2018 FORD MUSTANG RTR SPEC 3

THE CAR

CTB Performance has come up with the goods and provided us with the RTR Spec 3 Mustang. Since the introduction of the new Ford Mustang in 2016, CTB has become go-to supplier of Ford Performance Racing and Roush Performance products and now, with RTR in the fray, has become the place to go for Mustang owners around New Zealand. Better still, vehicle owners can arrange this all through their local Ford dealer at the time of purchase. RTR is a US performance company owned by Formula Drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr, who started the business with the aim of getting as much performance as possible from Ford Mustangs, and the 2018 Mustang RTR Spec 3 is the top of the pile. Unsurprisingly, this package is only for the 5.0 V8 GT, with the end result being power of 700hp and 610lb·ft of torque. The car was debuted at the 2017 SEMA Show to a cacophony of sound. According to Gittin Jr, the idea is to add a sprinkle of Japanese drift culture and German sports performance to the Mustang. To achieve these results, RTR mixes a Ford Performance supercharger with its own water-to-air intercooler system, an upgraded fuel system, a sport exhaust, 20-inch wheels with Nitto 555 G2 tyres, and a large number of other not-so-subtle cues around the body to let you know this is no ordinary Muzzy. Regular readers will know that when the all-new Mustang was released in 2016, we took it out for a drive and were impressed. Then, more recently, we got our hands on the 2018 GT and fell in love with it. There is something about driving a 2018 Mustang that brings a smile to even the grizzliest among us, so improving on the already-winning formula was never going to be an easy task. What RTR and CTB have somehow done here, though, is taken that feeling of happiness, fed it a high- protein diet, and put it on a strict four- hour-a- day gym routine. Take all that, as well as whacking on that Ford Performance supercharger kit, and you suddenly have a whole different kettle of fish. The RTR Spec 3 announces its presence with a roar from the exhausts, and there is a feeling things are about to get nasty.