Despite having the biggest stand of any carmaker at this year's SEMA -- complete with over 50 suitably supped up vehicles -- for many, the biggest reveal Ford made in Las Vegas concerns a little alloy casing in a box.
Ford Performance and Roush Performance have co-developed an all-new supercharger for the 5.0-liter V8 engine for the 2018 Mustang and F-150 pickup. © The Ford Motor Company
Automotive historians will argue that the Pontiac GTO was the vehicle that ushered in the age of the muscle car. And while technically speaking the GTO did arrive first, the Ford Mustang is the vehicle that defined the automotive genre and has always been the car to keep up with since its unveiling in April 1964.
And to ensure that the Mustang maintains its lead in what is fast becoming a second golden age of the muscle car -- one littered with Camaros setting Nurburgring lap records and drag strip racing yet road-legal Dodge Challengers -- Ford has partnered with racing and modification experts Roush on a new aftermarket supercharger.
When fitted, a current model-year Ford Mustang V8 GT's power rockets up to 700hp -- that's just 7hp shy of the ferocious Dodge Hellcat -- as long as the car is running on 93 octane fuel. The blower also ups torque significantly to 610 lb.-ft. Better still, this package has been designed specifically to work with the V8 Mustang and the V8-engined F-150 Ford pickup, regardless of whether the vehicle in question has an automatic or manual transmission.
"Ford and Roush have teamed up on performance for years on and off the track," said Doug White, Global Ford Performance Parts Manager. "This new supercharger is another great example of our innovation in performance, greatly improving horsepower and torque so people can enjoy two of our most iconic vehicles even more."
The supercharging kit, if installed by a Ford or Roush dealer, is also covered under a three-year warranty like an official Ford part -- that's how robust and reliable the supercharger is.
"Our teams collaborated to create the most highly engineered, tested and performing supercharger kit on the market," said Roush company chairman, Jack Roush. "The combination of the 2018 5.0-liter engine and our all-new, fully integrated 2650 supercharger system yields simply incredible, no-compromise performance."
The kit will go on sale officially at the beginning of 2018 and hopefully then the companies will also reveal its other vital performance statistics, such as how much acceleration is improved or if the system boosts top speed without the need for external aerodynamic alterations.