Until now we’ve only seen Ford’s 3D images and cutaways of the revised Coyote engine, in fact, Ford has yet to lift the hood on any 2015 Mustang for the press or the public.
Today, through an unnamed source, we were able to secure two photos from under the hood of a 2015 Mustang GT. Although this car is a test prototype, in Triple Yellow, and likely the same one that we saw this week at the Detroit Auto Show, it’s wearing pretty close to production garb in terms of the engine covers. This prevents us from discerning much on the mechanical side, but there are a few things worth noting.
The first thing we notice in these photos are the air scoops in the hood. These appear to be functional, probably for cooling, but the driver side scoop is perfectly positioned to feed cold air to the air box. While the air box is devoid of any of the script indicating that it is the same cold air induction style as the previous generation we hope the airs coop is what’s feeding it.
Speaking of induction, we noticed that the 2015 air box looks smaller than the 2011-14 model. It would be impossible to tell without the two side by side for direct comparison, but it seems to be lacking the width of it’s predecessor This will no doubt be the first thing that the aftermarket improves upon. Also notice that there is still a sound tube running from the air intake to the firewall to pipe in the sweet sounds of the V8 music conducted by the driver’s right foot.
The basic layout of the engine compartment also appears to be the same, the battery remains located at the firewall, while the PCM is located at the front. The coolant overflow bottle is different than on 11-14 models, this could just be one that was slapped in place for the prototype car use, it’s hard to say but it looks like it doesn’t belong here.
The engine covers are different as well, these may also be simply for the purpose of disguising things on the prototype car, and quite frankly we wish they weren’t there so we could snoop a little deeper. We’re sure the 5.0 badge, and some other scripts will be added to decorate the engine and coil covers. Notice too the strut braces sweep back to the firewall and are painted black, rather than the side to side brace of the S197 cars. This could just be larger than normal structure for the compartments that contain the brake resrvoir and booster, as well as the battery, but they’d be over-sized if that’s their only purpose.
What we can’t see are changes to the fuel system if any, or any visible signs of changes to the intake manifold, including the new intake runner control system which is supposed to manage the incoming air charge better for low RPM response, improved idle, and better fuel economy.
Ford is still silent on the official power numbers, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for at least 450 hp, when we find out for sure we’ll bring it to you right here.