https://www.carsales.com.au/editoria...ld-out-122520/
Factory-backed 520kW-plus muscle car a sellout before first car rolls off the line this week
The homegrown Ford Mustang R-Spec is a sellout – even before the first example rolls off the Blue Oval’s born-again production line at Broadmeadows this week.
Ford Australia announced in October that it would offer 500 examples of its first supercharged Mustang through its national dealer network – developed locally by Herrod Performance and backed by a five-year factory warranty – from early 2020.
At the same time, it said each individually numbered and badged Ford Mustang R-Spec, available in a single fastback manual spec, would punch out over 500kW and cost $99,980 plus on-road costs – outpowering and undercutting HSV’s blown 477kW Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ($159,990 plus ORCs).
Now, on the eve of the first Mustang R-Spec rolling off the line this week, our sources say all 500 Mustang R-Specs are already spoken for – not just at dealer level but individually.
Mirroring the sellout success of the limited-edition Steve McQueen-inspired Mustang BULLITT, 700 examples of which arrived Down Under from September 2018, we hear the 95 per cent of the 500-car R-Spec production run was accounted for within three weeks.
For now, Ford and the mastermind behind Australia’s wildest factory-back Mustang ever, Rob Herrod, are keeping mum on R-Spec launch details and order numbers.
But we understand the first Mustang R-Spec, wearing badge #001, will be presented by Herrod and Ford Australia chief Kay Hart as part of a photo opp later this week.
We’re also told each Ford dealer will be allocated one or two R-Specs to display before customers take delivery.
After ‘job one’ is presented this week and first customer cars hit the road in February, Herrod Performance will take about six months to produce the 500 R-Specs at the rate of about a handful a day once production ramps up.
Marking the return of production at Ford Australia’s Melbourne factory for the first time since the Falcon and Territory were axed in October 2016, each R-Spec will take about two weeks to produce by a team of up to 50 Herrod workers across 10 stations.
Although it was developed in collaboration with Ford Australia and Ford Performance, the Mustang R-Spec will be officially manufactured by Herrod Performance since Ford is longer a registered car-maker in Australia.
Herrod told carsales that production of the R-Spec was delayed slightly by mandatory quarantine and stink bug spraying of imported components by customs.
“The first of five 40-foot containers of parts arrived late last month and it took us two or three days to unload enough parts to unload, count and check enough parts to produce the first 10 cars from early January,” he said.
“But now we’re up and running, production is well underway and demand has been massive.”
As we’ve reported, the Mustang R-Spec is fitted with a Ford Performance stage three 2.65-litre roots-type positive displacement Eaton supercharger with 12psi of boost.
In the USA, this blower ups the outputs of the standard Mustang GT’s 5.0-litre V8 from 339kW/556Nm to 710hp and 610lb-ft of torque. In Australia, that translates to 522kW/827Nm, but Herrod says the R-Spec will deliver more than that.
Also fitted with a unique exhaust, suspension upgrades, a bespoke body kit and local calibration following testing and validation at Ford’s You Yangs proving ground, the R-Spec should easily hit 100km/h in less than four seconds.
At the same time, it meets all Australian emissions and noise standards, is backed by Ford’s five-year/unlimited-km factory warranty and capped-price service program, comes with all of the Mustangs standard safety equipment and is able to run on standard 91 RON unleaded petrol in 40-degree heat.
Every vehicle will be filled with Shell V-Power fuel and Shell Helix oil and then dyno and road tested before it’s delivered to a Ford dealership
Herrod has produced more than 400 supercharged examples of Ford’s first global Mustang since 2016, including the recent 635kW Dick Johnson limited-edition.
Aussies may not have access to the left-hand drive Shelby GT350 and GT500, but the homegrown R-Spec is unlikely to be Ford/Herrod’s last collaboration now that the supercharged Mustang has received Australian Design Rule compliance.