There is officially a seventh generation Ford Mustang, and the newest pony car—codenamed S650—comes powered by a choice of three gas-burning engines. Real engines! No electrification! These engines are even all new or highly revised. Can we get a hallelujah?! The InEVitable electrified and autonomous future is bearing down on us, but soul-enriching internal-combustion, capable of delivering far more than A-to-B transportation, is still very much alive at Ford Blue. Let’s take a deeper dive into the three engines on offer in the 2024 Ford Mustang and see how they’ve adapted to survive into a Tier 3/LEV III emissions future, clawing back some power that was recently lost in the name of emissions.

It may be tough to tell by studying the Mustang’s spec sheet, but this 2.3-liter EcoBoost I-4 engine is entirely new, save for a few fasteners. One of its big emissions enablers is fitment of both port- and direct-injection, with the latter’s pressure bumped to 5,000 psi. Another is internally plumbed exhaust-gas recirculation, which can be managed far more precisely than metering exhaust gasses back in through external lines. One interesting feature on this longitudinal application of the engine is an integrated airbox, which ships from the engine factory attached in front of the front-end accessory drive unit. Mounting it so close to the intake manifold minimizes losses.

At the 2024 Mustang’s launch, Ed Krenz, chief…