StangNet - FR500 Mustang - Promoting the Legend of the Ford Mustang

Mustang FR500 is Ford's Ultimate Performance Parts Car
(Specs Here)

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Ford Taurus NASCAR star and FR500 test Driver Rusty Wallace (L) and Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology, pose with Ford Mustang FR500 after unveiling the FR500 to media and industry officials November 3 at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas. The FR500, a showcase for current and future products available from the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog, features extensive new bodywork make from carbon-fiber. Powered by a 5.0-liter engine, the FR500 has a top speed of 175 mph. (Photo by John C. Hillery)

Calling it "our ultimate performance parts project," Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology, unveiled the Ford Mustang FR500 to media and industry officials here today at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.

The FR500 is the result of a challenge from Davis to Ford Racing Technology engineers to "create the ultimate high-performance Mustang," while creating a showcase for current and future products available through the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog.

"What we're revealing today is a performance parts story, wrapped up in a car," said Davis, who was joined in the unveiling by Ford Taurus NASCAR star and FR500 test driver Rusty Wallace. "We saw this as a great opportunity to demonstrate the engineering expertise at Ford Racing Technology and to energize our people by challenging them to show the world what they think would be 'their' best Mustang."

Ford Racing Technology FR 500 Mustang at Road Atlanta.

Davis said the project included several key objectives, including an opportunity to broaden the line of Ford Racing performance parts for the 4.6-liter, 4V modular engine. This was an area that has lagged behind the performance parts program's long-time staple – parts for the 5.0-liter pushrod engine, which is no longer offered in the Mustang.

"We decided to further that objective, along with several others," Davis said. "We wanted a car that would satisfy a Mustang enthusiast's dream checklist of performance modifications; a car that would be well engineered and very well balanced; and a performance benchmark to outperform the manual transmission Corvette.

"Our interim goal with the FR500 was to get everything right, including its performance, and to have all the parts designed so that they would be reproducible at a reasonable cost. What we've done is take a lot of the racing knowledge we have here and integrated a lot of it into what is our version of the ultimate Mustang."

Rusty Wallace at speed in the FR 500 at Road Atlanta.

Under the hood:

A 4.6-liter, 4V aluminum block, enlarged to 5.0-liter displacement by using spray bore technology.
High-flow 4-valve cylinder heads with more radical cam profiles
Variable geometry magnesium intake manifold
Dual 80mm mass air sensors
Dual 70 mm throttle bodies
High-flow stainless steel tubular headers
Powertrain:

Dual-disc Valeo clutch
Tremec T56 six-speed transmission
Metal matrix composite drive shaft
Torsen TR2 limited slip differential
4.10:1 ratio, 8.8-inch ring and pinion gears

Rusty Wallace gives Dan Davis, Director Ford Racing Technology, a quick tour of Road Atlanta aboard the FR 500 Mustang.

Performance :

415 horsepower @ 6800 rpm
4.6-second 0 to 60 time
12.7-second quarter mile
Top speed is about 175 mph
Performance numbers gained on street tires

Ford Racing Technology FR 500 Mustang at Road Atlanta.

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