2015 Mustang V8: Mustang Motorsport

Date: 16.07.2015

2015 Mustang V8

2015 Mustang V8

This first right-hooker Mustang V8 is out, but it's not from the factory

2015 Mustang V8

Local long-term aftermarket importer and constructor Mustang Motorsport has managed to get a 2015 Ford Mustang on the road ahead of the official factory imports. The car has been sold to the firm’s most enthusiastic customer, who had to have the first example she could lay her hands on.

However proprietor Craig Dean is quick to add he’s not trying to gazump the factory. "What we do for a living is convert Mustangs and we thought, given the delay with the local deliveries, we might do a couple of them ourselves. The program is not to sell Mustangs, but to use these as development cars ahead of the local arrivals, so we can develop our product lines for the future.

"Hopefully, when Ford gets them here, they’ll sell thousands of them. If they do, we get a share of that market."

Dean’s real interest is tied into two main brands: Roush and Shelby. He does enhancements for the former brand and is authorised to do Shelby signature series upgrades. Both take up where the factory cars leave off. The company has been converting cars for 30 years and has concentrated on Mustangs for 25.

Dean’s impression of the latest generation is positive. "I think the new generation has captured a bit of the old look, which is a good thing. The rear end is just drop dead gorgeous – it just looks tough – while the front is modern and grows on you. Like anything the development and engineering has changed it for the better. It’s a good car and they’ve done a great job with it. It’s a step forward."

With an eye to developing his trademark wild Shelby versions, he’s interested to see what can be done with the new powerplant. "They’ve gone with the smaller motor, the five-litre, but there’s talk it will cope with 850-900 horsepower quite easily. There’s lots of room to play with them – watch this space, because we have got some good stuff coming up. For example with the release of the new Whipple supercharger, we’re seeing over 800 horsepower. I’m looking to race one of these.

"We’ve got a lot of people ringing asking what we can do with the cars – it’s typical Mustang as almost no-one leaves them standard. At the moment we’ve got approximately 150 products for the new car and that will keep growing, particularly once we open our new online store."

(Note: Wheels magazine is running a road test of this car, out July 16.)

MUSTANGS IN AUSTRALIA

Australia will receive both the four-cylinder Eco-boost and V8 versions of the Mustang in manual and auto form. A soft-top will also be available. Delivery of the production cars has been delayed by several months, with the speculation saying production of right-hook cars has been held up by the model’s popularity in the USA and the priority given to first fulfilling the domestic demand.

SPECIFICATIONS

2015 Mustang V8

BODY monocoque steel
ENGINE 5.0lt Ti-VCT V8
POWER 325kW @ 6500rpm
TORQUE 540Nm @ 4250rpm
PERFORMANCE 0-100km/h 4.6s, 260km/h top speed
GEARBOX 6-speed manual/auto
BRAKES disc
PRICE $54,990/56,490 manual/auto
(Ford pricing)
WEB ford.com.au + mustangmotorsport.com.au

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