Ford Mustang GT - cinch Weekend Wheels

Do cars get much more Stars and Stripes than the Ford Mustang? As far as models that are sold in Britain in right-hand drive, the answer is almost certainly a resounding ‘no’. Sure, you can also get a Jeep Wrangler with a steering wheel on the correct side, and that go-anywhere 4x4 is really very American. But you can buy a Mustang with a rumbling V8 engine, providing that automotive soundtrack of the USA - that of a good ol’ eight-cylinder motor.

Now why, you might ask, has cinch gone all mad on Americana? It’s all to do with our recently announced partnership with the NFL London Games, when the US football series comes to Britain and is hosted at the Leagues London home, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Since breaking the news, cinch’s staffers have been getting all excited about giant foam hands, hotdogs (including vegan ones, of course) and American cars that remind us of the movies.

Since Steve McQueen used one in an epic car chase for the 1968 film, Bullitt, the Mustang has been an American champion. It’s not always been the best or most mechanically impressive in the pony car class – the American performance car segment that sits below the even brawnier muscle car class – but it’s always been authentic to the brief. Handily for us here, the latest one is actually really rather terrific, and a genuine threat to sophisticated European sports cars when it comes to fun and excitement. 450hp of rear-wheel drive V8 muscle makes sure of that.

It’s for that reason we aren’t only suggesting a bright blue Mustang V8 GT as your weekend wheels because it could celebrate our NFL partnership with stars and stripes on. We’re also nominating it because it’s brilliant to drive, offering big V8 performance car experience in a technically impressive package that you could very easily put into everyday use. Ford really upped its game with the latest car and the results are something owners of Porsche Caymans and Nissan 370Zs might very well be tempted to.

It’s also something of a bargain, with V8 Mustangs on our site starting from under £35,000. For those wanting a piece of that Mustang story at a reduced cost, there is a smaller-engined, more economical option. But for those able to stretch to the budget of Ford’s red-blooded 5.0-litre car, this V8 is sure to make you fall in love. Rumbly like a thunderstorm and powerful enough to give you a proper thump in the back, it’s the best of American automobilia, with a more polished demeanour than we’re used to. We’re fully smitten.

Naturally, the Mustang we’ve picked out in bright blue with stripes , black wheels and a boot spoiler would look at home on the Miami beach front just as easily as it would catch the eye on the A509 through Milton Keynes. And with only 9,173 miles on the clock, this £41,450 car is one fresh-faced way to get all excited about one of America’s best exports: the V8 engine.