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Ford boosts Aus Mustang allocation and spec for MY17


FORD has diverted 2000 extra Mustang muscle cars to head Down Under to try to keep up with unprecedented demand - but the waiting time still stretches into next year.

Before the Mustang went on sale Ford Australia thought it would sell about 1000 cars per year, but received 4000 orders within months of the car going on sale.

Ford is now holding more than 6000 orders for the Mustang, despite increasing the price in December by up to $2500.

The long list of forward orders initially pushed the waiting time out to 18 months.

The Mustang factory in Detroit couldn’t immediately build more right-hand-drive cars because there are 106 unique components that go into a right-hand-drive model.

But the extra 2000 cars allocated to Australia are believed to have cut the waiting time to about 12 months.

The Mustang has gotten off the a flying start, becoming Australia’s top selling sports car...

The Mustang has gotten off the a flying start, becoming Australia’s top selling sports car below $80,000 so far this year.

From June production, the Mustang will get some technology upgrades including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a choice of three new colours.

But options such as radar cruise control (available overseas) are yet to be added locally.

Demand for Mustang in Australia has taken Detroit by so much surprise that the chief engineer for the vehicle met with local fans and buyers during a special visit earlier this year.

While Australia has missed out on limited-edition performance models of the new Mustang released in the US, Carsguide understands future high-powered variants may be made available in right-hand-drive.

The Mustang’s arrival in Australia hasn’t been all plain sailing, however.

The paint on a small batch of cars in the first shipment were damaged by bird poo while they waited on the shipping docks to be transported to dealers.

And last month NSW Police ruled out the Mustang V8 for highway patrol duty after the automatic transmission repeatedly overheated during a simulated pursuit test.

Ford and Holden have for decades routinely fitted extra cooling equipment to the cars they supply Highway Patrol across Australia.

However, a cooling upgrade package is yet to be engineered for the Mustang as it not yet used by police in other markets.

Do you think the excitement surrounding the new Ford Mustang is warranted? Let us know in the comments below