mustang GT is a proofread evolution of the Mustang, and it is evident from the almost point-and-shoot handling of the car, but a car with rear-wheel drive with that much power on tap is even more fun when the tyres lose just a hint of traction! It must have taken a monumental amount of work to build a car like this, which had so many expectations riding on it. And as much as we’d like to say that Ford has nailed it, this is not the finish line of the legacy by a long shot. This is a milestone in a journey that we know is a long one. Don’t believe us? A newer one is already out, and Ford, if you’re listening, we can’t wait to get our hands on one!