One compromise that came with choosing the Ford Mustang in the more efficient (and less expensive) EcoBoost guise was the lack of a truly invigorating soundtrack. Since it was essentially the same 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder found in the Focus RS, the engine’s effectiveness was often an attribute tempered.
This year, though, Ford Performance has announced that it will be offering a new optional performance pack for the four-pot pony, one that adds a livelier exhaust note courtesy of some active valves that live behind the mufflers.
Developed by Ford’s “audio engineers”, the new system was designed to hit specific acoustic frequencies that would help make the EcoBoost’s parp almost as satisfying as the rumble of the GT’s 5.0-litre Coyote V8. How much will that translate into the real world? We won’t know until the exhaust pack is fully released.
Accompanying the announcement was plenty of marketing talk that surrounds the philosophical bedrock from which the system and its corresponding acoustics were crafted. Apparently, they were meant to evoke something called ‘autonomic response’, a natural and evolutionarily-rooted disposition for humans to react to “loud and powerful noises” in nature, a kind of ‘fight-or-flight’ response to help us avoid danger in the wilderness.
“We’re probably the few engineers here who do not have to design to a number or a specification,” said Hani Ayesh, Ford exhaust development engineer. “Instead, we work to identify that signature sound DNA that connects drivers to the emotional expectation they have for a specific car.”
While we won’t question that the active valves in the upgraded exhausts do make a difference in how the Mustang sounds, we do doubt that it will come close to plugging the gap between it and the V8.
However, being an active system allows the Mustang EcoBoost to better play a dual role as a daily drive and weekend corner carver. And engineering the exhaust system to cater to both extremes allows for it to turn heads along the boulevard but not annoy the neighbours later when you return home.
The 2019 Mustang EcoBoost will go on sale starting in the next few months, beginning in North America, whereupon the new active exhaust upgrade pack will presumably be made available. The car’s 2.3-litre turbo-petrol will produce 230kW and 440Nm and mated to either a 6-speed manual or 10-speed automatic.
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