Happy Mustang Day. Are you tired of hearing about the 2015 Ford Mustang yet? No? Good, here's a bunch of mechanical data on Ford's sixth-gen muscle car, along with cutaways of the GT's 5.0-liter V8 and the new 2.3-liter, EcoBoost four-cylinder shown above. We also have a smattering of info on the Stang's updated transmissions and an exploded-parts-diagram view of its all-new independent rear suspension.
Ford is set to make waves offering the Mustang with a turbo for the first time since the small-volume SVO of the 1980s. Displacing 2.3 liters, the engine's twin-scroll turbo should help the four-cylinder turn out a projected 305 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, while also returning the best fuel economy in the Mustang's engine lineup. As we said in our Deep Dive, the EcoBoost will be slotted in as a premium engine, above the 3.7-liter V6 but below the 5.0-liter V8.
Speaking of that high-revving eight-cylinder, it's receiving a new cylinder head with high-flow ports. The intake and exhaust valves are larger and the cams have been replaced, among other tweaks. It should rev even higher thanks to a rebalanced crankshaft and forged connecting rods. Ford is still claiming a projected 420 hp and 390 lb-ft, although as many of the changes for the 2015's V8 come from the 2013 Boss 302, we're going to assume there's some sandbagging at work.
Finally, the transmissions have received some attention, with the six-speed manual from Getrag getting a new shift linkage, which should provide a shorter, crisper action. A new set of steering-wheel-mounted paddles on the auto trans will provide rev-matched shifts, although there's no word on how quickly it will swap cogs.
It's here and ready to make a big hydrogen-powered mark in the very near future. The Honda FCEV Concept took to the stage at the LA Auto Show today as a first look at the upcoming fuel-cell electric vehicle that Honda will launch in the US and Japan in 2015, with Europe following some time after that. We kind of love the bravery on display here, and Honda says the concept we see here hints at "a potential styling direction," but we can't imagine which parts of this spaceship concept vehicle we will see on the road one day.
The five-seater's technical details are perhaps more important than how it looks, since this is where the car really tries to set itself apart. A range of more than 300 miles will be possible from a 100kW hydrogen fuel cell stack that has a power density of 3kW/L, which is 60-percent higher than it was before while being 33-percent smaller than the stack in the gorgeous FCX Clarity. Honda doesn't get into the issue of a lack of fuel stations in its press release (there are only 10 public H2 stations in the US today), but it does say that the FCEV Concept could be refueled in about three minutes using a 70 MPa system.
The fuel stack's small size means this is the first time a fuel-cell powertrain has been "packaged completely in the engine room of the vehicle," Honda says, which means the company should be able to do a lot of interesting things with vehicle design, just as some EV designers can do today. Honda also says the compact size means there is "flexibility in the potential application of FC technology to multiple vehicle types in the future," so if you don't like the look of the concept unveiled today, keep your eyes peeled for something different.
