The scene: NASCAR’s Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. The car: A 2011 Ford Mustang V6. The Goal: 1,000 laps on a single tank of gas. And the result? Piloted by a team of five drivers, including NASCAR contender Dave Ragan, the Mustang lapped the 1/2-mile track a record-breaking 1,457 times without refueling, averaging an amazing 48.5 mpg.
Running those 776.5 miles required a concerted focus on efficient driving—minimizing the use of air conditioning, maintaining steady and consistent speed, avoiding sudden stops/starts and keeping engine RPMs low—but it’s also worth pointing out the Mustang wasn’t traveling at a mere snail’s pace. Drivers averaged nearly 44 mph during the Challenge’s 17 hours and 40 minutes.
“When we hit 1,000 laps we still had a quarter of a tank of gas left,” said Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing, and the man who drove the 2011 V6 Mustang past the 1,000 lap mark. “The last driving stint before I passed 1,000 laps I was averaging 43.7 miles a gallon and that is unbelievable. These guys had run the distance of more than two Sprint Cup races at Bristol and they still had fuel left. Congratulations to everyone behind the Mustang and to everyone at Ford, because this 2011 Mustang V6 is really something special.”
“Special” is indeed the right term for the new Mustang, which is the first—and only—mainstream production car to top 30 mpg on the highway and 300 hp under the hood. To attain these types of numbers (the actual marks are 31 of the former and 305 of the latter), the Mustang relies on a lightweight, all-aluminum V6 engine that boasts a wide range of cutting-edge technology, including twin independent variable camshaft timing. That system can adjust the engine’s valve train in mere microseconds to match driver input with the ideal mix of performance and efficiency. A similar innovative approach to powertrain engineering is showcased by the Mustang’s six-speed automatic transmission with Ford’s unique “hill mode.”
Automatically measuring vehicle conditions such acceleration, pedal position, absolute speed and brake status, this feature keeps the Mustang in lower gears longer when driving uphill and boosts engine-braking when coasting downhill.
Also helping with the ups and downs of everyday driving is the Mustang’s new suspension tuning. Revised damper and spring rates are used to smooth out the straightways, and new rear lower-control arms and stiffer stabilizer bushings help keep the Mustang galloping through the curves. That’s a task made even easier—and more enjoyable for the driver—thanks to the addition of Electric Power Assist Steering, four-wheel anti-lock brakes and a limited-slip differential.
And while Ford’s performance at Bristol may have been “beyond our wildest dreams” according to Tom Barnes, lead engineer on the 1,000-Lap Challenge, it’s notable that the Mustang used on the track was no dream car. It was exactly the same kind of bone-stock ‘Stang that drivers can get into today at local Ford dealerships around the country.
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