What's the difference?
The new Ford Mustang GT was not designed for Paris.
Fighting through the morning peak hour rush (which seems to extend through the middle of the day and the afternoon), the new Mustang feels like a caged animal. Which is appropriate, given the car’s namesake is a wild horse that exists to roam the American wilderness.
But once we finally break the shackles of Parasian traffic we find ourselves getting to let this Mustang gallop across the French countryside and unleash its full potential. But more on that later…
The reason we're driving the Mustang in France is because the American brand wanted to connect it to its new racing program at the famous Le Mans sports car race (you know, the one in the Matt Damon movie, Ford v Ferrari).
No less than Bill Ford, great-grandson of the company’s famous founder, was on-hand to see the Mustang at Le Mans, such is the passion for performance.
Ford (the man, not the company) took the opportunity to declare that the Blue Oval brand is not only committed to internal combustion engines for the foreseeable future, but it will retain the V8 under the bonnet of the Mustang GT for as long as it can legally do so.
Australians will have to wait a few more weeks (maybe months) before the seventh-generation Mustang arrives, but here’s what you can expect when it lands on local roads.
This new Hyundai Ioniq 6 N asks one important question for the brand - how far can Hyundai go?
Not in the sense of driving range, but rather how far can the brand go in terms of both performance and price. The Ioniq 6 N pushes the limit on both, offering supercar levels of power and performance and at a price that continues to take the brand into unchartered territory.
This is the follow-up to the groundbreaking Ioniq 5 N, the all-electric performance SUV that launched in 2024. But, as you’d expect, in the intervening time Hyundai has been able to make improvements to push the Ioniq 6 N to new levels.
The Ioniq 5 N dramatically raised the bar for Hyundai, offering up to 478kW of power and 770Nm of torque, way beyond the 242kW/348Nm offered by the brand’s i30 N hot hatch. This was Hyundai’s ‘Godzilla moment’, when the Skyline GT-R changed the image of Nissan forever.
Now the Ioniq 6 N looks to push things even further. And it does so as the sole Ioniq 6 model grade in 2026, with the rest of the range currently unavailable in Australia, as the local operation waits for the facelifted model to arrive sometime in the future.
Having driven the latest example of the Mustang GT, I hope Bill Ford is true to his word and keeps the V8-powered Mustang for as long as possible. It isn’t the most razor-sharp sports car or the most powerful muscle car, but it offers the kind of driving thrills and enjoyment that have made the car an icon.
The price increase is steep but the new technology inside drags the Mustang into the modern era and will add more youth appeal to a car that is largely unchanged in concept for the past 60 years.
But now that I’ve driven it in the USA and France, I can’t wait for it to finally reach Australia.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
In the Ioniq 6 N Hyundai has built an incredibly quick and high-capable performance car. But that doesn’t mean it’s flawless and an obvious recommendation over its rivals.
Its looks remain divisive, and while obviously each individual will need to judge the design of the Ioniq 6 N themselves, objectively speaking there is a lot to like about this latest addition to Hyundai’s N stable.
Yes, it’s very fast, but with all the N modes switched off it’s also a very quiet and relaxed sedan with a premium look and feel. So it will play the dual role of track terror and everyday family transport well.
But it needs to be for the price, which is really testing the limits of Hyundai’s brand appeal. It obviously won’t be a best seller, but with the less-polarising Ioniq 5 N only selling approximately 300 cars since its launch, this could be a very niche proposition, reserved only for those who crave its special kind of electric performance.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.