- A 2011 V6 Ford Mustang will test its fuel range at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- NASCAR driver David Ragan and four Ford engineers will take turns driving.
- The goal is to complete 1,000 miles on a single tank of gasoline.
BRISTOL, Tennessee — Ford will use the famous Bristol Motor Speedway short track on Wednesday to test the fuel economy of its 2011 Mustang V6 in the 1,000-lap Challenge.
The car's all-aluminum V6 engine is rated at 305 horsepower and 31 miles per gallon, statistics touted by Ford as making the car "the most fuel efficient and most powerful sports car on the market."
NASCAR driver David Ragan and four Ford engineers who have worked on the Mustang project will take turns driving on the high-banked track, which measures just over a half-mile in length.
"This car we will be driving at Bristol is exactly the same Mustang that consumers can purchase at their local Ford dealership," said Tom Barnes, vehicle engineering manager. "We're not doing any tricks or making any modifications. The base car delivers 31 mpg and this is what you can buy. It has standard tire pressure, standard ride height, standard octane fuel. We're just going to be driving it."
The objective is to complete at least 1,000 laps, equal to two Sprint Cup Series races, before the car runs out of gas. A 16-gallon fuel tank means the drivers will have to squeeze 33.3 mpg out of the 3.7-liter power plant to go the 0.533-mile distance per lap.
The economy run wraps up a four-month promotion. Consumers have until 10 a.m. Wednesday to guess the number of laps the car will complete. Guesses may be submitted on www.Mustang1000LapChallenge.com. A random drawing from those who correctly guess the number of laps will determine a single winner who will receive a 2011 Mustang V6 coupe.
Inside Line says: The guess here is that none of the drivers will attempt to use the high line, but will stick instead to the shorter inside groove, and that the track speed record will not be threatened. — David Green, Correspondent
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jm1212 says:
02:32 PM, 06/22/2010
553 miles is not that big of a deal if the car has a six speed auto and is rated at 31 mpg hwy. if they were to get the 31 mpg that is advertised, they would easily go almost 500 miles. that said, the EPA's estimate is done at around 70 mph, so if they were to lower their speed to 65, 60, or even 55, they will easily reach 553 miles and probably go beyond it.
tsy says:
01:00 PM, 06/22/2010
Yes! I'd love to see 1000 MILES out of a single tank of gas! That would be 62.5 mpg! (unless the car has a huge reserve tank!) Is it a hybrid Mustang?
I would think 1000 laps wouldn't be nearly as challenging! ;)
compressor says:
12:44 PM, 06/22/2010
I do understand that "miles per tank" is nice for distance cruising but it is completely irrelevent to fuel efficiency. Not that I think Ford is trying to make a connection between the two with this stunt, but lots of car adverts seem to point out how far you can go on one tank of fuel.
dw_fit says:
12:17 PM, 06/22/2010
Single vehicle, running steady state, on a closed circuit...as their disclaimers say, "Your mileage may vary."
alman08 says:
10:41 AM, 06/22/2010
this is when "just the facts" is no fact.
by the way, how fast will the driver be going? 55mph? 60mph?
goaterguy says:
10:27 AM, 06/22/2010
Yup, I was doing the numbers in my head and they made no sense.
apagios says:
09:02 AM, 06/22/2010
3rd header in Article
"The goal is to complete 1,000 miles on a single tank of gasoline."
I think you might want to edit that to "1,000 Laps"? In the article is say the track is .533 miles per lap, 1000 miles out of a 16 gallon tank at 31 mpgs would be quite the accomplishment! :-p
lostboyz says:
09:01 AM, 06/22/2010
in the 'Just the facts' and picture caption you have written 1000miles, where its actually 1000 laps (533 miles)
not a bad idea for a promotion, I get about 350 miles per tank on my 2011 v6 with the 3.31 rear end and a lead foot, so it should be close.