The Ford Mustang is getting a quiet start-up mode to keep neighbours happy
Ford wants to give owners more control over the sound of their cars so they don’t upset their neighbours
Ford is introducing a “Good Neighbour Mode” for its Mustang muscle car.
The V8-engined performance car has a series of driving modes that alter the way the car handles on the road, as well as changing the sound from the exhaust. However, as standard the car starts up with a flare of revs.
Now, though, engineers working on the latest model have introduced a Quiet Start mode that owners can use when leaving home early in the morning or late at night, after the police were called to a senior employee by a disgruntled neighbour.
Steve von Foerster, head of user experience on Ford’s product development team, said that the encounter gave him an idea. “I love the sound of the V8, but it can be loud, and you can’t annoy people like that in your neighborhood”, he said.
“It sounds so cool, but I thought, ‘There has to be a way to give people more control over the engine’s sound.’”
Drivers can set their Mustang to Quiet Start using wheel-mounted buttons before starting the car, or set specific times when the car will start quietly automatically. Ford claims this is a world-first.
The Ford Mustang is available in the UK with either a 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine or a 5.0-litre V8. Priced from £33,645 for the former and £38,095 for the latter, it marked the first time the muscle car had been sold as a right-hand-drive model in the UK when it was introduced in 2015.
