US And EU Mustangs Have Subtle Differences

By Patrick Morgan - October 25, 2016

Aside from having the steering wheel on the ~~wrong~~ right side, European Mustangs have some differences compared to US cars. You would expect with the strict emissions standards all across the EU, that there’d be a difference in the engines. There is, but surprisingly the slightly lower power made from the 5.0 EU motor has nothing to do with emissions. Exhaust manifolds for EU cars are slightly more restrictive to make room for the steering column and steering rack, resulting in a loss of 25 horsepower. The EcoBoost retains its power numbers during the journey across the pond. Speaking of engines, the V6 model isn’t even available in Europe.

We get a more spritely 3.73:1 final drive ratio, where as the Brits only get a 3.55:1. Other differences are purely cosmetic. Pedestrian safety regulations means the hood vents on the US models are axed on the EU cars. Up front, their headlights don’t have the three bars that illuminate. Out back, they get clear tail lights with only one bar as a turn signal, where we get the red tail lights with the sequential turn signals. Side mirrors are a bit larger on the EU model, with laws determining the design of a car (again).