Guilty as Charged

Milltek sport's mustang is Insane! 750BHP, RWD and SEMI Slick tyres? IS that even Allowed? We had to take it for a drive to find out...

5y ago
15K
Upgraded from its first, fairly lairy, incarnation, Milltek's Mustang now has 750 horses

Upgraded from its first, fairly lairy, incarnation, Milltek's Mustang now has 750 horses

What do you do when you’ve just built one of the first – and coolest – Mustang projects in the UK? Yep, that’s right… you go back and make it a whole heap faster. Exhaust artisan Milltek may have only finished its first Pony-car project five minutes ago, but it’s already been meddling once again…

The profile may be similar to this car's first incarnation, but the engineering is anything but!

The profile may be similar to this car's first incarnation, but the engineering is anything but!

Many of us take the time to fettle and revisit our project cars over time, after all, a true project build is never really finished, is it? Over the years, great car builds can change colour, change powerplants – and often even change style completely. It’s all part of the rich tapestry of the modding scene that makes it all so much fun, and more importantly, stamps the personality and tastes of the owner on the finished result. It’s not often you see a car revisited after just a few months of its first unveil though – which is exactly what has happened with the Milltek Mustang.

All good in the hood... Carbon item reduces weight and expels hot air faster than the OEM part

All good in the hood... Carbon item reduces weight and expels hot air faster than the OEM part

True to the company’s usual modus operandi with the latest industry hit cars, Milltek chief Steve Pound made sure that he was at the very front of the queue when the 5.0 litre models rolled into town, snagging this gorgeous Competition Orange model and quickly driving it back to the Milltek R&D workshops for a thorough going-over. That this car would get a full exhaust system was never be in doubt of course, given its owner, and we’ll come back to the spec of that later on, but first we need to address the rather obvious addition of the supercharger, making this one of the first, if not the first to be so equipped in the UK.

Pulley for you! Whipple set-up looks and sounds epic!

Pulley for you! Whipple set-up looks and sounds epic!

The setup now found on the Mustang reads like a Christmas wish-list for forced induction afficianados, with a massive Whipple Stage 2 'blower taking pride of place, sitting pretty right on top of the equally imposing engine. A sizeable unit, belt-driven and unable to operate without emitting a shrieking howl that sounds menacing at low revs and somewhat like the devil falling down four flights of stairs at higher RPM, it's a potent and intimidating setup that's well suited to the slightly brash and refreshingly low-brow nature of the Mustang itself.

Sophisticated? No... Effective? Like you wouldn't believe....

Sophisticated? No... Effective? Like you wouldn't believe....

The Whipple charger is backed up by a host of forced induction goodies, including an enclosed intake, 3.75in pulley and, ensuring that the now even greedier V8 is kept well fed with fuel, a massive 137mm throttle body, an MSD fuel pump booster and a battery of 72lb high-flow injectors.

It's a tight fit in there, but the Whipple set-up looks almost factory. Almost.

It's a tight fit in there, but the Whipple set-up looks almost factory. Almost.

“Tuning a car like this is actually trickier than it first appears,” explains MD of Milltek Sport, Steve Pound. “Yes there's huge scope to make frankly insane power figures right away, but we were keen to approach the project in stages, steadily building power in a modular, staggered fashion. Not only does this mean we have a good idea of how the engine responds, reflecting how our customers tune their cars, it's allowed us to maintain complete reliability throughout.”

Living with a highly tuned car is an important part of the Milltek R&D process

Living with a highly tuned car is an important part of the Milltek R&D process

The reason that Steve knows so much about this set-up is even more impressive. Whereas most MDs would farm this kind of hard graft out to a suitable speed shop, Steve fitted it all up himself during his lunchbreaks and evenings, sharing his workbench space between spanners and sandwiches in the superbly equipped workshop that sits beneath Milltek’s Derby city-centre HQ.

Just as Henry intended here - with all the options ticked, natch

Just as Henry intended here - with all the options ticked, natch

Being a Milltek demo car meant that this car was only ever going to have a stunning exhaust system, and a peek underneath the Mustang’s shapely flanks reveals a hand-finished system that doesn’t disappoint the eye or the ear. It’s non-resonated, cat-back stainless steel exhaust with X-pipe and, poking teasingly from beneath the Roush Performance rear valance, quad GT-90 tailpipe trims provide a useful statement of intent to following cars.

Milltek tips sit well in the upgraded Roush valance

Milltek tips sit well in the upgraded Roush valance

Running this sweet sounding set-up was always going to be a pay-grade above the abilities of the standard ECU, so the icing on the cake comes in the form of a bespoke Whipple Flight Control Engine ECU remap, a bit of intensive software trickery designed to allow the Mustang to make full use of its new found bolt-ons. The resulting power figure is enough to make most European sports cars weep into their lattes and limp off home: a stonking, full-fat 750bhp, all of it delivered with an Anglo-American soundtrack that should make a few of our American cousins look to this side of the water when it comes to ordering their next exhaust…

From here comes noise, tyre smoke - and rapid firing gravel

From here comes noise, tyre smoke - and rapid firing gravel

Making US muscle go faster than Detroit intended isn't exactly that difficult, what is challenging is making these machines handle, hence the lengths that Milltek has gone to in order to uprate both the suspension and brakes. The 10x20in HRE FF15 wheels that were on the car at the same time remain in situ, as does the Toyo R888 rubber (though the rears have had to be replaced – smoky heroics do eventually take their toll!), but it's under the car and out of sight that the real handling revolution has taken place.

