Ford will make the Mustang V8 "a good neighbour" by silencing the sound of its exhausts

The new “Good Neighbour Mode” will allow owners of the Ford Mustang V8 GT to silence it completely or make it roar according to its owner’s wishes, so they can be “more considerate” towards their neighbours and avoid bothering them with the evocative, ultra-sporty roar coming from the Mustang’s exhausts.

The new silent exhaust system that Ford will fit from 2018 onwards on Mustang models with the 5.0-litre V8 engine optimises valve performance by activating or deactivating their closing, so the sound coming out of the twin exhausts at the rear can be modulated.

This is no trivial matter: according to a survey carried out by Ranker.com, the high noise produced by sports cars is considered one of the most annoying sounds that residents of residential neighbourhoods have to put up with. Specifically, it ranks among the top five, alongside lawnmowers, other power tools, barking dogs and music bands rehearsing in garages or nearby houses.

The idea arose precisely when Steve von Voerster, a former engineering chief at Ford Motor Co., was manoeuvring his Mustang Shelby GT350 on the driveway of his house when a neighbour annoyed by the car’s noise reported him to the police. Although the police did not finally locate him, because he had left before they arrived, Von Voerster acknowledged his excesses: “I love the sound of the V8, but I admit it can be very loud and neighbours who don’t like this noise shouldn’t be bothered by it. It sounds great,” he said, “but there has to be a way to give people more control over the engine sound.”

It will reduce the noise from 82 to 72 dB with “Quiet mode” activated No sooner said than done: Von Foerster turned to Ford looking for a solution to this problem, and he now leads a team developing innovative products like this one, from which the “Good Neighbour Mode” has emerged, which can be activated in the exhaust sound control thanks to the development within it of the “Good Neighbour Mode” of the exhaust silencer.

Thanks to the features of the new 2018 Mustang, these cars can be properly equipped to allow their drivers to either reduce the engine’s sound volume to a minimum or even schedule quiet periods in advance during start-up (like the do-not-disturb mode on mobile phones) through the controls of the infotainment system, reducing noise from 82 dB with the function off to 72 dB with it on.

This new mode, called Quiet Exhaust, and the Quiet Start features available for the Mustang V8 GT are part of the exhaust system, which also allows the exhaust sound to be adjusted in the Normal, Sport and Track modes, adapting the Mustang’s sound to the type of driving on each stretch of road.

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CoupeFord Mustang6 versions · from 62,405 €