Tag Archive for 'Mustang'

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Obsidian SG-One?

Obsidian SG-One Exterior

The Obsidian SG-One is in a class all its own, and is possibly (probably) one of the coolest custom cars I’ve ever seen.

What you see here started life as a 1967 Mustang, but didn’t stay that way for long.

The first to go was the engine, and it was quickly replaced with a 392 cubic inch V8 making 847.8 horsepower and 770 lbs. ft. of torque on 91-octane pump gas. Twin Rotrex C38-81 superchargers feed through twin air-to-air intercoolers, down through a custom aluminum intake, and past the Big Stuff 3 fuel injection system.

What’s the resulting performance?

0-60 in under three seconds, and an estimated top speed of over 210 MPH.

Power is then routed through a Tremec TKO 600 5-speed with Master Shift paddle shifters and a Mittler Brothers 9” rear end.

Chassis refinements include an integrated tubular chassis, 4-point hidden roll cage, redesigned shock towers and reinforced frame rails, and a full 4-piece belly pan.

Coil over suspension on all four corners keep the 18” and 20” wheels firmly planted, and 14” Brembo brakes slow everything down if needed.

Obsidian SG-One Interior

The interior features a 2-seat conversion with heated Recaro seats, a 3,000 watt Kicker sound system including GPS navigation, XM radio, mobile wi-fi, and more. The hand crafted dash board, door panels, headliner, center console, and rear panels all fit like a glove, and the billet accessories are sprinkled throughout to keep everything sparkling.

Outside, a 2005 Mustang front end was grafted on, including custom headlights and turn signals, a custom hood vents the massive power plant, flared fenders tuck the wheels away, and custom billet grills and tail light panel finish off the look.

According to the current owner, over 15,000 hours of work went into creating this perfect pony, at a duplication cost of approximately $1.3 million. Sure, you could get a Bugatti Veyron for that kind of coin, but who wants something that 499 of your closest billionaire buddies have too?

Not I, said the oil tycoon.

Does the world need a million dollar mustang?

No, but I’ll bet it sure is glad it has one.

(Be sure to click through to the site for more information, since there was tons more facts, figures, and custom parts that I could have listed.)

[Obsidian SG-One]

…Ford Racing is funny?

FR500S Window Sticker

Apparently Ford Racing has a sense of humor, as their “Hero Card” for the Mustang FR500S includes such gems as:

  • Green Flag: Gulps Fuel, Yellow Flag: Sips Fuel, and Red Flag: Uses No Fuel At All
  • Stuff It Doesn’t Have: A Lot Of Unnecessary Production-Mustang Wiring
  • Estimated Annual Champagne Cost: Big Bucks
  • Warranty: What, You Expected 5-Years/50,000 Miles?

Click the link for more Ford Racing funnies.

[Ford Racing - FR500S]

[Via: Autoblog]

…Mustangs need more Vanquish V12?

Sure, you could coat your Mustang in the body of an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, but it’s still going to be American muscle on the inside, right?

Apparently not, as one crafty ‘stang owner has managed to find room for the Vanquish’s V12 motor between the wheel wells of an already tastily modified pony.

Check out the video for more info, including the exhaust sound that was never supposed to come out of a car costing less than $100,000:

[Via: Autoblog]

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Exclusive Motor Cars?

Exclusive Motor Cars

Despite what it looks like, this is not an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

Instead, it’s a Ford Mustang with one of the best body replica kits I’ve ever seen.

Made by Exclusive Motor Cars, the replication process includes stretching the wheelbase, widening the track, lowering the ride height, adding 34 extra body panels to the outside, custom upholstering the inside, and then adding the small details like the lights, emblems and grills to get things just right.

What you’re left with after all of that is over is a car that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. (Except for the price.) They even include a Spy Package that adds on grille-mounted rocket launchers and hood-mounted machine guns for extra fun. (Apparently, “Even the original James Bond car from Die Another Day was equipted with Mustang running gear.”)

[Exclusive Motor Cars]

[Via: Autoblog]

…KITT is a Mustang?

KITT

It’s official: The car that will play KITT in the upcoming Knight Rider series is going to be a Shelby Mustang GT500KR, complete with a wing kit, blackout treatment, and the dancing red grill lights.

It’s subtle, sinister, and sometimes remote controlled, so I’m in love.

[Via: Jalopnik]

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: SEMA?

Twin Mill

SEMA was, as expected, amazing.

If you’ve never been (given the chance, I think everyone should go), then picture this: More automotive eye candy than you can imagine, and I walked around for two full days and still didn’t see everything. It’s that big.

