Jalopnik: performance

2010 ROUSH Mustang Coming March 18th

The Auto Insider — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:30:00 EST

ROUSH Performance wants you to save the date of March 18th. It's the day they'll reveal their 2010 ROUSH Mustang, but for the moment, they've decided to tease us.

This video, which eerily reminds us of the video at the entrance to Biff's Casino in Back to the Future 2, tells of the history and future plans for Jack Roush's favorite car, the Mustang.

By the time the 2010 Mustang hits showroom floors, ROUSH Performance expects to have a total of 35 performance aftermarket parts available; from their ROUSHcharger supercharger system that helps awaken the stock Mustang GT's output to a nightmarish 445 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque; full exhaust systems; brake upgrades; suspension systems and lower springs; larger wheel and tire packages; and interior/exterior accessories including a light bar for the convertible models.

After our own ROUSH Mustang Blackjack review last year, we're sure this one will attract a lot of unwanted attention.

Press Release:

ROUSH® Performance has always been a leader in the high-performance parts industry, but never before in the history of the company have they been this far ahead on developing parts for a new model car.

Starting in early March, ROUSH® will have 35 different parts available for the new 2010 Ford Mustang, right around the same time that initial deliveries of the vehicle begin showing up on the Ford dealer lots.

"I am very proud of how quickly our engineering teams have been able to develop these new products for the 2010 Mustang," said Jack Roush. "Ford has created a beautiful new car, and with the addition of the ROUSH® parts an owner can have a vehicle that performs just as nice as it looks. Its simply amazing to think that a customer can buy a ROUSH part for his new car the same time it is being driven off the transporter at the dealer lot."

Among the initial parts that will be offered by ROUSH®, are:

* Suspension Packages
* Brake Kits
* Resonator Exhaust & Tips
* Lowering Springs
* Interior Accessories – floor mats, sill plates, pedals and more
* Wheel / Wheel & Tire Packages
* Convertible Light Bar

The famous 445 horsepower, 400 lb.-ft. of torque ROUSHcharger® is expected to be available just a couple of weeks later in mid-March. As before, installation of this supercharger will not void any Ford factory warranty on the new Mustang. For those who really want to make their new pony gallop with the maximum horsepower, a non-calibrated version of the R2300 ROUSHcharger® will also be on the shelf around this same time.

For customers looking to enhance the exterior styling, the ROUSH® body kits and other painted components will be available for purchase in mid-April.

The ROUSH® high-performance parts program has been one of the highlights for the company. Even in the face of a challenging economy, the sales of ROUSH® parts still grew and had a record year. It is anticipated that the early availability of the 2010 Mustang parts will provide another boost to the program this year.

[via Roush, wcf]

Volkner Mobil Car-Carrying Motor Home Could Be Yours For $1.2 Million

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:30:00 EST

We've always loved the idea of the RV with a garage, and now it looks like the Volkner Mobil Performance is for sale in Europe for the low-low price of approximately $1.25 million sans Maserati.

Most Recreational Vehicle owners tow a car behind their rig for when driving around in a gigantic vehicle doesn't make sense. For instance, you don't want to drive one of these down Lombard Street. The Volkner Mobil, designed by a firm well-known for building heavy-duty commercial trucks, features a small garage underneath the main cabin floor where, traditionally, luggage is stored. The panel on the side of the vehicle opens and the cargo floor drops to the ground. A this point the vehicle appears to raise on its air suspension and the floor moves out where it can be driven off for a weekend in Cannes.

The Volkner Mobil Performance comes in 40-ft and 34-ft variants and the type of the vehicle you can stuff underneath depends on the version you get. The larger version can hold a Mercedes SLK, Maserati Quattroporte, Jaguar XK8 or vehicles of a similar size. If you get smaller version you can still stuff a Smart fortwo or a Mini Cooper underneath. Can someone say bail-out-vehicle?

[Volkner Mobil via World Car Fans]

WheelNavi Calculates Degree Of Turns

Travis Hudson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:40:00 EDT

It's not often that we come across a gadget for which we can't possibly divine a use. At first ponder, you'd think the WheelNavi might have some purpose as an aid to impossibly technical driving — like the kind found on an Autocross course or through a field of boulders — but then you realize that its data — the degree of turn — is displayed so far out of the driver's line of site as to be totally useless. Could it be a learning aid for really dim driving students maybe? We just don't' get it. [Product Page via TFTS]

What's The Best Performance For The Buck?

