Fox Body Mustang Gets an Injection of Coyote V8 Power

There was a lot to like about Ford’s “Fox Body” Mustang of the 1980’s. Though lacking the attractive lines or brutish character of the first generation, it was a substantial aesthetic improvement over the Pinto-derived second generation ‘stang. It was also somewhat unique in pony car history for offering a 2.3 L turbo four alongside the usual assortment of V6’s and V8’s, purporting to offer the right combination of performance and economy.

So it’s no wonder the Ol’ Fox is popular with pony car enthusiasts. Now, Kurgan Motorsports of Atlanta has taken one of these semi-classics and retrofitted it with the barnstorming 5.0 L “Coyote” V8 and drivetrain from a wrecked 2011 Ford Mustang GT.

Kurgan Motorsports owner Bob Kurgan explains:

“The engine just dropped right in. It was everything else that was difficult. With this engine only being out for just a little while, everything had to be custom built for it to swap over. Getting the engine running was easy. We had to custom make the motor mounts, air conditioning brackets, power steering brackets ourselves. But it’s a friggin’ animal on the streets.”

Kurgan’s team also added custom Kooks headers, a brake booster from a '03 SVT Cobra and swapped out the Fox’s standard transmission for a T-45 5-speed. The result is 412 hp (307 kW) and 390 ft lb’s (529 Nm) of torque. And that’s before the whole thing is supercharged for the win.

Kurgan Motorsports will be giving a (presumably) live demonstration of the engine swap at the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals in June of this year. Kurgan hopes to work with Ford to develop a kit that’ll help other Fox body enthusiasts perform the same feat with their cars. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this.

By Tristan Hankins

Link: Kurgan Motorsports via Stang.tv

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Ford Says Next Mustang will be Designed with Styling Input from Around the World

*2006 Ford Mustang Giugiaro Concept Pictured above

Ford believes its Mustang pony car isn't just an icon in North America alone, but an icon all over the world and as such, it should reflect the company's new philosophy in which products are created with global input.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2011 Geneva motor show, Ford's group vice president for global product development Derrick Kuzak, dropped the bomb: the next-generation of the company's pony car will be the first Mustang with styling themes proposed by studios in Europe, Australia and other regions. Up until now, the design of the Mustang was a U.S.-only matter.

"It is a common process we [now] use on every vehicle," Derrick Kuzak told reporters in Geneva. "When we embark on a new product, particularly one that is all new, it involves all of the studios. Then J [Mays, Ford's global design chief] and the design team pick the best of those themes," he added.

Kuzak said that the 2012 Ranger pickup truck for markets outside North America is one of the latest examples of Ford's new global design approach which was adopted in 2008. "The Ranger was done by the Australian studio with input from the European studio," Kuzak said.

So, when will we see the next generation of the Mustang with design input from Ford's studios across the world? Unfortunately, Kuzak didn't provide an answer to that but it is believed that a new Mustang should enter the market by 2014.

Source: Autonews [Sub. Req.]

______________2006 FORD MUSTANG GIUGIARO CONCEPT____________

Foxy Mustang vs. Tree: Tree 1, Mustang Nil [with Video]

What enterprising youth hasn’t hooned around an empty car park in a car? I think it’s safe to say that most motoring enthusiasts would have at one stage in their lives, before they had the bravado to exercise their “skillz” [sic] on the track (or, in some cases, a nasty accident that makes them take pause). Well, think of this video as the interim stage between, “Parking Lot Racer” and “Certified Track Demon”.

So we have this guy (it would have to be, yeah?) in a post-1987 Mustang. He’s participating in some sort of coned off track racing shenanigans. It’s all fun and games power sliding through the cones until the 1:05 minute mark. Then...BAM! On the plus side, the car hit on the passenger side, which appears from the video to be unoccupied.

One thing’s for certain; it’ll be a long time before this driver takes another Fox body Mustang around that tree-lined car park. Check out the video below and leave your piece in the comments section.

By Tristan Hankins

Via: Autoholics

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MotorTrend Pits the Corvette Z06, Shelby GT500 and Nissan GT-R Against Each Other

What weights ten tonnes and costs more than US$240,000? If you said, “a gold plated bulldozer”, you’d be close but no cigar. The answer is three sub-100k supercars: the Chevy Corvette Z06, Ford Shelby GT500 and Nissan GT-R. These three industry titans, with nameplates stretching as far back as the 1960s, were the recent subjects of an epic comparison test by MotorTrend. Here are three would-be-supercars – over 500hp and 3 second 0 to 60 mph times – that don’t command the supercar price tag.

The US$55,330 GT500, US$90,950 GT-R and US$98,010 Z06 are all within the budgets of most mid-life crisis suffers (providing you sell the house, the kids and the dog) and offer the sort of performance that was once the sole reserve of great Italians like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati.

And they’re not stripped out racers either. The Z06, for instance, comes with such luxuries as heated leather seats, Bose audio, Bluetooth and sat nav. You can’t buy a second-hand Lamborghini with that sort of equipment for US$98,010.

If you want to find out who wins this legendary battle, you’ll just have to check out the video. Even if you don’t care who wins you should check out the video anyways for a sweet-as drag race between the Z06, GT500 and GT-R. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday...

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Motortrend

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Shelby Gone Wild: 2012MY GT500 Super Snake with 800HP to be Unleashed at New York Auto Show

Renowned Ford specialist Shelby announced plans to unleash the latest iteration of its venomous pony car at the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show. The 2012 model year Super Snake package will add a mouth-watering 800-horsepower under the hood of the Mustang thanks to a heavily modified 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine.

Buyers will also get a variety of other styling and performance modifications such as 20-inch alloy wheels in sport tires, an adjustable coil over suspension, Eibach sway bars, a Baer 6-piston caliper rear brake system and an aero package.

As with previous models, Shelby plans to produce only a limited number of Super Snakes to ensure exclusivity. We’ll have more details and photos at the presentation of the car at this month’s New York Auto Show.

2011 SHELBY GT500 SUPER SNAKE

Ford Gives Japan Special Edition Mustang V6 Sport Appearance

America’s second favorite muscle car after the Camaro (in terms of 2011 sales as Chevy’s model has outsold Ford’s pony car by around 33 percent through May, according to the latest data), is being offered in Japan in a limited edition version called the “Mustang V6 Sport Appearance”.

More often than not, the words “Mustang” and “Special” usually point to a different paint job and added extras, and sure enough, that’s the case with the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) version of Ford’s Mustang V6 Sport Appearance.

On the outside, Japanese buyers can choose between two colors, “Performance White” or the 70’s style “Grabber Blue”, both of which come with special pin stripes on the sides and the bonnet bump.

There’s also a rear boot lid spoiler and 18-inch chromed alloy wheels wrapped around chunky 235/50 R18 tires, while inside, we can see that Ford added leather seats

The package is available on both the coupe and convertible models with the 3.7-liter V6 engine, which is rated in Japan at 309-horses and 378Nm (278.8 lb-ft) of peak torque.

Production is limited to 25 pieces for each body style with prices set at a hefty 4.35 million Yen for the Coupe and 5.05 million Yen for the soft-top Convertible (equal to US$54,250 and US$63,000 respectively at the current exchange rates).

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