What's the worse case scenario from the lefties/ biden/ aoc/ green new deal types...over the next 12 years? Heck, for all we know, they might ban V8's in passenger vehicles, put limits on hp, or put limits on HP to weight ratio's, put limits on A weighted DBA exhaust volume levels, outlaw manual transmissions etc.
Someone's in a joyful mood.
1. They won't be in power for 12 years.
2. V8s have been around for a century so I don't think politicians will ban them. Hell, they would have to also ban V10s & V12s. If they did that Aston Martin, Maserati, Ferrari, and Lamborghini would instantly go out of business. Stricter targets for CO2 emissions (and consequently gas mileage since the two are related) are more likely, thus it would be left to car manufacturers to decide how to meet them.
3. Limits on HP are pretty unlikely but a limit on engine displacement would be a more realistic proposition. Car manufacturers are already reverting to smaller turbo engines and hybrids instead of bigger naturally-aspirated engines in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
4. Outlaw manual transmissions? Really? What's your reasoning behind that?
5. I don't know if the US has noise limits for the exhaust but in the UK & EU, it's 95dB. I wish they could apply the same limits to motorcycles since many of them are annoyingly loud, especially when there are idiots racing them down the road at three o' clock in the morning!
I don't think you need to be concerned about not being allowed to continue driving your Mustang for the foreseeable future when there's still a plethora of big SUVs and trucks around, so just enjoy it while you can. If the worst case scenario happens a few years from now and IC engines are banned altogether, just convert your S197 to electric power and extend its life even further.
Many classic cars have undergone electric conversions and are enjoying a new lease of life, so our S197s needn't be any different. Just preserve the bodyshell for when that time comes.