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Paul Gover9 Oct 2020
NEWS

Limited-edition 578kW Ford Mustang revealed

Potent new Herrod SM17 is more powerful than the Mustang race car of the Supercars champ it's named after

Three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin now has his very own Mustang.

The difference with the wild new Herrod SM17 Ford Mustang limited-edition is that his followers and Ford fans will be able to share the experience.

And what an experience it should be, with a Herrod Performance upgrade that liberates a Supercars-busting 578kW (775 horsepower) of supercharged V8 power.

That's not all. The Herrod SM17 Mustang also brings improvements to the Ford Mustang GT coupe's suspension, visuals and aerodynamics, and brings a luxury Italian leather cabin.

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The SM17 is another Mustang project by Rob Herrod, who previously led development of 500 examples of the 522kW-plus supercharged Ford Mustang R-Spec for Ford Australia and 30 examples of the 635kW Dick Johnson Limited Edition Mustang produced as part of the 40th anniversary of Johnson’s record run as a touring car and Supercars team owner.

The price of the SM17 is still being finalised but will be around $50,000 above a regular Mustang GT Fastback ($64,190 plus on-road costs), meaning a six-figure price tag and more than the circa-$100K R-Spec.

Production is scheduled for January but Herrod Performance is hoping to start earlier if coronavirus restrictions are eased in Melbourne.

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The first car is built and getting final tweaks, and according to McLaughlin – who heads to Mount Panorama next week for the Bathurst 1000 – it ticks all his boxes.

“When I first saw it I thought it was mega. It was everything I was hoping for,” McLaughlin tells carsales.

“It’s a phenomenal package. Any Supercars driver would love to have their name on a car like this, and I had Rob Herrod to handle all the heavy lifting.

“I’ve always wanted a racy red car with black wheels. And now I’ve got it – and then some.”

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The SM17 has a surprising father, as it was McLaughlin’s dad who came up with the idea for a celebration Mustang.

“Scott’s dad, Wayne, was always telling Ford they should do a limited-edition car. Once he had wrapped up his third Supercars title it seemed like the right time to accelerate the program,” says Ryan Story, a key collaborator with Rob Herrod.

The starting point for the SM17 is a regular Mustang GT, in any colour choice and with either a manual or – for the first time with an officially backed supercharged Ford Mustang – an automatic transmission.

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Select Ford dealers across the country are taking orders now as the ’Stangs head to Herrod Performance in Melbourne for their make-over.

“We started development with a base GT with Magneride suspension only,” says Herrod.

“The key thing is the Whipple supercharger, which is a world first. It looks like a regular Whipple, but internally it is completely different.

“The key is the throttle response, but it also makes big numbers and there is a nice supercharger whine with a roar when it really gets going.”

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Keeping the rampaging V8 working properly is the largest intercooler available, with a 7.5-litre reservoir, plus bigger Bosch fuel-injectors, an oversized inlet manifold high-flow intercooler pump and a six-rib belt system with heavy-duty tensioner.

The headline numbers are 578lW of power and 810Nm of torque, running on 98-octane Shell V-Power fuel.

The SM17 also has a unique Herrod Performance engine oil-cooler, for both the auto and manual, and a performance transmission cooler on the auto. It also has a unique transmission calibration for crisper shifts.

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At the back-end there is a cat-back stainless-steel exhaust which flows more freely, terminating in black chrome tips, and the car keeps Ford’s active exhaust controller on the steering wheel.

The suspension is lowered, there are adjustable sway bars and a calibration change to the Magneride system, which Herrod says helps support the front-end under braking and heavy cornering loads.

The SM17 rolls on 20-inch alloys wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres – 275/30 at the front and 305/30 at the rear.

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Body-wise, there is a racy rear spoiler, a revised nose with an aggressive air-dam, lower splitter and side strakes, plus gloss-black treatment for the grille, mirrors and bonnet vents.

Inside, the seats are trimmed with black Italian leather and embossed, and there is a bespoke Herrod steering wheel with Alcantara wrapping and a red loop at 12 o’clock.

“It’s a phenomenal result. Rob Herrod is very smart with the performance side of things and very passionate,” says McLaughlin.

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“He knows cars, he loves the Mustang and he shares my passion. He’s been really cool with the whole thing.

“I’ve really enjoyed the project, even down to working with Rob and The Doc on little things like my signatures and the build plates for the cars. It didn’t distract me from my racing either, because I know we had the best people working on the car.”

But the SM17 is not done yet.

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“Once the car is registered, we can do extra upgrades. If someone missed out on one of the DJ Limited Edition cars we can give them almost everything, from the pistons and conrods through to the throttle body and bigger brakes,” says Herrod.

“But we’re already happy with the SM17. Scott signed-off on everything and it is definitely his car. It’s also a Herrod Performance program and while not quite a collaboration like R-Spec, what we are doing is supported by Ford Australia, and you can never underestimate what that support means with a car like this.”

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Written byPaul Gover
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