When the Mach-E launched, many questioned whether using the Mustang’s name meant that the pony car might go all-electric – or, possibly, extinct. It should make them happy then that Ford Performance Chief Engineer, Carl Widmann, says the V8 still has some time left on this Earth. How much time isn’t quite clear, though.

Speaking to Autoweek, Widmann said that he’s proud of his team’s efforts with its current V8s. He also said that there are enough Coyote lovers out there to keep it around for a while.

“We still sell a tremendous amount of V8 Mustangs on summer tires,” said Widmann. “I don’t think the gas engine has met its day in the near term, there are still a lot of fans of it.”

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Asked if we’ve reached the heights of what’s possible with the V8, the engineer answered that there’s always room for improvement.

The GT500 is “the pinnacle of what we can do in the Mustang, right now, with the technology available today,” Widmann said. But “if you look back in time, people didn’t think we could do what we did with those powertrains that we have in dealerships now.”

The implication, then, is that Ford Performance is still looking at ways of improving the Mustang. Mind you, the Mach-E is brought into the picture.

“You can drive the Mach 1 to the track, run it on the track, and drive it home,” he said. “Or you’ve got the Mach-E GT with the same power, 480 hp, but a lot more torque, so it has a lot of straight-line capability – it can do zero to 60 in three-and-a-half seconds.”

In fact, Widmann said that the Mach-E isn’t just a Mustang for people who don’t want a V8. It’s an opportunity to get more of the Mustang’s traditional owners, too.

“When people transition out of a Mustang, it’s often because they need more space. So we’ve provided a performance version in the Mach-E GT. I’ve met people at Mustang events who have Mach 1 and Mach-E. There are just more choices now.”

Whether or not Widmann’s optimism about the V8 extends from the short term into the long term, he says there are cool things coming in the Mustang space.