Young performance car enthusiasts of America, we bring you good tidings of performance brakes, active exhausts, and anti-lag: Meet the turbo Ford Mustang RTR built specifically to go sideways.
“This factory-built Mustang RTR is the answer for younger buyers seeking a performance-focused Mustang,” said RTR founder Vaughn Gittin Jr. Yep, the same multiple-drift-title-winning Vaughn Gittin Jr.
It’s the first RTR-spec Mustang built in-house by Ford and is absolutely not to be confused with the actual Mustang RTR Spec 5, which is basically a Mustang GTD for about half the price.
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No, this one is spun off the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Mustang producing 311hp and 474 Nm, but can be optioned up to 345hp and 542Nm via Ford Performance parts. It gets the 10-speed auto gearbox sending those turbocharged horsies to the rear wheels.
It’s been built for a slightly younger audience to get them into big, lairy, and accessible performance cars. So why not the V8? “The Mustang EcoBoost is so underrated in my opinion,” Mr Gittin Jr said. “It is such a fun car.” He notes how the base four-cylinder car has a keener front end versus the eight-pot, but wanted to make it even keener.
So, to this ‘fun car,’ Gittin’s RTR and Ford have added plenty of goodies from the V8 Dark Horse car, like: an adjustable strut alignment bracket, new front and rear stabilizer bars, and the Dark Horse’s rear subframe with stiffer bushes.
Then come more goodies like a GT-spec steering rack angle allowing a whopping 72.5mm of extra travel, a 600-watt cooling fan, Brembos all around, an active performance exhaust, and a “Ford-patented, race-derived anti-lag” for better throttle response. The MagneRide dampers and stability control also benefit from an RTR-specific tweak.
That’s the go, but what about the show? You’ll spot various ‘hyper lime’ accents on the car, nice wheels, RTR badges, and—of perhaps chief importance—a powder-coated electric drift brake lever.
So now, “Mustang RTR makes it easier to achieve and control a slide,” according to Gittin Jr. “We really did create the most baddass turbocharged Mustang ever.”
More photos of the Ford Mustang RTR:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
