For the first time in 50 years the Ford Mustang will be available in Europe, and according to the manufacturer over 500,000 people have logged onto their websites to virtually design and configure the car. So far this month 1.1 million people have visited Ford websites to have a gander at what will soon be on offer.

The all-new Mustang will arrive to the left-hand drive European market before the middle of this year. Right-hand drive markets will have to wait until later in 2015. We’ve spoken to Ford Ireland this morning and while they couldn’t offer us an exact date, they did indicate that the Irish market should see them from in and around October.

The Ford Mustang will be factory built for the first time with right-hand drive. It will be available in Ireland with a 2.3 litre EcoBoost engine offering 314hp and a V8 5.0 litre engine offering 418hp (GT).

Based on the 500,000 configurations around Europe, we’re told that the most chosen colours have been “Race Red” and black. The EcoBoost-equipped model with six-speed manual transmission is proving most popular, but configurations in the UK and Germany show more people choosing the 5.0-litre V8. It is thought that the most popular engine for the Irish market will be the 2.3 litre EcoBoost.

Roelant de Waard, Vice President of Ford Europe said, “The rush to configure Mustang online represents 50 years of pent up demand across Europe.”

This is the first time that the Mustang will be available worldwide. In China more than 5 million people have visited the Mustang page on their website. The most configured colour there was “Race Red” while in the USA the most chosen colour was black.

Last year, during the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, Ford made the first 500 Mustangs available to order – these were ordered within 30 seconds and more than 9,300 people registered online for a chance to reserve one. Five of these pre-orders were allocated to the Irish market. At present Ford is taking only expressions of interest for the vehicle and the order book will open in the future. Ford’s Irish website indicates that prices for the 2.3 litre engine model will start from €46,000 while the GT will start from €62,000. For those of you who can’t wait until later in the year to sample the new Mustang, Celtic Horizon Tours are currently organizing a 2-week "Mustang Rally" road trip on Route 66 for September.