CAR MODIFIED WITH NITROUS OXIDE SYSTEM

13 seconds @ 110.6 MPH 1/4 mile!!!!
0-60 4.8 Sec, 4.5 with rollout
67.3 mph slalom
.91g skidpad
60 to 0 braking in 109 ft


Test car had the popular 3.73 Ford Racing gears

Now here's a really cool thing: Ford still offers you choices in rear axle gearing when you spec out your new 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0. Standard with the auto is 3.15 final gearing, 3.31 with the manual. But you can check off a box on the order form for 3.55 or 3.73 gears if you don't mind giving up a little fuel economy for even better acceleration. A limited-slip diff is standard on all GTs.

Outstanding Acceleration and Braking

Our Kona Blue Metallic test car had the ultimate performance package: a six-speed manual with the 3.73 gear. Out at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, on a very windy afternoon, our 2011 Mustang GT ripped off constant 0-60 runs in just 4.8 seconds (4.5 seconds with 1 foot of rollout as on a drag strip) and screamed through the quarter-mile in a best of 13.0 seconds at 110.6 mph, which is a half-second quicker than a 4.6-liter 2010 Mustang GT.

In fact, that quarter-mile time and trap speed would have been easy NHRA Super Stock Eliminator racecar performance back in '68 when the first 302 showed up. And it's quicker to 60 mph than the last 2010 Chevy Camaro SS six-speed we tested (they run the same quarter-mile), while a new Challenger R/T has no chance of keeping up.

Making the acceleration testing a joy was the six-speed's factory shifter, with tight, short throws and very precise feel. No need for a Hurst shifter conversion here. The Mustang GT's shifter is as good as it gets. And if you're any good at all, you'll be burning rubber in the top four gears, as we did.

Fun? Oh yeah!

Although that is 48 pounds more than a 2010 Mustang GT, the Ford still has a 200-plus-pound advantage over the Camaro and a 400-plus-pound advantage over the Challenger. It also gives the Mustang an incredible weight-to-power ratio of just 8.75 pounds per horsepower. Anything below 10 pounds per hp is what racecar fabricators strive for.

Making the acceleration testing a joy was the six-speed's factory shifter, with tight, short throws and very precise feel. No need for a Hurst shifter conversion here. The Mustang GT's shifter is as good as it gets. And if you're any good at all, you'll be burning rubber in the top four gears, as we did.  Read more...