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Mustang EcoBoost owners rejoice; you get more power!

12 October, 2016

It must be hard being the younger brother to a stonking great big five-litre V8 engine that needs no forced induction to make its brutal power and torque. This is the life of an EcoBoost owner — but not for long, as Ford has announced a performance package for the four-cylinder turbo EcoBoost engine. 

After driving both the V8 model and the turbocharged model, we all agreed that the EcoBoost was great, but it wasn’t the V8, and it certainly didn’t make the same sort of power. The noise that the V8 makes at full noise is intoxicating, whereas the EcoBoost sounds like a modified vacuum cleaner. 

Nonetheless, Ford could sway us with a bit more power, and that’s now an option. With an engine calibration (re-flash perhaps?) and a cold-air intake, the EcoBoost will produce an extra 19kW and 94Nm of torque than the base model. That’s a lot more torque, and, with the cold-air intake, a lot more noise — although we’re not sure the wssssshy noise that it’ll make is a good thing. Peak power will be 250kW and peak torque will be up to a whopping 529Nm — that’s huge! 

With Ford in America releasing a price of $699 for this package, it’ll no doubt be around the $1000 mark here in New Zealand. The package will retain the factory Ford warranty if installed by a Ford Performance authorized dealer. 

Still, cool boost noises aside, the V8 still gets our vote. Which would you choose? Let us know in the comments below. 

NZ Classic Car magazine, September/October 2026 issue 407, on sale now

16 August, 2026

We love bugs!
A bit of TLC that became a major restoration
The 1302S, or ‘Super Beetle’ as it became known, was built for two years before it, too, was replaced by a further-enhanced Beetle, the 1303, continuing an amazing 65-year lineage for one of the World’s best-known shapes.
The world’s best-selling single-model vehicle, the VW Beetle, possibly established another record for the amount of controversy it has created since the inception of the Type 1.
In a meeting with Hitler in June 1934, Ferdinand Porsche was contracted to build a ‘People’s Car’ that could accommodate two adults and three children, was air-cooled and simple to maintain, and could cruise economically at moderate speed along Germany’s proposed new Autobahns.
Our feature car, a 1972 1302S ‘Super Beetle’, was found by Dave and Michelle Dickie in Mosgiel a few years back. It was a runner, but like most VWs of this age, it needed a little TLC. They were looking for a daily driver for Michelle when they first came upon the VW being sold locally on behalf of its owner.
“The owner offered it to his grandchildren, and they didn’t want it, so he got the guy out at Mosgiel in the Mobil petrol station to sell it for him, and he put it on Trade Me for them. We never met the owner, and we were always dealing with the guy at the petrol station. We put a bid on it, and we were the only people that bid on it.”
Their bid was eventually successful, eight years ago. Not knowing much of the history, in situations like that, it’s always a risk buying a car, but they were in for a bit of a surprise.

The other Q car

12 August, 2026

Say the word ‘bond’ to anyone in the street and around 80 per cent straight away think of pop culture’s least-secret secret agent. The other 20 per cent may think of the wad of cash required to secure a flat or hire equipment that one gets back providing the fixtures and fittings stay much as they were.
However, mention ‘bond’ in specialist classic car circles and people will spin a very different yarn. If you dig deep enough, you will find an eccentric British carmaker that, throughout its 23 years in business, spawned some quirky and charming little cars.
The company was founded by Paul Sharp in 1922 under the name of Sharp’s Commercials Limited. However, the company did not start producing cars until 1948. The first car to carry the Bond name was the Bond Minicar. A three-wheeled, soft-top, two-cylinder eco car, the Minicar was a big hit at the time as the desire for an economical urban runabout that didn’t attract four-wheel car tax was strong in post-war Britain. All in all, 34,285 Minicars were produced over 26 years in a variety of variants.