Speaking from extensive personal experience, any adventure into the murky depths of car modification can quickly become, without warning, exceedingly complicated and way over-budget. Thankfully, there’s an alternative. According to The Drive, Lebanon Ford in Lebanon, Ohio, is offering factory-fresh, un-farted-in Mustang GTs outfitted with Phase 2 supercharger kits from Roush.->ke1434 Output is rated at 727 horsepower and 610 pound-feet of torque – a good deal more than the 435 horses and 400 pound-feet you get from the stock engine. The best part – pricing starts at $39,995 a pop. You can even finance it with no money down, and Lebanon Ford will ship it out to you.

If you’re at all unsure as to why that’s such a good deal, here’s how it breaks down – the Mustang GT->ke428 costs $32,395, while the supercharger kit is another $7,550. Combined, that’s $39,945, which means Lebanon Ford is basically giving away labor for installation of the kit (roughly $1,500, according to The Drive).

While there are surely cheaper ways to get into a 700+ horsepower ‘Stang, any way you slice it, this is still a helluva deal, especially for a brand-new car straight from the dealer.

Lebanon Ford told The Drive that it wants “to focus on establishing a nationwide base of enthusiasts rather than making huge profits on each car.” Those are certainly noble intentions, but it should be noted that most customers opt to add in additional equipment before driving away, including big brakes, new upholstery, a body kit, different wheels, and the like. Some examples have hit $60,000 before leaving the lot.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

First things first – the Roush kit is a monster. Included is an R2300 blower, high-capacity induction system, aluminum intercooler, high-flow injectors, 60 mm throttle body, ECU tuning, high-performance spark plugs, and all the various tubes and pieces needed to make it work right. Properly installed, it’ll add an extra 292 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque.

And while $40,000 ain’t too shabby for a 727-horse pony car, I’d be hesitant to drive off without adding at least five grand in extras. Throwing on a Volkswagen Golf R’s worth of horsepower sounds like fun, but without the proper complementary upgrades (stickier rubber, grabbier brakes, stiffer suspension, etc.), I can’t help but think the package would be terribly unbalanced. More than seven hundred horsepower is great, but what’s the point if you can’t use it?

Still, when you consider the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat goes for $62,495, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Both vehicles are proof that we’re living in the midst of a Muscle Car Renaissance, where battery-aided, fuel-sipping commuters are saving the dino juice for burnouts and sprints down the 1320.

But the real question is this – if the Roush Mustang and Challenger Hellcat went head-to-head, which would come out on top?

Well, if you throw drag radials on the Hellcat, you’re looking at an ET in the high 10’s. That’s really fast, but I think the Mustang would be faster – much faster. Why? For starters, the ‘Stang is significantly lighter, weighing in at 3,700 pounds compared to the Challenger’s 4,449 pounds. Add in ten grand worth of tire and suspension, and the Ford will eat Hellcats all day long, plus there’ll be an extra $10,000 left in the bank.

Ford Mustang GT

Read the full review on the stock Mustang GT here.