Supercharged Ford Mustang delayed

The fastest, most powerful Mustang set to be offered by Ford in Australia has been slowed down by red tape.

As motoring.com.au revealed in May 2015, Ford Australia has formally green-lighted Roush Performance supercharger kits that will raise the flagship Mustang GT’s 5.0-litre V8 to 500kW or 670 horsepower in the old money – outgunning HSV’s 430kW GTS on paper.

As in North America, the Ford Performance-branded supercharger kit – and a higher-performance package for the Mustang EcoBoost turbo-four – is expected to be sold and fitted with a full factory warranty by Ford dealers around Australia.

Now, however, Ford Australia has revealed that the Australian Design Rule certification process is the only thing holding up its new kits, which have undergone Ford's internal durability and validation testing locally, from going on sale.

Speaking with motoring.com.au, Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said the Roush kits were still subject to ADR approval and their local release was overdue.

“It’s still going through the legalisation process, the Australian Design Rules,” he said.

“We had hoped to have it in by now, but when you go through this process you don’t always know what you’re going to get.”

The Roush kits, which are available in the US for both the Mustang GT’s 5.0-litre V8 and the Mustang EcoBoost’s 2.3-litre turbo four, will join higher-output Mountune turbo kits already available from Ford Australia dealers for the Fiesta ST and Focus ST.

The decision to offer the Roush kit without affecting the Mustang’s factory warranty wasn’t made lightly, Ford Australia boss Graeme Whickman recently told motoring.com.au.

“It’s never as easy as saying let’s pick something up, a supercharger or trick exhaust – whatever you want to think about – and simply saying it’s fit for purpose,” he said.

“Part of the reason that these things sometimes take a bit of time is that we need to warrant them and stand behind them. To be able to do that you’ve got to be very clear around your engineering assumptions and ultimately whether it’s going to stand the test of time in a typical market.”

Prices are not yet available for Roush’s top-shelf Stage 3 supercharger kit, however, it is likely to cost about $15,000 over and above the GT’s $57,490 (plus on-road costs) starting figure -- if US prices are any gauge.

Roush’s HSV GTS-killing 500kW Stage 3 kit for the Mustang GT is already available from Australia’s official Ford Performance Parts distributor, Melbourne-based Herrod Motorsport, which is also an official Roush Performance agent.

Herrod has already produced a handful of Roush-powered 'compliance pack' Mustangs -- complete with stiffer springs, full ADR compliance and a Ford Performance driveline – for $21,500 including fitting, bringing the total price of a '507kW' Mustang GT to less than $80,000.

Melbourne's Harrop Engineering is also offering a Mustang supercharger kit, while former factory Supercars racing team Prodrive revealed on the weekend that it plans to create a passenger vehicle performance division, which is also likely to offer hot Mustangs.

Ford's Stage 3 big-bore blower includes Roush’s latest 2.3-litre Twin Vortices Series (TVS) supercharger, plus a six-rib belt drive system, unique intake manifold, dual 60mm electronic throttle body, air inlet system, fuel rail, high-flow fuel-injectors, air-to-liquid intercooler, 9psi of boost and a revised ECU with Ford Racing calibration.

A full-blown Stage 3 package, which includes alterations to the suspension and tyres, is also available in the US for about $A30,000.

Roush also offers a milder 325kW Stage 2 kit for the 5.0-litre Mustang GT Fastback and a Stage 1 kit for the 2.3-litre Mustang EcoBoost in the US. The latter ups the standard car’s 233kW output by 45kW at the rear wheels, closing in on the standard Mustang GT’s 303kW.

Ford has also left the door open to further aftermarket kits within its Mustang portfolio, citing the demand for such packages globally.

“Part of what has made Mustang successful over decades is that there is always something new,” Sherwood said. “While we can’t have every iteration of every vehicle, it’s something we realise has worked for the car globally.

“We are open to the Mustang model that has proved successful globally."