The Ford Mustang has always been offered with a number of different engine options. Both the S550 and S650 Mustang generations have been offered with either a boosted inline-four engine, or a naturally aspirated V8. While most will naturally prefer the brutish V8, the smaller EcoBoost engine does have its fans, with many highlighting the solid performance, better affordability, and enhanced handling due to less weight hanging over the front wheels.
It could be argued that Ford really missed a trick
though, by not combining the strong points of both and selling a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6-powered Mustang. If this were the case, it would benefit from the power of a slightly larger capacity engine, but also receive the drama and tuning capabilities of a boosted unit too. Fortunately, fans of the model and wrench-turning enthusiasts with a need for speed have taken matters into their own hands, and crafted their own 3.5L EcoBoost V6-powered Mustangs. The great thing here is, due to the customization required for such a swap, there is no need to start with a new or nearly-new Mustang -- you can pick what you think is the best Mustang generation and start the swap from there.
Read more: Every Ford Mustang Generation Ranked Worst To Best
The 3.5-Liter EcoBoost V6 Makes For A Very Capable Powerplant
MPT Performance shines a spotlight on one owner's creation on YouTube, a 435 horsepower EcoBoost V6 under the hood of an older 2012 Mustang. The F-150-sourced engine kicks out an impressive 120 horsepower advantage over the factory 3.7-liter V6, and the whole build goes to show you don't need to splash out for a new Mustang if you're interested in doing such a conversion.
MPT also pointed out the Mustang could have been pushed further on the dyno, but limitations of other components meant a reserved tune, and 435 horses with 500 lb-ft was decided as a safe level. The expert reckons another 50 horsepower was easily accessible. The same tuning specialists also give advice on how to achieve 550 horses from the EcoBoost engine, and if anyone was to follow such a recipe with an EcoBoost-swapped Mustang, they'd quickly have a Dark Horse challenger on their hands. As much as we loved the 2024 Ford Mustang GT, and therefore could only assume the Dark Horse is just as great if not better, the shock factor of a base-looking Mustang with a 550-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V6 under the hood might just be even cooler.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
