(June 24, 2010) BRISTOL, Tn. — The 2011 Ford Mustang, which made history when it became the first car ever to deliver more than 30 mpg and 305 horsepower, has set a new record by running 1,457 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway while averaging 48.5 mpg.

The Mustang 1,000 Lap Challenge was designed to demonstrate that a stock production Mustang V-6 could run 1,000 laps and 533 miles on a single of tank of fuel.  With the aid of fuel efficient driving techniques by Ford engineers, the Mustang far surpassed its goal of 1,000 laps.

“To see a Mustang post average fuel economy of 48.5 mpg while running at Bristol is impressive,” said Dave Pericak, Mustang chief engineer.  “The new V-6 engine along with the advanced six-speed transmission in the car is a key element in delivering both fuel economy and performance for Mustang.”

Ford NASCAR driver
David Ragan behind
the wheel of the Mustang
during the challenge

Ford is committed to being a fuel economy leader in every segment it competes in and Mustang’s leads in its class along with other Ford fuel economy leaders such as the Ford Fiesta, Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.

The Challenge team, which included NASCAR star David Ragan and four Ford Mustang engineers, completed the challenge in 17 hours and 40 minutes, showing off the 2011 Mustang V-6’s class-leading fuel economy by averaging 48.5 mpg over the course of the 776.5 miles logged during the Challenge.  That distance is more than the two complete NASCAR Sprint Cup events that take place in Bristol every year.

Ragan pushed the Mustang past the 1,000-lap mark at 7:26 p.m., 12 hours and 26 minutes into the Challenge, but the car wasn’t close to being out of fuel.  Mustang engineer Seong Park was behind the wheel when it finally came to a halt (on the backstretch) of the famed NASCAR track at 12:41 a.m. local time.

A team of Ford engineers prepared for the challenge by implementing fuel efficient driving tips like minimizing the use of air conditioning, steady and consistent driving, avoiding sudden stops/starts and by keeping the RPMs low.