This car was built as a tribute to old school Trans Am racing and now lives on as an autocross champion.
Ruffian has recently been on everybody's minds because of their GT40, which we wrote about just a few days ago. Powering that incredible mid-engine racing legend was an imposing car both for its looks and the V8 powerhouse, but today we aim to talk about a different vehicle that bears the same name. This sister car is also one of Ford's finest cars from what is considered the best time for innovation in the brand. That's right, it's a Mustang, but it is, of course, no ordinary first-gen cruiser or straight line speedster. Instead, road racing and Trans Am racing is what this superb car was made for, and, as you can imagine, it does it exceptionally well. So let's take a look at what makes this such an insane American pony car.
Check out this car's friend here.
Under the hood is precisely where we need to start talking about this vehicle as it is sporting a powertrain that you definitely wouldn't expect from a Ford. That's because this thing is a 427 ci LS3 engine, which produces an incredible amount of power to the rear wheels. Tire spinning will certainly always be easy for this pony car as it boasts 626 horsepower and 567 ft/lbs of torque at max output. It would appear from the engine alone that this car was made for the quarter-mile drag strip. However, this car was inspired by the old Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaros, and Firebirds of the original Trans-Am racing series.
That's precisely why the owner decided to build a car that couldn't be beaten on either a drag strip or an autocross circuit. Many modifications have been made to this car's mechanical and exterior aspects because of that inspiration. These include upgraded springs, shocks, and chassis reinforcement, but the exciting stuff lies with the more minor details. One such detail is the front end which has been chopped to ride about an inch shorter than stock. This was a trick used by Trans Am racers at the time, and now it lives on through the car as an homage to the greatness of previous generations. In fact, this entire car is a beautifully crafted tribute to the racers of old, and we are proud to feature it today.
