Autoblog

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There's horsepower, and then there's dyno-tested, can't-lie-to-your-friends horsepower. If you want to know how much power a car really makes, you've got to strap it to a dyno and spin it to redline. The guys over at 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords are always eager to find the true horsepower of a car, and so when they took delivery of a GT500KR to review they headed straight to the dyno to see how much power the supercharged V8 is putting out. What they found was somewhat surprising -- the KR produced 509 horsepower and 467.7 lb.-ft. torque to the wheels. Adjusting for an estimated driveline loss of 15 percent, the actual output at the flywheel is 589.82 hp and 550.24 lb-ft torque -- nearly 50 more horsepower and 40 more lb-ft than Ford is claiming. Take that Z06!

[Source: 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords]

It's been a while since we've heard about FoMoCo's development of large rear-wheel-drive vehicles for Ford and Lincoln – no surprise considering the current climate. With fuel prices continuing their upward trajectory and CAFE standards looming on the horizon, Ford is apparently reevaluating the efficacy of offering RWD vehicles in a market starving for fuel efficient whips.

In addition to this morning's story that Ford is considering offering an EcoBoost four-cylinder on its F-150 pickup, Automotive News is reporting that Ford's use of turbocharged, direct-injected engines could expand to beyond 500,000 vehicles annually by 2012.

Doug Pelmar's 1987 Ford Mustang LX Coupe might have just become our favorite X-Prize competitor. How come? Well, first off, LX Coupes are awesome to begin with, but Mr. Pelmar's is even more special. Rather than neuter his 'Stang in the name of high efficiency, he's gone and created something that should contend in the X-Prize's "Mainstream" category, but would also be right at home on the pages of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords. The car's engine runs on E85 for emissions purposes and has several modifications that Mr. Pelmar designed (mostly electronics, it seems) allowing it to run much more efficiently -- to the tune of a claimed 80 miles per gallon -- while producing 400 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. He admits that he could squeeze more MPGs out if he dialed back the power some, but where's the fun in that? 80 MPG and 400 horses in a Fox body seems like a completely reasonable compromise to us. Oh, and MM&FF? You need to call this guy.

[Source: Mustang Evolution]

The tremendous pressure on the auto industry is rapidly unraveling even the most carefully laid out plans. Fuel economy is king right now, and trucks and SUVs have gone from cash cows to the 6,000-pound albatross around the necks of automakers. Ford has been giving us a steady flow of news regarding its plans to weather this wicked storm, including the decision to switch truck and SUV plants into facilities that can produce fuel efficient cars and the delayed launch of the 2009 F-150. Now we're hearing from Mike Levine at Pickuptrucks.com that the Blue Oval has all but killed the once promising Boss V8 engine program.

The powerful V8 engine was slated to appear on models ranging from the new Mustang to the best-selling F-150 and Super Dudy, but a stop work order has narrowed the Boss' available engine bays down to one model. Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields told Levine that while the program isn't being killed completely, it will now only appear in one vehicle. Levine has heard from three sources that the lone vehicle will be the Super Duty, which needs a more efficient replacement for the 6.8L V10. Ford has already spent a load of cash on the beefy pushrod, so killing the program altogether would have been a tough pill to swallow. Ford was also planning on more than one displacement for the Boss, but with it now only going in the Super Duty, it'll likely only appear in 6.2-liter guise.

Ford will likely move any and all monetary and development resources possible away from the Boss, and into the hands of greener projects like the US-bound Fiesta. The move makes abundant sense given the current realities Ford is facing, but it still saddens us that we won't get to mash the pedal to unleash 400 naturally aspirated ponies any time soon.

[Source: Pickuptrucks]

Click above for gallery of the Super Snake

Despite the Shelby GT500KR's claim of supremacy over the dominion that is the open road, there is yet another Mustang that is even more extreme. Shelby's Super Snake package for the GT500 offers up to 725 horsepower and even more aggressive options for the suspension and braking systems. Available as a post-sale conversion for the GT500, the transformation can be performed at the Shelby facility in Las Vegas or at one of the official mod shops around the country. There have been a handful of owners who have already converted their GT500s, and one is already for sale on eBay. Something seems wrong with the seller's math, however, because a "Buy It Now" price of $200,000 is far more than the cost of a GT500 plus the $31,995 needed for the 725 horsepower conversion. We could understand the markup if these were in high demand, but pretty much any GT500 owner can send his car to get converted. So unless you really can't wait, keep your mouse away from the bidding button and just enjoy the gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Brad!

