SINCE its launch in late 2015 the new Ford Mustang has been snapped up by more than 4,500 fans in the UK and Ford says it is now the most popular sports car in the world.

According to Ford analysis the Mustang increased its sales lead in 2016 as the world's best-selling sports car, with more than 150,000 sold.

Overall global sales increased six per cent over 2015, fuelled by non-US market growth up 101percent with almost 45,000 Mustangs sold outside its American homeland.

In the UK, with 3,250 sales in 2016, the Mustang comfortably led the sales tables for sports cars over 250bhp.

In the first full year of sales in Europe customers ordered 15,335 Mustangs and it was the best-selling sports car in several markets including France, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Greece.

The Mustang's increase in sales in the sports car sector was driven largely by continued global rollout that saw big sales gains in markets including Germany and particularly in China, where the Mustang has become the best-selling sports car in the world's biggest auto market.

Ford recently introduced a new limited run edition Mustang with special styling and premium specifications for the UK market.

The Mustang Shadow Edition is available with the 5.0-litre V8 engine and six-speed manual gearbox and is priced from £39,895.

It comeswith a special body styling pack including a black pony emblem for the GT grille and exclusive black 19-inch Yâspoke alloy wheels. that's in addition to a Shaker Pro audio system with Ford's SYNC 3 navigation set up, climate controlled seats and reverse parking sensors.

The Mustang Shadow is also available with an optional black contrast roof.