Ford Oz to sell 500kW Mustangs

Ford Australia and its dealers are preparing to offer officially-sanctioned aftermarket performance kits for its Fiesta and Focus ST hot hatches and the upcoming Mustang, in which they will deliver up to 500kW.

As we reported in May, a range of Ford Performance Racing parts – including a mega-output Roush Stage 3 supercharger kit revealed under the bonnet of the King Cobra concept at last year's SEMA aftermarket show in the US – will be available here for new Mustang, which arrives in December.

As we revealed then, Roush's HSV GTS-killing Stage 3 kit for the Mustang GT will be available for as little as $12,000-$15,000 from Australia's official Ford Performance Racing distributor, Herrod Motorsport, who is also an official Roush Performance agent.

Herrod Motorsport will also offer Mountune performance kits for the Fiesta ST and Focus ST, in which power increases from 184kW/345Nm to 202kW/400Nm courtesy of a larger alloy intercooler, high-flow air-filter and new ECU mapping.

The Roush kits are available through all US Ford Performance dealers and the Mountune kits are offered via European Ford dealers – both with a full factory warranty.

The same situation now appears certain for Australia, where Ford is believed to be on the verge of announcing the availability of all three performance packages through its official dealer network.

Speaking at this week's SEMA show in Las Vegas, Roush Performance vice-president of sales Tim Wheeler said his company is keen to grow its presence Down Under by selling ADR-compliant and warranted components and complete vehicles.

“As an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] type company we want to follow an OEM type program. That takes some time to finally iron out through our engineering group and finally to get certification,” he said, referring to Roush’s on-going work to satisfy Australian ADR, German TUV and Chinese CCC compliance for new vehicle imports and sales.

“I’m thinking we’ll end up in Australia, that’s why we’re so excited about supercharger fitment for right-hand drive V8 Mustang working out like it is. Plus, we have an established distribution network in Australia today for our powertrain and exhaust products.

“It is very exciting to see Ford distributing the Mustang around the world for the first time. We’re really excited for when we do open sales in Australia what it could mean for our brand and products.”

What Roush Performance will bring to Australia is a proven 40-year relationship with Ford HQ at Dearborn in Michigan, which Jack Roush has fostered since starting the company in 1976. That relationship now appears to have gained Roush access to Ford’s national dealer body.

“We’re working with the Ford dealer group which is the model we have in the US," said Wheeler.

"In fact, we’ve surveyed a lot of Roush vehicle owners and we asked them where did they first learned about the Roush brand and Roush vehicles. Eighty per cent of them said it was when I walked into a Ford dealership and saw a Roush vehicle sitting there.”

Wheeler confirmed Roush engineers have a RHD Mustang and are developing and testing a range of parts.

“The only real difference we’ve had to accommodate so far in right-hand drive is an adaptor plate for the supercharger system for the Coyote V8 because of the battery and steering location. But it is a light touch fortunately to go from left-hand to right-hand drive.

“With the 5.0-litre Coyote engine V8 in Mustang – when we originally developed this in 2011 – our first supercharged 5.0-litre produced 525hp (391kW).

"This year our first level phase one supercharged V8 is developing 670hp (500kW). That performance is offered with the vehicle program or as the retail kit you can load onto your V8.”

Yes, you can do it yourself. “The tune is cloud-based so you can take it to a Ford dealer or have your file transfer tool and download it from our secure website and flash your car and off you go. It is pretty turn-key,” said Wheeler.

The Mustang GT blower kit could be the centrepiece of an entire range of Ford Racing Performance and Roush parts available here, including everything from bespoke body kits comprising body-colour bonnet, body side and quarter window scoops, to 20-inch forged or polished wheels, leather Recaro seats, billet pedals, manual shifter ball and even illuminated door sills.

Ford has announced a limited range of Mustang options for Australia, including racing stripes ($650), a black roof ($975), Nickel Lustre alloys and metallic paint (both $500).

But in the US, Mustang buyers can also choose a Drag Pack comprising heavy-duty half shafts and a rear sub-frame with high-performance bushings, or a Handling Pack with three-way adjustable coil-over suspension, new rear shocks, a stabiliser bar kit and shorter, stiffer springs that lower the car about an inch.

Priced from $US21,995 in North America, Roush's full Stage 3 Mustang GT package includes the supercharger kit, plus a quad-outlet active exhaust system, adjustable-height coil-over suspension with extreme-duty TrakPak axles and 20-inch Quicksilver wheels with ultra-high-performance Cooper RS3 tyres.

It also comes with a full body kit comprising front fascia, grille, chin splitter, hood scoop, side rockers, decklid spoiler, fender badges, windscreen banner, rear blackout panel, driving lights and graphics, plus a numbered/signed engine bay plaque, dash medallion, embroidered floor mats – all Roush-branded.

For many though, the Stage 3 big-bore blower should be enough. It includes Roush's new 2015-spec 2.3-litre Twin Vortices Series (TVS) supercharger, plus a six-rib belt drive system, unique intake manifold, electronic throttle body, air inlet system, fuel rail, high-flow fuel-injectors, air-to-liquid intercooler and a revised ECU with Ford Racing calibration.

Essentially the same spec as the 2014 Shelby GT500, the 'ROUSHcharged' 5.0-litre 'Coyote' V8 is claimed to deliver "more horsepower per litre than any other OE American muscle car, while maintaining an unrivalled level of driveability".

Fitted with an early 625hp (465kW) version, the King Cobra seen at SEMA is said to have achieved a 10.97-second quarter-mile pass at the Milan Dragway in Michigan last August.

Roush also offers a milder 325kW Stage 2 kit for the 5.0-litre GT and a Stage 1 kit for the Mustang EcoBoost in the US.

Roush is also in the early development phase of the 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine in the Mustang EcoBoost, which will eventually be the top-selling Mustang in Australia and could easily deliver 370kW – up from the standard sub-$45,000 car's 233kW and more than the standard Mustang GT (303kW).