Review|The 2018 Mustang GT PP2 Can Out Handle (almost) Anything From Europe

This weekend I had the pleasure of driving the 2018 Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack 2, the highest performance Mustang available without a Shelby badge. The Jet Black 2018 Mustang arrived with 305 Sport Cup 2s at every corner and a full tank of gas, I love when stories write themselves.

Although this Mustang lacks a sexy name like GT500 or Supersnake, the GT Performance Pack Level 2, or PP2 as it will be referred to for the remainder of the article, is no joke. The PP2 is a labor of love born from an after-hours project voluntarily taken on by some passionate Mustang engineers. The result is a Mustang that can handle over 1G on the skid pad.

The story goes that a group of engineers wanted to build a higher performance Mustang option package to compete with cars like the Camaro SS 1LE but Ford wasn’t too interested. So they spent time after work developing the car and pitched it to decision makers who eventually green-lighted it for sale.

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

That’s not to say the Performance Pack 2 Stang is perfect. With every step towards specialization, you lose your appeal to the masses. This more focused Mustang is for a niche audience of Mustang owners looking for a legitimate track machine without stepping up to the GT350. You get a Mustang the can demolish a road course off the showroom floor with a warranty for only $50,000 a huge value when you factor in the 2018’s refinement. The Mustang Power Pack 2 is more like a Porsche 911 GT3 than a Mustang. And for a fraction of the price of the German.

If the Mustang Ecoboost Convertible is the most pedestrian Mustang and the GT350R is the current performance King, the GT PP2 is nipping right at the heels of the Shelby GT350. The GT PP2 is without a doubt the most capable Mustang ever built that does not bear the Shelby name or the Cobra synonymous with high-performance Mustangs.

The GT PP2 takes the already capable Mustang GT performance pack and adds a few key differences to transform it into a legitimate sports car. First off, the incredible Magneride suspension system comes as standard for the PP2 as opposed to optional for the normal performance pack.

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Then there’s the tires that make the biggest difference for comparison, the Performance Pack Mustang uses 255/40 R19 (F) 275/40R19 (R) while the PP2 uses 305/30/R19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Tires all around. To round this package out Ford added on a larger front splitter and rear spoiler to differential your GT PP2 from the plebs with normal GTs.

Those massive tires poke out of the fenders further than any car I’ve seen from the factory and gives the car a mean stance that makes it hard to believe the car is stock. The wide wheels and sticky tires make all the difference and turn the Mustang into a true sports car making good on the promise for the S550. But with great handling comes great sacrifice as I found out during my short stint behind the wheel.

The turn in with 305 Sport cup 2’s as front tires is mind-bending, take any corner or highway on-ramp and double the speed you usually take it and you’re barely giving the PP2 GT a challenge. With an aggressive setup such as this, there are no roads curvy enough to truly exercise its level of performance. I probably tapped into a solid 13% of the car’s ability and I almost turned the read leather Recaros brown.

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The Sport Cup 2’s also had no trouble reigning in the new 3rd generation Coyote’s 460 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of twist. Under hard acceleration, the Mustang puts the power down and screams towards its 7,500rpm redline. The sticker tires meant you could be a little more aggressive with the throttle and get on the gas a little earlier around the bends. All the while accompanied by the active exhaust’s incredible bark, God it’s good to be an American.

The Mageneride suspension may not be as apparent as a set of massive sticky tires but it completely transforms the 2018 GT. It’s ability to add refinement to the overall driving experience while still delivering impressive handling cannot be overpraised. The system is able to soak up bumps while remaining firm and reducing and aftershocks synonymous with traditional suspension systems.

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

Mageneride makes the 2018 a very friendly car to daily drive even on the lowest quality tarmac. It soaks up imperfections that would upset luxury cars with soft suspensions. It also adjusts firmness depending on your driving mode. I found the sweet spot was to leave it out of Sport, which was much too firm.

Even though I kept the suspension in normal mode, I always switched the Active Exhaust to Track mode, which Ford is quick to tell you, “Is for Track use only.” Yea right, I’m only going to make my Mustang loud on a racetrack. The active exhaust is only an extra $800 and is dollar for dollar the best optional extra you can buy.

The Active Exhaust lets you have your cake and eat it too. The old English saying claims you can’t eat your cake while still having cake but those people never drove a Mustang with an adjustable exhaust. The Mustang allows you to select Quiet, Normal, Sport, and finally Track Mode. These modes rely on a butterfly valve located on the inner exhaust outlet of the Mustang’s Quad tips.

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

This clever system allows you to schedule what Ford calls a Quiet Start. You can, for example, set your Mustang to start in quiet mode before 8:32am no matter what and boom you’re not annoying your neighbors before work. Then get on the highway, switch to Track, and blast to your office followed by an all American soundtrack.

Although our GT PP2 tester was passed around more than a YMCA basketball the car felt solid, even after miles of track abuse by motoring journalists who aren’t known for treating things with care. The stout drivetrain and overall refinement really caught me off guard. The Mustang Power Pack Level 2 is more like an Audi RS5 than a Mustang.

Photo Credit: Mustang 6G

Photo Credit: Mustang 6G

The interior featured gorgeous red leather Recaros that omitted the familiar heated and cooled seats in lesser Mustangs. The rest of the interior is familiar modern Mustang, soft-touch material, leather, and the occasion swatch of hard plastic make up this muscle car cocoon.

The 2018s party piece is the all-digital gauge cluster that changes significantly with each shift in driving mode. This new digital cluster pairs perfectly with Ford’s latest iteration of Sync which works really well if I’m honest. The touch screen is smartphone fast and the interface is now familiar and more intuitive.

My only gripe is how much of the Mustang’s features are controlled by the digital gauge cluster. For example, if you want to change your Mustang’s exhaust sound you need to hit a Mustang button on the steering wheel, select a submenu, choose your sound profile, confirm your selection and exit all to bring up the tach again. I miss the old toggle switch ford uses in the GT350, which was so much easier and faster to operate.

Photo Credit: Ford Authority

Photo Credit: Ford Authority

Regardless of my feelings towards submenus, you can’t fault ford for how gorgeous the digital cluster is. As we get more experience with the new system it will only get better exactly like Ford’s Sync system which was clunky at first but is one of the best today.

The 2018 Mustang GT Performance Pack Level 2 takes the already impressive 2018 GT and transforms it into a track capable weapon. This specialized trim package may detract for the Mustang’s general appeal but the Performance Pack Level 2 is a serious car for customers who see their Mustang as a weekend track toy. Even without the Shelby badging this Mustang stirs the soul like no other “Normal” Mustang before it and pushes the based GT to the pinnacle of sports cars around the world. Only the brave need apply.

Photo Credit: Chris Okula

Photo Credit: Chris Okula