Future Proof
Mustang Chief Engineer Dave Pericak sits down with Autoline After Hours for an interesting interview
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
Like Fight Club, there are two rules when it comes to an engineer speaking to the media: Don’t talk about future product, and don’t talk about future product. Believe us, we have tried to pry information out of these guys, and it’s like trying to move an immovable object. However, as the competition ramps up, perhaps it means that you can at least hint about future product.
Case it point is an appearance by Mustang Chief Engineer, Dave Pericak, on Autoline After Hours with noted interviewer John McElroy. Dave is a great ambassador for Mustang, and not only does he give some interesting back story on the car’s development, but he answers some interesting questions regarding the car’s future.
If you don’t want any spoiler alerts, you can watch the video below. Be warned, however, you will want to carve out a little time to watch the whole interview:
We highly recommend that you watch the whole video, but if you don’t have time, we have a few interesting notes for you.
Dave does give the party line on the rumored flat-plane-crank, 5.2-liter engine. Moreover, he says emphatically the Mustang won’t be all-wheel drive, and he hints the Ford will be prepared to compete with its competitors in the future, including the likes of the Hellcat.
He also makes some interesting speculation about the future of Mustang’s competitors.
Most interestingly, a viewer asks about the possibility of an EcoBoost 5.0-liter. “It would be cool, wouldn’t it?†Dave smirked.
Autoline does some great interviews. I often listen to them on road trips.
You should be able to listen to a few on the way to SEMA. 🙂
Enough sandbagging with the EcoBoost V8. Better fuel economy, more power potential, etc. The current V8 is a good one but Ford continues to hold back on something even better that sits right at their fingertips. Ford faithful are tired of the typical “wait until the chassis is in its last year(s) before we open the floodgates” mentality. For them, the 2015 Mustang is the 2005 Mustang, the 1996 Mustang, or gasp – the 1974 Mustang (slight exaggeration with that Pinto based abomination). Let’s get moving Ford.
That’s good news. 5.2 and watch out Hellcat! He has a poker face about like mine, lol.