Before I get into my impressions on the 2011 Mustang GT – a quick review of modern pony car history is in order.

For a good part of the previous decade, the Ford Mustang stood as the only pony car offering in the United States. The Challenger and 'Cuda had faded away decades ago, and GM's Camaro and Firebird had rattled themselves out of production by the early 2000's. A full redesign in 2005 boosted excitement for the Mustang – while it continued to stand as the go-to choice for affordable V8 performance in the US.

Then as the decade came to a close, the Mustang all of a sudden found itself surrounded by competition. Dodge had reintroduced the Challenger with Hemi V8 power and the GM brought back an all new Camaro with concept car looks and a wallet friendly price tag. Even Hyundai was offering an affordable rear-drive performance car. Bailouts and bankruptcies aside, It was like 1970 again.

For the 2010 model year, Ford gave the Mustang a significant redesign . The body was trimmed and made more muscular, while the interior saw major improvements in quality and refinement. Under the hood though, the Mustang GT's 4.6 liter SOHC V8 went largely unchanged.

However, it was no secret that Ford was hard at work on a new and improved powerplant for the Mustang GT. For months the internet was filled with rumors about the new "Coyote" motor. Finally, last spring Ford revealed what would be powering the 2011 Mustang GT – a DOHC 5.0 liter V8 that would make over 400 horsepower.

Fast forward to last week and I have finally got my hands on a 2011 GT press car, fresh out of the factory and coated in a unique "Yellow Blaze Metallic Tri-Coat". As the owner of a 2006 Mustang GT, I could hardly wait to hop in and see how all of Ford's progress felt on the road.

Before I even fired up the car, my first impression was how much the interior had been improved. The overall feel and layout was familiar, but the fit, finish and material qualities were a big step up from my '06.

The second revelation came when I grabbed onto the shifter for the new 6-speed transmission. The feel of the shifter was fantastic, with a satisfying notch between each gear.

Once some open road was found (not the easiest thing to find here in LA), I got a chance to open up the 5.0 a bit. Wow, this is a serious motor.

The list of features on this mill is long. DOHC with four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, and a redline of 7,000 rpm for starters. Power figures come in at 412 horsepower and 390 ft lbs of torque. 412 horsepower from a naturally aspirated five liter V8? That's something you'd liken to more to a high end European performance car than a good old American pony car.

The five oh badges on the side are a nice throwback to the Fox Body 5.0 cars of the '80s and '90s. Vanilla Ice should be proud.

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Naturally, acceleration is quite a sensation in this car with all those horses under the hood. I was especially impressed with the high rpm power of the 5.0, especially after driving my 4.6 GT. The sensation was further increased with this car's optional 3.73 gear ratio.

Even with the race-car like motor under the hood, if you drive this thing lightly (easier said than done) you'll be rewarded with an EPA rated 26 miles per gallon on the highway. You can even run it on regular fuel if you don't mind a slight decrease in horsepower.

Handling-wise the car also impressed. The chassis is responsive, and the car delivers more than enough grip from the 19" rubber. The suspension could stand to be slightly stiffer I suppose, and the car would look even better if it were an inch or two lower. Nothing a quick trip to the aftermarket can't take care of.

Braking was awesome as well, thanks to the optional Brembo Brake package. Yep, Brembos on a Mustang GT.

The Brembo package also includes these split five-spoke wheels with grippy 255/40/19 Pirelli tires.

Another view of the interior. A solid balance of comfort, style, and functionality in here.

For entertainment, you have the Shaker 500 audio system with Sirius radio and Ford's Sync technology. I was just as happy listening to the ambient sounds of the 5.0 doing its thing though.

Another cool feature of the 2010 and up redesign – sequential tail lamps!

The GT I sampled was the Premium model which came in with an MSRP of $36,675 – including the Brembo package, the 3.73 rear end, and the optional yellow paint. A standard GT with the same running gear can be had $29,995.

The Mustang GT has always been about big performance and huge grins for a modest amount of money. The 2011 5.0 GT continues this tradition in a more pronounced way than any of us could ever have imagined.

Long live the pony car.

-Mike Garrett