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Paul Gover24 Jun 2019
NEWS

DJR teases 600kW-plus Ford Mustang

Dick Johnson is reviving his special vehicles program with a sell-out success

Australian touring car legend Dick Johnson is about to unleash some Ford Mustang magic for the road with the most powerful upgrade pack in his Blue Oval history.

Not content with leading the stampede through this year’s Supercars championship with Scott McLaughlin as his spearhead, the touring car hall-of-famer is collaborating on a go-faster Mustang pack with tuning ace Rob Herrod.

The first hint of their ambitious plan has just become public with a teaser image of the Johnson ‘Stang being posted on social media, with plenty of ambitious promises including 633kW -- or 850hp in the old numbers -- from the car’s V8 powerhouse.

But it’s not all good news as, notably, the teaser post says the limited-edition upgrade pack is already sold out.

“850 horsepower of pure muscle car,” said Johnson on his Facebook page on June 20. “This is the best package Rob Herrod and I have ever produced. Unfortunately we sold out before we could even announce it!”

Full details are yet to be announced, from the car’s name to the exact outputs from its puffed-up 5.0-litre Coyote V8, but the path is clear.

Johnson has developed go-faster road cars in the past and has a solid tie-up with Herrod as both a friend and collaborator.

Herrod is also an accredited Ford Performance dealer who has been a regular visitor to the USA to plug into the Ford Performance programs.

He has been working on his own upgrade programs -- both engine and chassis – for the first global Mustang since it became an official member of the Ford Australia showroom line-up in 2015.

“It’s going to be something really special,” is the only word from Johnson to carsales.com.au.

The five-time touring car champion has done three ‘special vehicles’ upgrades in the past with Ford Falcons, but they are well in the past and were built while he was still racing.

The last and most impressive of the DJR Falcons, the DJR 320, was co-developed with Herrod.

It’s easy to speculate on a Roush-style supercharger and intercooler upgrade to the 5.0-litre V8 in the Mustang, as well as upgraded wheels, tyres, brakes and some body tweaks.

The DJRTP crew all roll in Mustangs and McLaughlin drove a car that was upgraded with a Ford Performance suspension package and brakes at the Adelaide 500 earlier this year, running alongside Johnson in a Mustang Supercar that’s now on display at his race base in Queensland, with fellow hall-of-famer Marcos Ambrose in a Mustang NASCAR.

Despite the ambitious plans for the Dick Johnson upgrade pack, it’s almost certain the controversial rear wing of this year’s championship leading Shell V-Power Mustang will not be transplanted to the road runner.

Whatever form the Johnson-Herrod Mustang takes, stand by for more supercharged limited-edition Mustangs — including from Ford itself — later this year, which should go some way to compensating Aussies for the lack of Shelby-tuned models like the 566kW Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 revealed last week.

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Written byPaul Gover
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