HRE Wheels and Toyo rubber are visually delightful - but also offer dynamic gains

HRE Wheels and Toyo rubber are visually delightful - but also offer dynamic gains

“There's actually a fair bit already available for the Mustang chassis-wise, more than we expected when we began this project,” muses Steve. “We'd already fitted KW coilovers so it was more of a case of trying to tighten everything up as much as possible, hence all the Steeda gear.”

Chassis mods make this Pony-car extremely 'B' road friendly

Chassis mods make this Pony-car extremely 'B' road friendly

He's not wrong, a quick glance around the Mustang's innards reveals a huge number of Steeda branded parts, including Independent Rear Suspension 'Stop the Hop' bushes, adjustable drop-links, a billet ARB mount, and uprated chassis and transmission braces. Along with the adjustable Eibach ARBs and adjustable UPR engine mounts, these parts do a superb job of creating a handling package that’s impressively European in its flavour.

Power is a muscle car staple. But sophisticated handling is a relatively new party trick

Power is a muscle car staple. But sophisticated handling is a relatively new party trick

While the engine, running gear and suspension have all received fairly dramatic upgrades over the last few months, other areas of the Mustang have been more subtly tweaked, the bodywork being a good example. Few would argue that the S550 Mustang isn't a stunning looking bit of kit in factory guise, but Steve has taken things slightly further, and all without going over the top and detracting from the car’s overall look.

A few subtle changes have been made in the name of aesthetics

A few subtle changes have been made in the name of aesthetics

The bonnet is great example, the OEM steel item having been usurped by a far lighter, far, far cooler carbon fibre version from Anderson Composites, complete with much needed vents to help get as much cool air into the bay as possible. It's joined by Roush Racing boot spoiler, a custom Le Mans stripe and a smoothed Ford Racing rear deck lid complete with custom Mustang emblem. As we've said previously, car styling is a deeply personal thing, but we think you'd have to have a heart of stone not to fall head over heels for the way the Milltek Mustang looks.

Better than Ford did it? I think so

Better than Ford did it? I think so

This is a logical end-point to a build that's taken place over a few short months, and though there are currently no further plans to upgrade the Mustang it's important to remember that this is still a very new car indeed, and the chances are that the aftermarket will soon come up with something that the team at Milltek simply won't be able to resist fitting.

Spoiler alert!

Spoiler alert!

That's a decision for the future though, and until then everyone at Milltek finds themselves in the fantastic position of having the UK's most powerful S550 gen Mustang at their disposal. We reckon it won't be all that long before the guys at Toyo UK receive yet another order for a set of 315/3020 R888 rear tyres...

Words Jarkle / Big P. Pictures Chris Wallbank

Tyres you don't want to be... these

Tyres you don't want to be... these

TECH SPEC

Ford Mustang S550 5.0 V8 GT

Engine
Ford Coyote 5.0 V8 with 32 valves and quad cams, Milltek Sport cat-back stainless steel exhaust system with X-Pipe quad outlet GT-90 trims, Roush Performance air intake system, Whipple Stage 2 Supercharger with enclosed intake, 3.75inch pulley, 137mm throttle body, 72lb high flow injectors, MSD fuel pump booster, Whipple Flight Control Engine ECU remap, carbon fibre engine coil covers

Power
750bhp+

Transmission
Six-speed SelectShift® automatic with optional paddle shifters, OE propshaft and LSD

Suspension
KW V3 Innox Line coilovers, Steeda IRS 'Stop the Hop' bushes, adjustable drop links, billet ARB mount, chassis braces and transmission mounts, UPR adjustable and uprated engine mounts, Eibach adjustable anti roll bars

Brakes
OEM discs, calipers and pads

Wheels and tyres
HRE FF15 Wheels in silver 20x10 (front) and 20x11 (rear), Toyo R888’s 285/35/20 (front) and 315/30/20 (rear)

Interior
OEM Mustang GT interior, Ford Racing GT-350R steering wheel

Exterior
Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 GT in Competition Orange, Roush Performance quad outlet rear valance, Roush boot spoiler, custom Le Mans stripes in gloss black, Diode Dynamics LED Tri Bar DRLs, Anderson Composites carbon fibre vented hood, smoothed Ford Racing rear deck lid and custom emblem

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Comments (1)

  • Oh my. Well done chaps! (Did I use "chaps" correctly?)

      5 years ago
1