MUSTANG GETS THE GOODS FROM THE GO-FASTER MASTERS
One of the more diverting sideshows at Bathurst this year was the return of Tickford. Just a few days after the Prodrive-owned company announced a series of upgrades for the Ranger, it had something far more interesting in the shape of a Tickford-fettled Mustang GT.
The Tickford upgrades comprise uprated ECUs and exhausts, with power stepping up to a rumoured 351kW. When asked about the car, a Tickford source said, “The car’s just a concept at this stage, but we’ll definitely have something to show towards the end of the year. We took it to Bathurst to gauge opinion and it attracted a lot of attention.” The 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder ‘Stang is also due to get a bit of love with a hotter ECU upgrade amongst the tuning options.
There are no definitive numbers as yet, but there will also be styling parts such as a deeper front splitter, decal pack, side skirts, a rear wing and alloy wheels measuring 20 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear. Unlike the Herrod Performance packages, these are not Ford-sanctioned upgrades which will likely have warranty implications for prospective purchasers.
Meanwhile in the US, Ford announced factory upgrades for the four-pot Mustang, its USD$699 Performance Power Pack adding 19kW and 95Nm of torque, bringing power and torque up to 252kW (an 8 percent increase) and 529Nm (up 22 percent), respectively.
But those are just peak numbers. Ford says at 6000 rpm, horsepower goes up by 75kW, and that between 2500 and 5000 rpm, average horsepower and torque go up by 30kW and 81Nm respectively. Herrod Performance will be offering the kit to Aussie customers in early 2017, although prices and outputs for the Aussie set up have yet to be finalised.