Horsepower History: Mustang Power Numbers Through the Years

By Marcus Amick - August 14, 2015

Ford WHQ_2

Even over the past five years that the Mustang has been struggling in the sales battle against the Camaro, it’s clear that one thing has been looking up: those horsepower numbers.

A chart tracking the output of the Ford pony car for the past 50 years shows that from 2009 to 2014, the Mustang has been gaining power. Aside from a slight dip from 2013 to 2014, the power numbers hover well beyond the 400-horsepower mark, as highlighted in a Mustang News report.

That’s a far cry from the near doomsday period of the Mustang during the years of the second and third gen models, which never saw its horsepower peak over 250.

mustang-history- in text image

In fact, it’s only been for the past six years that the average horsepower ratings of the Mustang have even been comparable to the models of the sixties, still considered by many as the heyday of the American muscle car when it comes to power.

Of course, with the recent resurgence in American muscle and more fuel efficient engines on the horizon, I’m betting some of the Mustang’s most powerful years lie ahead.