Many fans of the hit UK television show Top Gear know that stunt and race car driver Ben Collins was the man behind the wheel on their test track as “The Stig” for 8 years. With all that seat time behind the wheel of supercars, as well as his own time spent racing in Le Mans and NASCAR, you would think his pick for top stunt car would be something rare and ultra-expensive. Apparently that assumption would be wrong though, as he has gone on record as saying the Ford Mustang is the top choice when it comes time to do some over-the-top movie stunts or chase scenes.
Ben is the star of a new movie called “Ben Collins: Stunt Driver”. In the film Collins uses a Mustang GT Fastback to outrun an assortment of high-performance cars during a very “Top Gear-esque” adventure featuring 48 hours of explosive, high-speed challenges featuring aerobatic planes, helicopter gunships and military vehicles. Collins says "The point of this adventure was to find the perfect car for an epic, high octane, Hollywood-style car chase, and it's the iconic Ford Mustang that gets top billing, Mustang has starred in many a classic car chase during the past 50 years, and is still the stunt driver's weapon of choice to leave the bad guys standing in a cloud of tire smoke."
Roelant de Waard, the VP of Marketing, Sales & Service for Ford Europe said "Mustang has made more than 3,700 movie appearances and has kept cinema-goers on the edge of their seats in car chases from the legendary 'Bullitt' sequence in 1968, to the first movie to feature the all-new Mustang, 'Need for Speed' in 2014.” He went on to say "Being named the ultimate stunt car in 'Ben Collins: Stunt Driver' further cements Mustang's place as an automotive and screen icon."
Road & Track Magazine set out to choose the very best performance car for 2016. The competition was between 8 excellent performance models, and the Shelby GT350R Mustang has come out on top. Not only did they give it their top honors but it won by a landslide, beating the Bentley Continental GT3-R, Cadillac ATS-V, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper ACR, Ferrari 488 GTB, Mercedes-AMG GT S, and Porsche Cayman GT4.
According to Road & Track, "The only way the team at Ford SVT could get 526 hp from 5.2 liters - the fabled 100 hp per liter and then some - was to reengineer the whole thing into a bit of an insane race motor." They go on to say that the "GT350R is the Mustang that all Mustangs have been waiting to become."
Larry Webster, editor-in-chief at Road & Track went on to say "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11. Not only does the car have soul and harness so much firepower with such ease, but the real achievement here is that it's so approachable. It's a car you can't help but love.”
To be eligible for Road & Track Performance Car of the Year, a car must be new for this year or feature significant functional changes and live at the very top of the street-car performance pyramid with a competitive lap time. Additionally, cars must connect with the driver on both road and track and engage a visceral, emotional reaction in the man or woman holding the steering wheel. Road & Track's testing process takes place over the course of one week during which the editors and writers evaluate the year's best cars on both the street and the race track.
Ford Performance Unveils the 2016 Cobra Jet Mustang at SEMA
Hot on the heels of Ford’s Cobra Jet Mustangs sweeping the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown series, Ford Performance unveils the 2016 Cobra Jet Mustang at SEMA. Just minutes ago, For pulled the cover off it’s latest turn-key race Mustang to a huge crowd at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas.
“The modern Cobra Jet has performed for our customers and put Ford in the winner’s circle consistently since 2008,” said Dave Pericak, director of Ford Performance. “The 2016 car is the only factory 2016 Mustang with a solid axle rear suspension, and the first Cobra Jet built off the all-new Mustang introduced in 2015. We are excited to see it compete.”
The original Cobra Jet debuted in 1968 with a win at the NHRA Winternationals, and Ford revived the model in 2008, with 50 special-production units designed for NHRA Stock Eliminator competition. The program has continued with limited 50 unit builds in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The 2016 model is based off the S550 chassis, but utilizes a live rear axle with a four-link rear suspension. It’s also available in Oxford White or Deep Impact Blue with each color limited to 25 examples. Other options include the popular “Cobra” graphics and a wheelie bar.
Amazingly, about 75-percent of the engine is sourced from the production Mustang GT. And boost comes from a Whipple supercharger. The 2016 Cobra Jet is will be ready to run 8-second quarter-mile times as delivered to the customer. “It was important to use production hardware wherever possible in the engine to ensure parts are readily available and reasonably priced for racers,” said Jesse Kershaw, Manager Drag Racing Parts and Competition. “The production parts are also incredibly durable in passing our rigorous dyno and drag strip testing.”
