Just days before the Mustang’s 40th anniversary, Ford has unveiled a 328 kW racing concept Mustang GT-R – complete with two pairs of competition side exhausts – at the New York Auto Show.
Just days before the Mustang’s 40th anniversary, Ford has unveiled a 328 kW racing concept Mustang GT-R – complete with two pairs of competition side exhausts – at the New York Auto Show.
The brutish GT-R is said to rekindle Mustang’s racing triumphs and the nostalgia of five-litre Mustangs of yore, but it could also become a potential future race car.
The bright Valencia Orange car – inspired by the famous Grabber Orange 1970 Mustang Boss 302 Trans-Am race cars, features Ford Racing’s 328 kW “Cammer” crate engine, which could be tuned to produce more than 373 kW under certain race series rules. A tuned 376 kW version of the “Cammer” powered a Mustang to victory in the prototype category of the Daytona 24 Hour race last year.
The GT-R’s “Cammer” has forged pistons, an 11.0:1 compression ratio, ported heads, higher-lift cams, beehive-shaped valve springs, a custom oil pan and fabricated Tri-Y headers and crossover. It has higher-flow fuel injectors and a magnesium variable-geometry intake manifold.
The engine is mated to a Ford Racing-supplied TTC T-56 six-speed transmission through a heavy duty clutch and flywheel assembly. A custom metal matrix composite aluminum driveshaft drives a race-specification differential with a 4.56:1 final drive ratio.
The GT-R borrows 85 per cent of the standard Mustang’s body components. The production suspension geometry is retained but key parts have been replaced in order to reduce weight or provide additional strength. Suspension pieces, including the K-member, are made of lightweight chrome-moly tubing. The dampers are coil-over fully-adjustable units and feature remote reservoirs.
And don’t forget about the brakes. The front features 14.3-inch rotors with six-piston calipers, while the rear has 13-inch rotors with four-piston calipers. Keeping the whole package glued to the racetrack are 20-inch wheels and racing slicks. Tyre sizes range from 275/35 in front to 305/30 in the rear.
For the GT-R, Doug Gaffka, the Ford Performance Group’s design director, adapted the standard Mustang’s shell and fitted a massive front air flow opening, carbon fibre underbody panels and a special bonnet complete with a large engine bulge. The classic Mustang rear quarter windows were blocked out to accommodate the fuel delivery “dry-brake” system on the driver’s side, but the doors are fully functional as required by many racing classes.
The composite rear spoiler is one of the GT-R’s most prominent design elements and racers will instantly recognise the differential cooler, mounted behind an aluminium grill between the widened taillamp clusters.
Inside, designers chose a F1-style steering wheel with most vehicle controls and gauges integrated, including the tachometer, gear selections, telemetry and warning signals. Only the oil pressure and water temperature gauges are located on the instrument panel.
Apart from the chrome-moly roll cage, the passenger side houses seat mount tracks for a second seat if needed.