This track-ready Roush Mustang has Pista levels of power

By topgear, 19 August 2019

Monterey Car Week 2019 has already given us lots of new performance cars, and among the most potent is this, a humble Ford Mustang.

It’s no ordinary Mustang, though. The Gulf colours hint at some potency beneath, and it’s delivered by a Roush Stage 3 supercharger kit that ups the stock 5.0-litre V8’s outputs from 460bhp and 569Nm (420lb ft) to a mildly staggering 710bhp and 827Nm (610lb ft). We’re talking Ferrari 488 Pista levels of power here.

It’ll probably make more noise than the Pista, mind, thanks to a four-mode active exhaust system. And while the Ferrari favours fancy Side Slip control systems to indulge your drifting fantasies, this Mustang simply has a whopping great handbrake lever, made by the amusingly named Sikky Manufacturing.

Its retro colour scheme is applied liberally throughout – right down to the engine cover – and is complemented by new 20in forged wheels, designed to ape the original Gulf Ford GT40’s. Completing the exterior makeover are carbon spoilers and skirts, but livery aside, this is a subtle, tasteful makeover by Mustang standards. We like.

But we can’t have. It’s a one-off, designed by Wade Kawasaki to be a ‘track-capable daily driver’. Because nothing screams ‘daily’ like a 710bhp rear-driven coupe with a cage that could hold a modestly sized elephant…