Ford Mustang vs Lexus RC F Ultimate: Bittersweet V8 Symphony

If you’re in the market for a naturally aspirated V8 car in the UK right now, the situation is a very bleak one. Most new cars are electric or hybrid, and many of the last remaining V8s now come with the caveat of some form of battery-powered attached to them. Take a look at the BMW M5 and more potent Porsche Panameras for example.

Those without usually still have to do with turbochargers to help keep them intact with emissions regulations. The days of relying entirely on atmospheric pressure for your eight cylinders are surely numbered.

It’s that bleak thought that we have to carry into this twin test. You see, the Lexus RC F we have here isn’t a car you can order new anymore. Somehow, the 5.0-litre Japanese muscle car survived a touch over 10 years, but its death knell has run.

What we have here is the Ultimate. A run-out special of just 30 cars bringing with it a few little trinkets to signal the end-of-life for the RC F. You can’t order one new anymore, you’ll need to peruse your local Lexus dealers and hope there’s one sitting around.

That means those seeking a naturally aspirated V8 engine have just two options remaining. The first is a C8 Corvette, or there’s the car most associated with the layout.

This is the S650 Ford Mustang. Somehow, despite the Chevrolet Camaro dying a death and the Dodge Charger reinvented as an electric car, the Mustang has found a way to live on in the era of downsizing and electromagnetic propulsion. It started the pony car genre, and it’s outlived everything that came to take its crown.

Really, beyond the rear-drive and V8 engines, the Ford Mustang and Lexus RC F are two cars that wouldn’t necessarily be comparable had they co-existed 25 years ago. One is a taste of Americana for those who choose to wear cowboy boots and partake in line dancing, the other a plush coupe for the reasonably successful exec that happens to be able to keep pace with BMW M3s.

That difference in positioning is made clear by the pricing of both cars. If you fancy a Ford Mustang, it’ll cost you from £55,725. In the spec tested here with MagneRide adaptive dampers, the grey paint and red brake callipers, that’ll be £58,675, please.

By contrast, the one-spec-fits-all Lexus RC F Ultimate would’ve set you back £93,495 + a few hundred for your chosen paint. Provided you were quick enough to get one.

Expensive, but that price does show in the quality of the interior. Getting into the RC F, even with its extra Blue bits, Alcantara and ‘Ultimate’ badges, doesn’t feel all that much like stepping into a roaring performance car. It’s like a chic airport lounge, only with a centre console.

It is showing its age, granted. The trackpad infotainment is just as hopeless as it has always been and the stacks of buttons give it a control layout more akin to a VCR than a 2024 model-year production car.

This all masks quite a beast, though. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Lexus would be sedate in its approach to V8 performance – knowing there is power there but utilising it elegantly.

You may get that impression when you fire things up. There’s no raucous overrun, no immense growl from under the bonnet. You simply turn it on, and it gently burbles away – you’re none the wiser from the inside.

Then you put your foot down and, oh boy. It’s like awakening the Kraken. A ferocious soundtrack bellows from the five-litre unit, brutally delivering its 457bhp and sending the rear axle of the car into a frenzy.

You’ve really got to balance the throttle to exploit the power. Gentle inputs are key to mastering the car, too much power will easily overwhelm the rear but too little and the ageing eight-speed gearbox’s flaws begin to show.

Do so though, and it’s an enthralling experience. Handling isn’t the work of precision – the steering feels disappointingly light and numb, rather than precise or even satisfyingly ham-fisted – and the 1.7-tonne weight of the car isn’t masked all that well. That’s all balanced about by the charisma of the powertrain. You come into the RC F expecting a gentle cruiser, instead it’s a stealthy bruiser.

In a way, it’s the reverse of the expectations of the Ford Mustang. This may come as a surprise to Americans, but the Mustang has always been a bit of an eccentric thing here. Something you buy to do big burnouts and make lots of noise in, rather than to use as a highway cruiser.

Yet, it’s quite good at making the ordinary feel special. It bellows and crackles as you fire it up, it looks special and in the context of the current car market, it doesn’t even feel hopelessly large. Cruising about in the ‘Stang is what it feels made to do.

On an American canyon road, this is likely a different tale but here in the UK, you don’t feel all that encouraged to drive it like a loon. Yes, drop it in second out of a junction (delightfully, this one is a manual) and you can get those wheels lit up while exiting your local car meet.

Yet, the real fun is leaving it in third and waiting for the long gearing and immense torque to surge you up to speed. Like the RC F, it’s not brilliant at making you feel engaged in hard cornering but unlike the Lexus, you don’t have to feel like you’re on the limit to really exploit it.

Of course, that near-£40k price gap shows in the interior. The Mustang feels cheap inside, even though it is a notable step up from the S550. It does have a better interior, but it’s hindered by regulatory things like speed limit warnings (which often gets the limit wrong), intrusive lane-keeping tech and an utterly naff ability to realise your hands are on the steering wheel, which beeps incessantly at you to put them there, even though they are already. On an old-school, naturally-aspirated V8 muscle car, it’s a real juxtaposition – and one unfortunately one we have to deal with.

I don’t really want to pick a winner here. I don’t think I need to, either. Really, this is a bittersweet celebration of the V8 engine. In 2025, to be able to experience two utterly fantastic engines like this is a treat. Knowing that the Lexus is already gone, and surely the days of the Mustang as it stands are numbered though, brings a tinge of sadness.