Though the name of the game is new and improved, and everyone is trying to one-up the next to grab that photographer’s eye, there were a couple trends that I noticed:

  • Orange is the new black. Orange was definitely the go-to color scheme for any car that was trying to show off, and even cars that were painted other colors seemed to have some sort of orange accent.
  • Bigger is better. To grab your attention, rims have now crossed the 30” barrier, and the more gaudy, the better. There were rims with TVs in them, rims with solid gold bars in them, rims with jewels in them, and rims that were painted just about any color you can imagine. If you can dream it, someone else can put it on a rim.
  • Heat-treated is the new chrome. To add to the wheel spectrum, many manufactures are now offering a “heat-treat” option, which takes your shiny new wheel and adds some color to it with a heat-treating process. I like the look, so I hope to see more of it.
  • Horsepower numbers need four digits to impress. With everyone pumping 300 horsepower out of their Civic, it takes something special to show off now, which is why many of the tuners were demoing cars that easily passed through the thousand mark in the horsepower column.
  • Conversions are big. Four door cars became two door, two door cars became four door, convertibles became single seat roadsters, and some cars just lost all hope of being original and simply transformed into something new entirely. There are definitely some automotive Dr. Frankensteins out there, and for the right funds, they can build you just about anything that you can think of.

Tractorri Engine

Though there were many cars that impressed, my favorite car of the show was easily the Tractorri; a half Mustang, half Lamborghini concoction that looked like it just stepped off the showroom floor. The execution was flawless, and it was hard to believe that this car started out as two entirely different machines. Though I couldn’t decide if it should be called a Forghini Musardo, or a Lambord Gallardang, it was easy to decide that John Haugh (the owner of the Tractorri) is one lucky man.

Tractorri Rear End

Starting with a 2007 body in white Ford Mustang, the Tractorri soon began to take shape. The 5.0-liter, 520 hp Lamborghini V10 was midmounted behind the front seats, and then mated to the Gallardo’s four-wheel drive, paddle-shifted E-gear transmission, and Aluminum double wishbone suspension.

Tractorri Interior

Other amenities include 8 piston front and 4 piston rear brakes, custom wheels, Lamborghini interior, PPG paint, and Gallardo taillights (to remind fellow drivers that there is a reason you’ll only ever see the back of this car).

If heaven has cars, then they all look like this, because the Tractorri was simply stunning.

Click through for more pics of the best of the best.
Continue reading ‘…It’s Tuner Tuesday: SEMA?’

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Formula Drift?

Formula Drift Logo

On Saturday, I had the chance to go and see Formula D’s “The Finals” at Irwindale Speedway (yes, I did get stuck on Interstate 5 on the way down from San Francisco due to that massive accident), and I must say, if you’re at all a fan of the four wheeled machine, make sure you check out one of Formula Drift’s events at a track near you.

Pontiac Solstice

If you’re not familiar with the sport, think of drifting as two automotive ballerinas battling it out in a boxing match. It’s gracefully controlled mayhem, and in my opinion, it’s easily the best form of four-wheeled entertainment on the planet.
Continue reading ‘…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Formula Drift?’

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Saleen?

Saleen History

Steve Saleen started out like any other Mustang tuner, adding more horsepower, more handling, more good looks, and more sexy to an already potent platform. Since the mid ‘80s, he’s been testing, tuning and tweaking his cars to get every last bit of performance out of the blue oval.

Saleen S7

Then, in 2000, Saleen did something that few others in the car world have been able to master: he designed and built his own car. The jump from bolting parts onto an existing car to designing your own car from the ground up is huge, but the S7 quickly dominated both the track and the street, proving that Americans can play the supercar game just as well as the Europeans can.

Saleen Mustang

Saleen’s current line-up includes the S7 (with 1000 twin turboed horsepower), the S281 Mustang (including a 550 horsepower Extreme version), the S331 Sport Truck (including a 450 horsepower supercharged version), and the new Parnelli Jones limited edition collaboration Mustang. If it’s fast, and it’s American, chances are, it’s Saleen.

[Saleen, Inc.]

[Wikipedia - Saleen]

…Mustangs blur nature?

Mustang Billboard

Here’s an interesting idea from Ian Hart for a Mustang billboard. Using GE Lexan EXL semi-transparent resin (don’t worry, I don’t know what that is either), the board blurs the scene behind it, and is unaffected by day, weather or season. Sadly, it’s just a concept, as Ian is just a recent Miami Ad School graduate, though with ideas like this, I’m sure we’ll see more of Ian’s work in the near future.

[Via: 'Cross The Breeze]

…Saleen makes Mustangs for bad boys?

Saleen Bad Boy Mustang

Though if you’re participating in the Great American Run, an American version of the Cannonball rally, you can probably afford to buy your own, Saleen is giving a tricked out bad boy black Mustang to the winner of the race. 25 of the cars will be produced, tweaked to put out 600 BHP and a top speed of 200 mph, and 24 are being sold to entrants, with the last one being saved for the winner. Saleen, if you’d like, I’ll take one off your hands and cover the race from the inside if you want; just give me the keys.

[Via: GTSpirit]

[Via: Jalopnik]




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