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:40:00 EDT

With news that a greedy dealer is marking up 2008 BMW M3's For $100K and a greedy individual is marking up Corvette ZR-1's to $350K we've started thinking about how much performance is really worth. We've all learned from the 24 Hours of LeMons that $500 and a lot of ingenuity can get you far. Like it or hate it, the Subaru WRX STI has always been known for lots of power for a low price.

On the small size, you can pick up a 2008 Suzuki SX4 for around $15K. That gets you AWD and 143-horsepower. The Porsche Cayman S seems like a steal when compared to loaded Cayennes and Boxsters. The Factory Five GTM race version is only $47K for Z06 power.

We could go on forever, but it's more fun when you all do it. What is, currently, the best performance value in a car (no bikes)?

Foosin' Camaro: Tag-Team '69 Ready for Closeup

Mike Spinelli — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:01:02 EST

Got $124,000 burning a hole in your Tommy Bahamas, pops? Time to grab up one of these Foose-Designed Camaros from Unique Performance. With the team shooting for a piece of the turnkey pro-touring market (that's the group making over old cars with modern tech), the six-figure'd '69s are likely fine cars, if not quite one-of-a-kind specimens. Buyers get a choice of 350 hp ZZ4 V8, 390 hp 6.0 Gen IV LS2 V8 or 572 cid /620 hp big block V8, hooked to a Tremec TKO five-speed manual and 18" wheels. Inside, the 'maros are appointed with Foose-designed seats and leather Interior, four-point roll cage and five-point harness Old Air Hurricane A/C System, nav system and more such toys. Better than new, sure. But we're holding out for a $200,000 Olds Vista Cruiser. – Mike Spinelli

Related:
The Sam's Club Camaro by Foose? [internal]

Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview! Ford Encases The Fusion In A Darth Vader-esque 3dCarbon-ite Body Kit

Ray Wert — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:01:00 EDT

You'll forgive the pun, but as I sit here in a Dearborn Starbucks, I'm listening to two fan-boys spout off on whether Episode III was better than Episode V — which as everyone knows, isn't even a contest. Which brings me full-vicious-circle to the last of FoMoCo's immortal trilogy that is the automaker's preview of SEMA offerings (sans one toy you'll be seeing tomorrow). This third one is straight out of the body kit shop of 3dCarbon. We'll let 3dCarbon take it from here and tell you a bit about the product, a six-piece kit including a front air dam, side skirts, a rear lower skirt, an upper deck spoiler and a rear deck spoiler:

"Aerodynamic styling inspired by the love of the Autobahn, the Euro Series Styling Kit sets the Fusion apart with a road hugging stance that exudes confidence. Officially licensed by Ford — engineered & manufactured by 3dCarbon. All kit components are manufactured in flexible high pressure injected urethane..."

It certainly all seems to give the Fusion a bit of a meaner stance — and is a definite improvement over the plainer-Jane base version. Oh yeah, it's also got AWD and a set of Brembo black brake calipers with drilled rotors. Plus, Episode V's better than III — Luke gets his friggin' hand chopped off for pete's sake. Full gallery of the 3dCarbon hotness via the link below. – Ray Wert

[Ford Fusion by 3dCarbon Gallery]

Exclusive 2006 SEMA Preview! The Ford F-150 FX2 Sport Extreme Will Smoke Your Ass

Ray Wert — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:15:00 EDT

The second pimped-out performance ride we had the opportunity to taste this morning at the Dearborn Development Center was a meaty F-150 pickup seasoned with an FX2 package and then spiced-out with add-on accessories straight from the pages of Ford accessories catalogs. That's the message the FoMoCo media mommies were pushing today — that this pickup with pick-up (the 5.4 liter V8 delivers 450hp to be precise, thanks to a Ford racing screw-type supercharger with ceramic-coated headers and Ford Racing side exhausts) could be designed by any die-hard Ford truck man (or woman, I'm sure) just by checking the right boxes on FoMoCo's in-house parts catalog. In addition to some neat little touches to the outside of the truck including a dark billet grille, headlamp treatments, monochromatic paint and "unique wheels" it also sports some neat techie features like headrest mounted video entertainment units for the little 'uns and a line-in on the top of the dashboard — plus it's got a hard fiberglass tonneau cover to close-up the rear end from the elements. But despite the interior prettiness, as you can see from the photo above, the most attractive feature are the 450 horses under the hood, giving you more than enough go to take care of getting your ass to the job site and back in style. Smokey burnouts not included. Full gallery via the link below. – Ray Wert

[Ford SEMA F-150 FX2 Sport Extreme Gallery]