Not resting on its past, S197-based Cobra Jets have made their own history scoring wins in NHRA, NMRA and NMCA action. Cobra Jets have dominated the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown series, the heads-up playground for the Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Dodge Drag Pak Challenger and the Cobra Jet Mustang.
To ensure consistent winning performance, Ford fitted the 2016 Cobra Jet with drag-race-specific coil-over shocks and springs, lightweight Strange Racing brakes, 8.50 certified roll cage, an Aeromotive fuel system with trunk mounted fuel cell, Corbeau FIA seats, 5-point race harnesses, and a race-prepped automatic transmission.
“Ford Performance engineers were able to tap internal resources taking technology from other parts of the company and adapting them for race purposes. For example, the Cobra Jet engine utilizes an electric water pump from the C-MAX Hybrid that allows cool-down without the engine running,” added Kershaw. “The result is more consistent racing via improved management of engine temperatures. Dyno cells calibrated to simulate drag strip burn-outs and quarter-mile runs were utilized to prove out engine durability.”
And because 75-percent of the engine parts come directly from the Ford parts shelf, the Cobra Jet will be durable, efficient, and well-engineered. You can also select many of the specific Cobra Jet Parts from the Brothers Performance huge catalog of Mustang parts.
Cobra Jet Mustang begin life at the Flat Rock assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan and delivery is expected in the first quarter of 2016.
“The 2016 Cobra Jet is sold as a performance part without a VIN. Customers can order a Cobra Jet by submitting a placeholder order for part number M-FR500-CJ through any North American Ford dealer. The MSRP for the base car is $99,990 with optional graphics for $1995 and a wheelie bar at $1995,” Kershaw stated.
2016 Cobra Jet Engine
• Supercharged Ford V8, 5.0-liter (302 cubic inches) displacement
• 92.2mm bore x 92.7mm stroke
• 9.5:1 compression ratio
• 2.9L Whipple supercharger – front entry
• Forged steel crankshaft
• Billet steel gerotor oil pump
• Mahle forged and anodized pistons with Grafal® coated skirts
• Manley H-beam connecting rods with ARP 2000 bolts
• American Racing Headers 304 stainless-steel headers
• Aeromotive fuel rails
• ATI SFI-approved crank damper
• Proprietary engine control software and calibration
• New electric water pump derived from CMaxx hybrid
Petty’s Garage, NASCAR legend Richard Petty’s speed shop, will soon release three models of the 2016 Mustang GT that will be available with as much as 727 horsepower. This makes it a production car that even edges out the crazy output of the Hellcat offerings from Dodge.
Richard Petty said "I've always liked the look of the Mustang, and the 2016 model gives us a great base car to work with. These new King edition Mustangs are pretty much the way I'd build my own. They are great fun to drive, and have a signature single exhaust.” He added "With the new paint on the Premier edition, that's how you know we built it. They look pretty sharp."
These customized Mustang GTs will come in three editions with small production numbers – 243 King models, 43 King Premier and 14 King Premier convertibles. Customers can order the cars through their local Ford dealership.
Petty's Garage starts with a stock 2016 Mustang GT and adds a Ford Performance supercharger. The supercharger adds 235 horsepower to the stock 5.0-liter V8 engine, for a total output of 670 horsepower. Even with all that power on tap, it’s is backed by a three-year, 36,000-mile powertrain limited warranty. Other powertrain modifications include custom engine calibration, a cold-air intake for better breathing and a MagnaFlow exhaust.
Backing up that power are Ford Performance extreme-duty halfshafts, three-way adjustable front and rear sway bars, and a rear axle upgrade. Wheels are a custom staggered set of matte-black Petty's Garage/HRE 20- x 9-inch front wheels and 20- x 10-inch rear wheels with Continental Extreme Performance summer tires. There are also a number of interior upgrades to set it apart, including a custom rear diffuser with Richard Petty-designed center-mounted exhaust, shift knob, sill plates, floor mats, embroidered head restraints and rear spoiler. Richard Petty signs a special dash plate on every car.
The King Premier edition features a slightly different set of HRE/Petty's Garage wheels, a big brake upgrade kit that includes six-piston front brakes and four-piston rears over two-piece rotors, and custom leather trimmed interior. It also gets a complete Petty's Garage/BASF custom tri-color stripe package featuring iconic Petty blue, red and white stripes covered in crushed and tumbled glass in clear coat.
Although they are pretty loaded already, there are a few optional add-ons available. Options for all three editions include different bushings to minimize wheel hop, a coil-over racing suspension and a supercharger pulley upgrade that increases boost, bumping the horsepower output from 670 to 727 horsepower.