[Source: eBay Motors]

Click above for more pics of the ROUSH RTC Mustang

This morning we were patiently awaiting our daily news regarding a new version of the Mustang, and ROUSH came through by sending us a sneak peak of its new RTC Mustang that will be officially unveiled this weekend at the National Mustang Show in Dublin, OH. There's no press release available, but from what we can gather it's a coupe version of the aesthetically-pleasing ROUSH Speedster. Standard equipment includes a special red and black two-tone paint scheme, a 4-piece body kit, upgraded suspension, 20-inch wheels, and more. A supercharger, 14-inch brakes, and a short-throw shifter can also be installed as options. A complete list of features for the RTC package can be found after the jump.

[Source: Roush via The Mustang Source]

Click my Mustang for a high res gallery

As the skies finally cleared this morning, us hacks finally managed to get in a single practice run here at Milan Dragway for the Ford Racing Invitational. Ford invited some media out to race race some Mustangs as part of the NMRA Ford Nationals weekend. In my first-ever run on a dragstrip, I managed to not embarrass myself and get decent time in my Shelby GT500. My reaction time was a bit on the slow side at 0.6149s as I was seeing the tree for the first time. Once I hooked up, the car flew down the strip before I backed off just a bit too soon, not knowing where the finish line was. I still ended up with 12.8692 ET at 106.56. At the 1,000 ft mark I was at 103.70mph and 10.875 sec. Now that I know where I'm going hopefully I can do a little better this afternoon. Oh, the guy in the orange convertible? Ehh, not so fast, better luck next time.

What's this? News about less Mustangs? Mustang guru Brad Barnett has learned that Mustang marketing manager Fritz Wilke estimates only 45,000 Mustangs will be produced for the 2009 model year. We don't know if the 45 is symbolic of the 45th anniversary of Ford's pony car, but it's significantly less than any other year the Mustang has been produced. In fact, it's only about half that of the 79,280 Mustangs produced in 1992, the current lowest tally, and far below the 134,626 'Stangs sold last year. We can see it now... Ford dealers marking up the rare 2009 Mustang. The most likely situation is that dealers will have trouble selling the remaining Mustangs as customers wait for the updated model in 2010, hopefully with a 5.0-liter V8.

Thanks for the tip, Brad!

[Source: TheMustangSource.com]

Click above for high-res gallery of new 2010 Mustang GT spy shots!

We haven't seen new spy shots of the 2010 Ford Mustang for a while, so leave it to an Autoblog reader to have his camera at the ready when one flies by on the highway. Brandon R. took these pictures on an undisclosed road somewhere in the U.S. (that should narrow it down for you) and tells us that the driver wasn't very interested in smiling for the camera. After he realized that the car was being photographed, the Mustang jockey slammed on the brakes and promptly pulled over, but not before Brandon had taken his pics and recorded video of the Mustang showing off its passing power.

It's all speculation as to what's powering this prototype, but it appears to be a GT model if wheel size and two grille-mounted fog lamps are any indication. Out back are dual exhaust pipes and what must be a rear spoiler all covered up, as well. The hood features a big bulge, but don't get too excited as we surmise it's not to make room for some monster engine but rather keep the contour of the new hood a secret. Studying the front end, we also get a clearer view of the Mustang's new headlights as well as the lower air intake. All in all, Brandon did an excellent job in his impromptu debut as a spy photographer/videographer and we hope he spends more time with the cruise control on and his camera riding shotgun. Thanks for the photos and video, Brandon!

Don't forget to check out Brandon's video after the jump.

How do you make a muscle car appear more fuel-efficient? According to Ford's North American design director, Peter Horbury, you make it look smaller. In an interview with Automotive News, Horbury said that the Mustang, "... is more suitable for the times than the [Dodge] Challenger and [Chevy] Camaro." By "times" we're assuming Horbury is implying that big muscle cars will become less popular due to rising fuel prices and that vehicles like the Challenger and Camaro will endure much of the same wrath that SUVs have garnered in the last few years.

While the Camaro concept is 1.4-inches shorter and 5.7-inches wider than the Mustang, the Challenger overshadows Ford's pony car in length by over ten inches. Whether those facts will have any effect on the buying public is open to debate, but appearances are just that, and a focus on weight reduction and more fuel-efficient drivetrains would seem to be a better solution than making the 2010 Mustang, which will share the same dimensions as the current model, appear to be the smarter choice.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]