Lucas Bell 
Back in October, the covers were officially pulled off the European-spec 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1. And while it may not be as powerful as the American Market muscle car, Ford Europe maintains that the new track-focused 5.0 is the fastest Mustang to ever come to the continent. With a little help from a partnership between Ford U.K. and DriveTribe, we have a chance to watch a particularly famous Mustang fan take their first drive in the new Mach 1: Richard Hammond.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Hammond and Ford team up for a bit of video making fun. The legendary presenter made a whole series of videos about his journeys with a Ford Ranger Raptor, a vehicle he once described as his mid-life crisis car. In their latest project, Hammond was given the keys to the Mustang Mach 1 and was tasked with answering fan questions about the pony car. In fact, the “Grand Tour” host was the first person outside of Ford U.K. to get some seat time. Staring in one of the most popular shows on the planet for over a decade has its perks, we guess.
Hammond spends a bit of time answering some questions about the Mustang’s retro design cues before hopping in and firing up the 5.0L V8 engine. In Europe, the Mustang Mach 1 will produce 453 horsepower and 390 ft-lb of torque, compared to figures of 480 horsepower and 430 ft-lb of torque in North America. Regardless of the dip in power, Hammond is able to easily roast some tires during one of his “scientific tests”. This of course involved a track, some cones, and some aggressive steering application. In terms of outright performance, we know that the car will do 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph.
While the video does come across feeling like an advertisement at times, there is always fun to be had watching Richard Hammond in a car. Furthermore, if he is willing to give this thing his blessing to use the Mach 1 nameplate, it might just be a standout yet.
