Of course when it comes to tuning the Ford Mustang there are quite a few tuning shops that come to mind. But there is one group that aim to stand head and shoulders above the rest, Reed Speed.
Starting off with a Ford Mustang GT and developed in conjunction with Artisan Performance, the Reed Speed SSE is powered by a 4.6 Liter V8 engine completed with forged rods, redesigned pistons and Total Seal rings to make sure that none of the exploding gasses can escape the combustion chamber. All of these high-performance parts raise the output of the Mustang from 315 HP all the way up to a ground pounding 700 HP.
With great power comes great responsibility, so Reed Speed upgraded the stoppers with a set of 14 inch rotors that are clamped down on by a set six-piston calipers supplied by SSBC. On the outside, Reed Speed is planning on adding a set of their 20" iForged wheels for a little more attitude. The exterior package is made complete by a custom two-tone paint job from BASF and a set of smoked lenses.
The Reed Speed tuning kit will be available by the end of this summer.
This is a story about how something that we all take for granted everyday. The simple act and inherent freedom that comes along with being behind the wheel. For 62 year old Roger Keeney, this was only a dream, blinded over 20 years ago, Keeney is about to get behind the wheel once again with the help of a 2010 Ford Mustang.
Ford will replace the current 4.0 liter SOHC V6 engine in the Mustang with a new high-reving 3.7 liter 24-valve DOH engine. The new engine will be used starting 2011.
In the Lincoln, where the engine is current used, the 3,7 liter V6 engine delivers 273 hp @ 6250 rpm with 270 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4250 rpm. It has a 10.3:1 compression ratio and modern variable cam timing to bring the Mustang up to par with its competition.
In the Mustang, the engine will most likely deliver more hp and will need to be changed for a longitudinal placement. The engine will get new intake manifold, exhaust manifolds and accessory drive system.
What does it take to get a 2010 Ford Mustang into the 10’s? Start with a blown Ford Racing Aluminator V8 making 500 HP, add some drag slicks at all four corners and let the Detroit based race shop, Livernois Motorsports go to town on the installation. These days, automotive performance is reaching new heights, and being able to run the standing quarter mile in around 10 clicks of a stopwatch means that you will be hard pressed to find a suitable competitor on the streets.
Celebrating the 45th anniversary of Ford’s introduction of the Mustang at the 1964 World’s Fair, there will be only 45 hand sculpted examples of America’s favorite pony car to celebrate the father of the Mustang, Lee Iacocca. The limited edition Mustang was a collaborative effort between the man himself, Iacocca, designer Michael Leone and the Gaffoglio Family from Metalcrafters. If that last name doesn’t ring a bell, those are the California based Argentines that brought the world one off beauties like the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve concept car. The special edition Mustangs will be painted in special shade of grey known as “Iacocca” Silver and will be available sometime in late July.
The car is based on the 2009 Ford Mustang, but the body has been beefed up and smoothed over to create the kind of strikingly bold appearance that you can only get with hand crafted metalwork. These cars will stand out in any blue oval enthusiast’s corral, especially sitting on top of those 20 inch polished five spoke rims. Under the hood, the Iacocca Mustang will be powered by a naturally aspirated 4.6 Liter modular V8 rated at 320 HP, or there is an optional supercharged power plant that makes 400 HP as well as a 14 inch Ford Racing brake kit to bring all that fun to a halt.
Inside the Iacocca Silver Mustang there are luxurious touches like the Iacocca-badged aluminum door sill plates, the Iacocca Diamond Design leather seats with custom embroidery, leather-wrapped steering wheel wearing an "I" badge and an Iacocca signature dash plaque with serial number. These limited edition pony car’s will be available exclusively from the Los Angeles based, Galpin Ford.
Ford is bringing them back, those two little numbers that we all so fondly remember pasted to the side of many Fox Body Mustangs, no matter whether they had the bad boy 302 cubic inch V8 under the hood or not; but the story of the 5.0 goes back beyond to the beginning of the Mustang story. Despite the popularity of the 289 cubic inch engine in the original pony, Ford also offered a 302 cubic inch V8 built from their magical engine plant in Windsor, Canada.
There was also the factory tuned handling machine, the Boss 302, although it didn’t have the big boy 429 Cobra Jet engine under the hood, this car could run circles around its bigger brother. The Boss 302’s motor was taken from the blue oval’s Trans-Am team, the small black racing engine was chosen by Ford in 1969 because of its compact and excellent output, 290 HP, made for the best handling Mustang that has ever come out of Dearborne, it gave the car a more desirable weight distribution than the NASCAR big block. Think the Boss’s 302 cubic inch V8 as the 13B for muscle cars.
