DETROIT -- In the race to win muscle car sales and get higher gas mileage, Ford may be speeding ahead with the introduction of the 412 horsepower 2011 Mustang.

Ford announced Monday that it in the spring, it plans to introduce the 2011 Mustang GT, and included in the souped-up version is an all-new 5.0 liter, V-8 engine that will deliver 412 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque -- 87 more horsepower than the outgoing model.

"It's extremely responsive and when you launch this thing off of the line, it's like it just wants to leap out of its skin. And that's what it feels like, so it's agile, it's extremely quick and it's just really fun to drive," said the 2011 Mustang GT Chief Engineer Dave Pericak.

The new Mustang will also get 25 miles per gallon without using Ford's new Eco-Boost Technology.

"We don't think you need to trade off power and performance or even power and fuel economy. Our customers want power. That's what Mustang is all about, so we figured out a way to give them the power and do it responsibly," said Pericak.

Muscle cars have been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for U.S. auto sales, which have fallen to their lowest level in decades.

In 2009, the Camaro returned to the marketplace for the first time since 2002 and it may be on pace to outsell Mustangs this year. Mustang and Camaro have been going at it since 1966, when the Camaro was first introduced two years after the Mustang.

Ford executives are hoping that their big announcements this year will change that.

In November, Ford announced that it will also provide an all-new 3.7 liter V-6 engine with 305 horsepower Mustang when it goes on sale in the spring. For anyone counting, that's one horse more than the Camaro's V-6, which clocks in at 304 horsepower. And it's far more powerful than the 210-horsepower V-6 on the 2010 Mustang.

The new Mustang will also give Ford a chance to compete against the Chevrolet Camaro SS, which offers a 6.2-liter V-8 with 426 horsepower and the Dodge Challenger SRT8, which offers a 6.1-liter V-8 engine with 425 horsepower.

The new 2011 Mustang 302-R Boss will be sold for about $79,000 and that comes with the trademark school bus yellow paint and the hockey stick graphic.

It will be on display at the 2010 North American International Auto Show.

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