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Fresh off the heels of announcing its 2011 Mustang V-6 as the first production vehicle ever to achieve over 30 mpg highway with a 300-plus-horsepower engine, Ford has released newly certified fuel economy details for its 2011 Mustang GT. How does 26 mpg highway from a 412-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 sound? Yeah, we thought so too.

Officially, Ford's best in class fuel ratings for the GT come out to 17 mpg city/26 mpg highway with a six-speed manual on board. Opt for the six-speed auto and the fuel ratings end up at 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway.

Like its smaller 3.7-liter V-6 cousin (in which we recently rode), the bigger eight-cylinder is built entirely from aluminum and gets the brand's Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT), tuned intake/ exhaust systems, and revised gear ratios. Ford says the new rear axle ratios (3.31 for the manual, 3.15 for the automatic) are ideal for both cruising and hasty acceleration runs.

Engineers also installed a restyled front clip, taller air damn, rear tire spats, new underbody cladding, and rear decklid seal to provide a more aerodynamic form. A new electronic power steering assembly replaces the engine-operated hydraulic power steering pump and cuts its drag from the GT's efficiency equation.

Here are both the 2011 Mustang V-6's and 2011 Mustang GT's official EPA fuel economy ratings:

Mustang V-6 19 mpg city and 31 highway (automatic), 18 mpg city and 29 highway (manual)

Mustang GT 18 mpg city and 25 highway (automatic), 17 mpg city and 26 highway (manual)