FORD MUSTANG NAMED ULTIMATE STUNT CAR BY FORMER 'STIG' BEN COLLINS IN NEW FILM; 10,000 MUSTANGS SOLD IN EUROPE

November 9, 2015 by Ford

◾Ford Mustang is crowned the ultimate stunt car in 'Ben Collins: Stunt Driver,' a new Lionsgate film starring the stunt driver, racing driver and former 'Stig' on BBC's 'Top Gear'

◾Mustang fastback with 421 PS 5.0-litre V8 beats high-performance road and competition cars in explosive, high-speed challenges in the new DVD, which comes out Monday, Nov. 9

◾Mustang also offered with 317 PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine and as a convertible; Ford has sold 10,000 Mustangs in Europe since order books opened in January

COLOGNE, Germany, Nov. 9, 2015 – The all-new Ford Mustang has been named the ultimate stunt car by Ben Collins – top Hollywood stunt driver, racing driver and former 'Stig' on the BBC's 'Top Gear' – in his new film 'Ben Collins: Stunt Driver'.

In the new Lionsgate film, the Ford Mustang fastback – powered by a 5.0-litre V8 engine – beats an array of high-performance road and competition cars during 48 hours of explosive, high-speed challenges featuring aerobatic planes, helicopter gunships and military machines.

'The point of this adventure was to find the perfect car for an epic, high octane, Hollywood-style car chase, and it's the iconic Ford Mustang that gets top billing,' Collins said. 'Mustang has starred in many a classic car chase during the past 50 years, and is still the stunt driver's weapon of choice to leave the bad guys standing in a cloud of tyre smoke.'

Collins' movie stunt driving credits include the James Bond films 'Quantum of Solace,' 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre,' as well as 'The Dark Knight Rises' and 'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.' Collins was also the anonymous 'Stig' for eight years on BBC's 'Top Gear,' and he has competed in Le Mans, GT and NASCAR race series.

'We are thrilled to have been able to work with Ford on this special project at such an exciting time in the world of motoring entertainment,' said Nicola Pearcey, executive producer, Lionsgate. 'Ben's incredible stunt driving skill and close relationship with the car industry has meant we were able to leave no stone unturned in making this a truly spectacular action experience.'

The all-new Ford Mustang is now on sale across Europe for the first time in more than 50 years in fastback and convertible bodystyles, equipped with Ford's 5.0-litre V8 engine or the fuel-efficient 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine delivering 317 PS.

Mustang helped Collins evade baddies in his new film with all-new front and rear suspension systems including innovative integral link independent rear suspension, and standard performance brake packages behind 19-inch wheels. A lightweight balanced and responsive chassis delivers up to 0.97 g-force when cornering, and customers can choose between six-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic with wheel-mounted paddle shifters for slick gear changes.

Mustang also gives the driver an edge on a movie set whether chasing or being chased, using selectable Drive Modes to match Normal, Sport+, Track or Snow/Wet settings to driving conditions. Launch Control helps the 5.0-litre V8 Mustang sprint 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4.8 seconds.

More than 10,000 Mustangs have now been sold in Europe since the order books opened in January this year, including almost 4,000 orders in Germany and more 2,100 in the U.K., where customers are eagerly awaiting delivery of the first right-hand drive models.

Mustang also was the world's best-selling sports car across the globe during the first half of 2015, according to IHS Automotive global registration data, with 76,124 vehicles registered.*

'Mustang has made more than 3,700 movie appearances and has kept cinema-goers on the edge of their seats in car chases from the legendary 'Bullitt' sequence in 1968, to the first movie to feature the all-new Mustang, 'Need for Speed' in 2014,' said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford of Europe. 'Being named the ultimate stunt car in 'Ben Collins: Stunt Driver' further cements Mustang's place as an automotive and screen icon.'

'Ben Collins: Stunt Driver' is produced by Lionsgate U.K. in partnership with Wise Old Fox Productions and is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Nov. 9.

* IHS Automotive global registration data includes all registrations in the IHS global sport segment, January-June 2015.

For more information on Ben Collins: Stunt Driver, please go to http://www.lgukpublicity.co.uk/uk/index.php

About Ben Collins

Better known as 'The Stig' from BBC's internationally acclaimed Top Gear TV programme: the anonymous and mysterious driver, who for 8 years kept an audience of 500 MILLION Worldwide viewers guessing as to his identity.

Ben is a Champion racing driver in his own right, having won races across a diverse arena of Motorsport from the Le Mans Series to GT and NASCAR. As a stunt driving expert he has worked on numerous Hollywood blockbusters including Batman, Fast & Furious and the latest James Bond movies.

Ben Collins' story is as unique as it is compelling. He coached hundreds of celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz around the racetrack, though none of them ever saw his face. As the Stig, Ben Collins was the benchmark of speed against which all other drivers set themselves, and the man that everyone including Formula One World Champions Nigel Mansell and Jenson Button tried and failed to beat.

Ben organised high voltage car chases and tested hundreds of priceless cars to the brink, whilst maintaining his trademark 'low-profile'.

Ben holds many credits in his own name: A Professional Le Mans 24-hour Racecar Driver, Bestselling Author, TV Presenter, World Record Breaker and Hollywood Stunt Driver. Jackie Stewart watched a young Ben win a Formula 3 race and was blown away, saying: 'When you see the likes of Ben Collins in Formula One, remember you saw them here first.'

About Wise Old Fox Productions

Wise Old Fox Productions is a new ambitious independent television and film Production Company with bucket loads of car television pedigree. The production team is led by Jim Wiseman and Stephanie Fox, the producers of The Classic Car Show, and is a bit of a Top Gear reunion for the three.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black.

Its feature film business has been fuelled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first three instalment of The Hunger Games franchise, the first instalment of the Divergent franchise, Now You See Me, John Wick, Warm Bodies, Roadside Attractions' A Most Wanted Man, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 197,000 employees and 67 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford of Europe

is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 53,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 68,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 24 manufacturing facilities (16 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and 8 unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.

Photo credit: Ford
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