Can Ford make a hybrid Mustang that wouldn’t offend the faithful? Yes they can…but first, I want to tell you a story.

Back when I was college, I was pretty open minded when it came to cars, and my catalog of former cars shows that. I’ve owned Nissan 240sx’s, turbocharged Saabs, big Jeeps, little Mustangs, a boat of a Chevy Caprice, and even a Merkur. Thanks in large part to the school’s diversified car club, I was exposed to a wide variety of brands and vehicles. So I picked up an appreciation for cars that fell outside of the “classic American muscle” category, and I am thankful for that.

But there was still one specific type of vehicle that I could not stand; the hybrid – in particular, the Toyota Prius. It was (and still is) a victim of aerodynamics-over-styling, and while it delivers amazing gas mileage, I still feel hybrid technology is a half-assed solution to our energy security issues. That’s a rant for a different website though.

I’ve warmed up to hybrid technology, if not the Prius itself, because I realized something. Hybrid technology doesn’t have to only provide superior fuel economy. Electric motors produce a ton of torque at 0 RPM, while an internal combustion engine must rev up to make power. Even with a large displacement V8 like the new 5.0 engine, the torque output at zero RPM is (literally) nothing compared to a beefy electric motor.

Of course, such a hybrid application would have to be an option, as opposed to mandatory. But it could also offer the Mustang another popular feature for performance cars these days; all-wheel drive. This would allow the V8 to continue the tradition of delivering huge burnouts and driving the rear wheels…but the front wheels could then be driven by electric motors. This would give the Mustang both all-wheel drive, and better fuel economy, as the electric motors could be used at low speeds and during light acceleration to save fuel.

Fuel Economy Standards Could Force It

Because here is the thing. No matter what you’re hearing on the radio or from talking heads on television, oil prices are only going to keep going up. Forget any political argument for or against drilling more oil wells in the U.S., because the rest of the world has its own plans. China now sells more cars than American in a year, and that number will likely keep rising. India is also going on a car buying spree, and between these two countries you have a third of the world’s population.

They’re going to need oil to put into their cars too. Our own government is calling for a 56.5 MPG fleet-wide fuel economy average by 2025 (which in reality would be closer to an average of 40 MPG, but that is neither here nor there).

Ten years ago if I had told you gas would cost $4 a gallon, you’d have called me crazy. Now, I don’t think it is out of the question that gas is only a couple of years away from $5 a gallon. And with the government involved, mandating higher fuel economy from automakers, Ford really has only a few options in regard to the Mustang. Either make it unaffordable for most Americans  (something along the lines of the Dodge Viper) and sell just a few Mustangs and lots of small cars, or they make the Mustang a lot more fuel efficient than it is even now.

An eight-speed transmission would certainly help, but even with many new emerging technologies improving the internal combustion engine’s efficiency like Ford’s own EcoBoost, I’m not sure if the Mustang will be allowed to survive solely as an ICE-powered vehicle. But as the recently released Ford Evos concept shows, the Blue Oval seems ready to put an EcoBoost engine and hybrid system into everything, including their sportier concepts and vehicles.

Electric Motors For Performance

But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. An EcoBoost 4-cylinder Mustang, with a limited hybrid system, could easily deliver 40 MPG through an eight-speed automatic transmission. And an all-wheel drive system would make winter driving no longer limited to the foolish and daring. And then there is the power bonus; an electric motor can easily provide a boost of 30-50 horsepower and twice as much torque. Imagine a little “passing mode” button that provides your Mustang with a nice power boost during merging or spirited driving?

I could totally dig that, and pat myself on the back for “going green” to boot. High end European automakers are already integrating such systems, from the Porsche Panamera hybrid to the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sports car that offers up to 960 ft-lbs of torque from its four electric motors. These are the kinds of cars automakers need to make, not egg-shaped hybrids that evoke no emotional response. People have responded in an overwhelmingly positive way to the Mustang for nearly 50 years.

Would they respond with cheers or leers to a hybrid Mustang? Probably both. But this is a new millennium, and we need new ideas to take us forward. I could see myself behind the wheel of a 300 horsepower, 40 MPG Mustang hybrid. Could you see yourself in one?