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During World War II, the P-51 Mustang was hailed as a savior of aviation and certainly played a major part in ending the conflict. This long range fighter escorted Allied bombers over Europe and Hermann Goering, the head of Germany's Luftwaffe, summarized the plane's role by stating, "The day I saw P-51 Mustangs flying over Berlin, I knew the jig was up."

Today, at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the jig is up for the rest of the Ford Mustang tuners as ROUSH Performance unveiled the P-51A Mustang automobile which, at 510 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft. of torque, is sure to be held in as high a regard as the airplane has been in the history books and will help to save the streets from the invasion of the foreign brands.

"I've often said that there was never a Mustang built that I didn't like and that includes both the car and the airplane," said Jack Roush, an aviation enthusiast who currently owns two P-51 Mustang warbirds. "This is the type of product that ROUSH has wanted to produce for at least 10 years but the right platform, the right technology, and the right timing never intersected until now."

The ROUSH P-51A is easily the highest horsepower Mustang that the company has ever produced, and represents the first time that internal engine components have been upgraded by ROUSH technicians in their Livonia, Mich., facility. It was determined that the only way to give the P-51A moniker its due was to completely break into the 4.6L, 3V and rebuild several of the functional internal components, which include a forged steel eight-bolt crankshaft, forged aluminum pistons with increased dish to lower the compression from 9:8 to 8:6, and forged steel H-Beam connecting rods. These upgraded parts were necessary for the stock Ford engine (which comes with 300 horsepower from the factory) to be able to withstand the additional power generated from the newest iteration of the legendary ROUSHcharger* supercharger system.

Additional alterations include a custom aluminum upper and lower intake manifold for the high capacity air-to-water intercooler and ROUSHcharger*. ROUSH installs a custom fuel rail and high-flow fuel injectors, a high-flow capacity fuel system, as well as a dual electronic throttle body.

The new ROUSH P-51A engine has a preliminary rating of at least 510 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft. torque. It is anticipated that final figures may even be slightly higher than this when final testing and calibration is approved by the ROUSH engineering staff.

The changes to the ROUSH P-51A don't end under the hood. A ROUSH aerobody kit will be installed, which includes a front fascia, chin spoiler, hood scoop and rear spoiler. The ROUSH black high-flow grill is added along with cooling side shields to give the car the aggressive look it needs while stalking the streets.

Internally the car will come with ROUSH sport leather seating and custom floor mats, both with an embroidered P-51A emblem. The white face gauges and billet aluminum pedals will get a lot of use as the driver bangs through the gears with the ROUSH short throw shift lever and retro black ball.

For those who look behind the 18-inch ROUSH forged five-spoke wheels will see the vaunted Stage 3 suspension underneath this vehicle. Designed to handle even the tightest twists and turns, this suspension includes specially-engineered and tuned front struts, rear shocks, front and rear springs, front and rear sway bars and jounce bumpers. The front brakes are also upgraded with 14-inch front two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers. Each component was specifically engineered so that ride comfort was not compromised at the expense of the tremendous gains in performance.

As an interesting side note, the yellow and red accent colors on the vehicle come from those used by the 357th Fighters Group, Eighth Air Force ETO (European Theater Operations) who were unofficially known as "The Yoxford Boys" after a village near their base. Its victory totals in air-to-air combat are the most of any P-51 group in the Eighth Air Force and third among all groups fighting in Europe. The 357th flew 313 combat missions between February 11, 1944 and April 25, 1945 and is officially credited by the US Air Force with having destroyed 595.5 German airplanes in the air and 106.5 on the ground. Pilots in this group included Captain Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson who flew a P-51 named "Old Crow." One of Roush's personal P-51 fighters is painted as a replica of this airplane.

Pricing for the ROUSH P-51A Mustang has not been set, but will be announced shortly. The vehicle is slated to begin production in the first quarter of 2008 and will be limited to 100 vehicles. As with all ROUSH vehicles, the P-51A will carry an industry-leading 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

Based in Livonia, Mich., "The Art of Performance Engineering" takes place at ROUSH Performance. To get a look behind the scenes at what goes on at ROUSH and how the vehicles are designed, manufactured and produced logon to www.ROUSHtv.com. In addition to the array of Ford Mustang and F-150 styling, handling and performance upgrades, a complete line of performance parts and crate engines are offered. For more information see your local ROUSH dealer, visit www.ROUSHperformance.com or telephone toll-free (800) 59-ROUSH.

Phantom26

WOW, sounds like an Awesome Car, Named after a Legend.

StangPower05

Wow! Now that looks sweet!!

Wolfsburg

Wonder why they're calling it the P-51A? The P-51D (such as the one in the background) was where much of the P-51's fame came from.

I'm not one to jump on the "too many Mustang variations" bandwagon, but this one seems a bit over the top.

Knight

could be that is is the first P51 in the roush lineup.


There is no way they are going to get 510lbs of torque outta a 4.6 making 510hp. The GT500 doesn't even make that with its extra displacment.

tacbear

I just recently watched Doug tune a Roush 4.6 w/Saleen SC(yes Saleen SC) to 505 RWHP and it was a "conservative tune"!!

Yes it had Forged Pistons and Rods.

Knight

That has nothing to do with torque, which is what i was talking about.

cars of equal hp peak the one with higher displacment always has more peak torque in a S/C to S/C or N/A to N/A comparison.

I find it very hard to believe that two cars with .8L difference and make same peak hp and the smaller engine is making more peak torque.

StangMahn

I like the idea, but Roush already has like 10 different models.

2006GT500

I could get on board with this Roush. Needs to have a 6 speed transmission though. And I don't see 510tq being an issue, I have 493rwtq and 523rwhp. So why is 510tq hard to believe?

LBJay

Wait until you see what Jack has in mind for the D model.

Knight

this is exactly what i mean, 510 is not hard to beleive but it is when you match it to 510hp. if the car does have 510 torque then it should be around 550hp. but if it is 510hp then it should be like 460 lbs torque.

tacbear

Ye h your right the 4.6 I saw tuned to 505 rwhp only had 500 rwtq.....what was I thinking!!!!!!!!!

Wolfsburg

2006GT500

Wait a sec is there going to be multiple models of this car? I don't think that's a good idea. Too many different Roush's.

Knight

Your previous post mentioned nothing about torque which is what i was talking about.

This one is much better!

Blip

Interesting design, seems like Roush and Saleen (new Red Flag model & 08 H302) are trying to out do each other with limited run special editions Mustang.

Buyers are getting plenty of choices, but....

05Rob

Imo I liked it when it was stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 this is too much

n00bstang

not a fan of those badges.

boss 244

Looks like a joke to me, good idea, bad execution. "hey, lets name another 50000 dollar mustang after my airplane! That way I can write off the fuel for it" personally, i'm tired of the "label" mustangs, I like the performance, but not all the gimmicry.

But just wait till the challerger and camaro come out, there will be "grumpy jenkins" and "ronny sox" editions, richard petty (even though he never raced one) and "warren johnson" editions, sigh.

blkstang06

I'm as patriotic as the next guy but this is gettin a little corny!! Roush will want a lot more than 50.000 grand for this car with all the motor work! The rumor is in 09 there coming out with Stealth Fighter model, flat black with radar deflection designed into the body kit!! .....