When Ford switched over the Mustang II update in 1974, it brought the 302 with it; but it wasn’t until the third generation pony car made its debut that the American automaker decided to add a little flare to the Mustang’s fenders. Unfortunately when Ford switched to the fourth generation Mustang in 1994, the 302 had a short lease on life. The Mustang was only available with that magical motor from Canada in this modern sleek looking Mustang until 1995.
In today’s era of mergers and bankruptcies, it seems logical for a car manufacturer to find some ways to reignite their floundering industry. For the Detroit 3 – Ford, Chrysler, and GM – one of those ways just might be sitting under their noses, parked in their garages and waiting to be unleashed to the public once more.
We’re talking about ’Muscles’, baby – those unassuming-looking yet extremely powerful muscle cars that dominated the streets of America back in the day.
While Ford has never been guilty of throwing a blanket on their Mustang series, the company has never really taken the time out to develop a Mustang that can carry the company back to prominence as it did in the 60’s and 70’s. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago when Ford decided to revitalize the Mustang brand much to the warm reception from people that have been clamouring for the car’s ultimate renaissance.
Starting this summer, Ford will be offering their updated retro muscle car with optional Shelby inspired Track Pack and Ford Racing developed FR3 Handling Package straight from the factory, so now your Mustang GT can handle almost as well as a GT500.
The Track Pack focuses on upgrading the way the car goes through the curves, by adjusting every element of the drive train to maximize the Mustang GT’s V8 and chassis with one of the most thorough “sport suspensions” that we have ever seen. The Ford special suspension product package begins with a set of sticky set of 19 inch Pirelli summer tires to make the most out of their contact patch. A set of retuned dampers work together with the sway bars from a Shelby GT500 to reduce body roll by 13%, giving the vehicle a much more planted feel. The blue oval crew will then swap in a shorter geared rear end complete with a carbon fiber LSD, then a set of new brake pads that are made to work with the factory ABS in order to give the Mustang as much stopping power as it just got handling ability, while still maintaining drivability on the street.
There is a hard core FR3 Handling Package from Ford Racing that uses a lot of the components from the KONI Challenge car. This suspension setup will lower your ride by about 1 inch thanks to significantly stiffened springs and a set of sway bars that are said to “eliminate” body roll.
The Track Pack retails for $1,495 while the FR3 Handling Pack retails for $1,335. Either kit can be installed by a factory certified technician, or in your own garage. It is nice to see that an American automaker is endorsing high performance modifications by offering them right from the showroom, things like this are signs of a return of the muscle car days.
The 50 units of the 2008 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet were sold out before we even realize they are actually on the market. But here’s a good new for those still wishing for a Cobra in their garage: Ford plans to bring it back for the 2010 model year with another 50 examples that have already been cleared for NHRA competition.
The automaker’s initial plan is for the 2010 Cobra Jet to be powered by a 425 HP 5.4 Liter supercharged engine combined with the 6 speed manual transmission from the 2008 CJ. However, with upgrades like an 8.50 ET NHRA certified roll cage, 5-speed Liberty manual transmission or even a race prepped automatic transmission the 2010 Ford Cobra Jet will be terrorizing the NHRA Sportsman series. Especially if the Blue Oval decides to offer an all aluminum race engine making 475 HP right out of the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog.
With prices starting at around $75,000 the 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet is truly an affordable option for someone who wants to be a professional drag racer, or if you don’t ant to lose any stop light drag races. We just think that it would be nice to incorporate these kinds of vehicles into the company’s test fleet, so that we can experience all the high performance stuff that Ford has to offer.
The return of the muscle car is upon us, despite these awful times to be selling cars. The Dodge Challenger is a beauty; the new Chevrolet Camaro should be a dream; and the Ford Mustang, well it could be bringing back the shaker hood with an all new Mach 1. The package was first unveiled back in 1969 and was a more affordable alternative to the factory tuned Shelby cars. The package was reintroduced in 2003 combining a dancing hood scoop with a unique set of rims for the Mustang.
If the design team at Ford get a look at Edmundo Cano’s photoshop makeover of a 2010 Mustang, it’s most likely that there will be a new Mach 1 for 2011, and with the introduction of Ford’s new Coyote V8 finding its way under the hood, why not give it a little room to breathe. We especially like the flat black treatment and vents covering the rear windows, an accessory that no new Mustang should be without. The 20 inch Torq Thrust rims are pure modern day muscle.
This is just a rendering, however not too far off from a production car, stamp a few holes in a couple of hoods, apply a few black vinyl graphics and paint a couple of sets of oversized wheels; and Ford would be ready to go. It is this kind of special edition vehicle that makes us think a little harder about buying American, we couldn’t think of anything better to be seen in laying down 400 HP worth of smokey burnouts.
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