The 2024 Ford Mustang will be available with an electronic drift brake to make getting sideways easier, Ford said on Sunday.
Ford announced the drift brake at the unveiling of the 2024 Mustang Formula Drift cars built by RTR Vehicles. RTR, started by pro drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr., also helped develop the drift brake.
Intended for track use only, the drift brake is designed to emulate the behavior of the hydraulic hand brakes used in drifting competition, according to Ford. The automaker claims it can apply more than three times the braking force of a conventional mechanical parking brake, helping the rear wheels to brake traction and get the Mustang drifting. And it's intended for drivers of all skill levels.
"A novice can use the electronic drift brake to learn drifting and later change the system settings to use in track-only competition," the automaker said in a statement.
This isn't the first time Ford has used electronics to enable drifting. It introduced drift mode on the previous Focus RS, using the car's all-wheel-drive system to send more torque to the rear wheels—particularly the outside rear wheel—to help induce a slide. It also showed an accessory Drift Stick electronic hand brake in 2017 similar in concept to the 2024 Mustang's drift brake. But this time Ford is applying the concept to an inherently more drift-worthy rear-wheel-drive vehicle.
The drift brake is part of the Mustang Performance Electronic Parking Brake, which in turn is part of the optional Performance Pack. It's available with both the Mustang's 2.3-liter turbo-4, which produces 315 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque, or the 5.0-liter V-8, which is rated at 480 hp and 415 lb-ft in GT spec and 500 hp and 418 lb-ft in the new-for-2024 Mustang Dark Horse. The drift brake can be paired with both the 10-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmissions, but the turbo-4 engine is only available with the automatic.
2024 Ford Mustang electronic drift brake
The 2024 Ford Mustang goes on sale this summer. Pricing starts at $32,515 for a base EcoBoost coupe, but rises to $43,090 for the V-8 GT, and $59,565 for the Dark Horse. The drift brake will be available to order when sales start.
