The Ford Mustang is one of the most iconic cars ever made, and Ford hasn’t stopped making them ever since they were introduced decades ago. Its latest version is the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1, but it’s not a perfect muscle car by any means. That being said, the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 comes with a certain feature that it definitely needs. 

The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is still manual 

A couple of decades ago, many Americans were buying and driving in cars that had a manual transmission, but those days are long gone. Nowadays, most new cars in the U.S. are automatics, and it’s become increasingly rare to find a car that comes with a manual transmission as either standard or as an option. 

That being said, this move away from manual transmissions toward automatic transmissions and CVTs is largely impacting the most popular segments of the car industry, but it hasn’t had as much of an impact on the performance-oriented segments of the industry. This means that while it’s becoming hard to find a regular car with a stick shift, it’s extremely common to find a sports car with one. 

There are many reasons for that, and it’s become a big issue in the car world. On one hand, some driving purists absolutely love manuals, and they won’t buy a sports car that doesn’t have one. On the other hand, some people are open to having an automatic transmission in their sports car. That’s why, according to MotorTrend, the latest Mustang Mach 1 comes with a manual transmission as standard, as Ford knew better than to alienate its purist fans. 

Why Ford needed to do this

While Ford knew better than to alienate its purist fans, Ford did just that in 2019 when it announced the future of the Mustang, which was the Mustang Mach-E. The Mach-E is a big departure from the Mustangs that Ford fans, as well as driving purists, know and love. First and foremost, the Mach-E is an SUV, and in addition to that, the Mach-E is, as its name may have implied, fully electric.

Ford fans and driving purists didn’t react kindly to this announcement from Ford, as it seemed like Ford was shifting away from what made Mustangs great in the first place. That said, there was some debate over the Mach-E’s popularity. The Mach-E won’t be available until 2021, and a few dealerships have already reported a lot of interest in the Mach-E. 

Regardless, this whole Mach-E saga showed that Ford can’t change the Mustang too much without angering a lot of driving purists and Ford fans. That’s exactly why Ford made a very smart decision to keep the manual transmission on the Mach 1 as standard. Of course, Ford is also offering an automatic transmission option, but having the manual as standard is more than enough to appease the driving purists. 

The high performance of the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1

However, the thing that should make everybody happy is the powerful performance that the Mach 1 offers. Ford only offers one engine option on the Mach 1, and it’s a 5.0-liter V8 engine that gets 480-hp and 420 lb-ft of torque.

Additionally, the standard Mach 1 has small exterior upgrades that should improve how it handles. Ford is also offering optional upgrades, such as an improved spoiler, that should make the Mach 1 handle even better. 

That said, MotorTrend hasn’t test-driven the Mach 1 yet, so it’s unclear how fast the Mach 1 truly is. Regardless, with a $50,000 starting price tag, the Mach 1 is significantly more expensive than the regular Mustang, but its powerful capabilities more than make up the difference.