Ford Mustang Chief Engineer Ed Krenz told Ford Authority that the seventh-generation Mustang uses the automaker's new Fully-Networked Vehicle (FNV) electrical architecture which brings various benefits like over-the-air updates and much-needed cybersecurity to the iconic pony car, but it also largely locks down the vehicle from being tuned as well.
Ford's new Fully-Networked Vehicle (FNV) electrical architecture is a a byproduct of the automaker's attempts to keep user data - and their vehicles - safe from ever-growing hacking threats. Krenz and other S650 engineers explained that the entire stack on the S650 is encrypted, including the ECU. This means that if the system detects a "break" in authentication, it will shut it down - or shut down components of the vehicle. So even if someone were to modify one of these engines, they wouldn't be able to actually tune the car to take full advantage of it.
However, Ford is still open to working with tuners who want to modify vehicles like the S650. It is also still open to offering performance enhancements or tunes for the turbocharged Ford 2.3L I-4 EcoBoost or naturally-aspirated Ford 5.0L V8 Coyote engine, just like it has been doing with other models.