While many American Mustang fans have been enjoying the all-new Mustang for months now, European fans been impatiently waiting for their chance to buy the famous pony car. The first batch of 2015 Mustangs arrives in Europe in July, and Ford has revealed that the Euro-spec Mustang GT will be able to sprint from 0 to 100 KM/H (0 to 62 MPH) in 4.8 seconds…a bit slower than its American cousin.

Buyers in the Old World will be able to choose between the 2.3 liter EcoBoost and 5.0 liter V8 engine, but not the for-America-only 3.7 liter V6. Due to stricter emissions standards in Europe, Ford had to sacrifice some power in the name of cleaner air. While the smaller EcoBoost engine only lost a single horsepower, down to 309 ponies from 310 (torque remains unchanged), the gas-gulping 5.0 drops from 435 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque to 415 and 391.

That would account for the discrepancies between the American Mustang GT, which many outlets rate as taking between 4.4 and 4.7 seconds to reach 62 MPH. The EcoBoost engine is meanwhile rated at 5.8 seconds to reach 62 MPH, while the American version has recorded times as low as 5.2 seconds. This discrepancy is a bit harder to explain, though a change in transmission or rear-end gearing in a bid to boost fuel economy could shave a few tenths off the acceleration time.

Is this a case of Ford under promising and over delivering? Or has Europe’s draconian emission rules choked back some of the performance of America’s favorite pony car? Not that it really matters; the 2015 Mustang GT is the highest-horsepower high-volume vehicle Ford has ever sold in Europe, and so far some 2,200 customers have signed up despite having to pay a hefty price premium (the Mustang GT starts at about $47,000 in Germany).

What’s the loss of a few horsepower compared to the fun and freedom one gains with an American V8 powering a European road trip?