2010 Ford Mustang GT by Ford Racing Performance Parts Follow-Up Test

It's Scottsdale, Arizona. The Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. Saturday, January 18, 2042.

A hush falls over the crowd as the perfectly restored 2010 Ford Mustang GT rumbles its way onto the auction block, its supercharger making a telltale high-pitched whine. It's Grabber Blue, an unmistakable color from the glorious muscle-car era of the early 21st century. This is the car the crowd has been waiting for all weekend. And it is offered at no reserve.

Allen Haul, CEO of the Ford Motor Company (and former male model) climbs from the driver seat, makes his way onto the stage, takes the microphone from Spanky Assitor Jr., son of the legendary auctioneer, and addresses the crowd.

"This is a special car," he says in his famously commanding voice. "I'm going to take a minute to tell you all about its wonderful provenance, but first I'd like to wish Carroll Shelby a happy birthday. Today Carroll is 119 years young and still going strong. Carroll is of course an important member of the Mustang family and as you all know, we'll be auctioning off a 2042 Shelby Mustang GT500 later tonight with all the proceeds going to charity."

The crowd erupts in applause.

Haul clears his throat and continues. "This 2010 Ford Mustang GT is no ordinary classic," he says, motioning to the car idling on the auction block. "It's special. It was modified by Ford Racing Performance Parts back in 2009 to test some of its parts, including that supercharger you can hear and the lower ride height you can see. And this very car was even tested by Inside Line back in the day and it appeared on that Web site's home page back in July of 2009."

Racing Performance Parts
"As you can see, this 2010 Ford Mustang GT has been completely restored back to the way it was when new, except of course that it has been modified to run on water, which makes it just as easy to drive and maintain as any of the water-burning vehicles that the Ford Motor Company produces today. This is an important modification, since the ban on gasoline took effect back in 2029. Of course Inside Line tested the Mustang back when it was running on old-fashioned, 91-octane gasoline.

"The car began life as a 2010 Mustang GT Premium, which then carried a base price of $30,995. It also wore a few options, like the Comfort Group — which included heated seats and a compass — and a shorter 3.73:1 rear-axle ratio. MSRP was $36,205. Then Ford Racing Performance Parts added 18-inch GT500 wheels ($896), Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires (255/45ZR18 front and 285/40ZR18 rear for $700), a Hurst shifter ($289), a suspension kit with new dampers and shorter springs ($1,335), an X-pipe in the exhaust system ($139), Ford Racing mufflers ($529), a GT500 brake kit ($1,489) and that sweet-sounding, Roots-type Whipple supercharger ($5,679). Total price back in the day was $47,261, not including the labor to install all that good stuff.

"Considering a much quicker 550-horsepower Shelby GT500 Mustang cost $48,175 that same year (with its $1,000 gas-guzzler tax), you can certainly understand why this is such a rare beast, but Inside Line did point out at the time that all of the Ford Racing Performance Parts could be purchased separately and installed one at a time as the owner's budget allowed. The bottom line here was estimated to be 400 hp and 400 pound-feet of torque."

Assitor takes the microphone for a moment to hype the bidding. "This is the real deal, folks." He says. "A numbers-matching muscle car from the heyday of performance cars in the early 2000s. This is not a clone or a tribute. It's a rare factory-modified muscle machine from the last great muscle-car era. All those hot rod parts were even warranted by Ford for one year/12,000 miles if they were installed by an authorized dealer prior to the vehicle reaching either 36 months or 36,000 miles."

Now Assistor hands the mic back to the Ford CEO (and former male model), picks up his gavel and prepares to go to work.

Performance Testing
Haul continues the sales pitch over the din of the crowd.

"You said it, Spanky. When this car was new, Inside Line reported that this car ran from zero to 60 mph in just 5 seconds flat (4.7 seconds with 1 foot of rollout) like on a drag strip) and it ran the quarter-mile in 13.2 seconds at 107.4 mph. While not GT500 fast, that was significantly quicker than a stock 2010 Mustang GT.

"The Web site also praised the power delivery of the supercharger, which was set for a mild five pounds of boost. It not only increases the bottom-end torque of the Mustang's double-overhead-cam V8 to an estimated 400 lb-ft, but also it really delivers a wallop above 4,000 rpm. Of course, I remember Scott Oldham, the editor in chief of the Web site, writing that he was still hoping for a bigger punch down low, though, and would swap the blower pulley for a smaller one if he owned the car.

"You bidders should also know that the same Hurst shifter Inside Line complained about 33 years ago is still bolted to the car's five-speed manual transmission. And it's still junk. Just as Inside Line told the world three decades ago, the shift throws are short, but there's just too much effort needed to get the tranny in and out of gear. And fast shifts are actually slowed by the shifter lever's odd pivot point.

"In Inside Line's handling tests, the car did exceptionally well, recording 0.91g on the skid pad, an impressive 67.1 mph through the slalom, and stopping from 60 mph in 119 feet with essentially no fade after five hard stops. Again, not GT500 numbers, but improvements over a stock GT.

"Inside Line also praised the car's ride and handling behavior. Back in 2009 Oldham wrote: 'This Mustang might ride too stiffly for some, but I prefer it over the floppy and imprecise tuning of the stock Mustang GT. I'm also a huge fan of this car's cornering attitude, which is dead neutral with just a hint of understeer at the limit. It's very easy to drive very quickly on a mountain road, and powerslides are on the menu if you force the issue, by which I mean chuck it in and nail the gas.'

"Man, that guy had a way with words," says Haul, wiping a tear from his cheek.

Future Classic
The crowd filling the 567,000-square-foot tent pauses with Haul as the man gathers himself after the emotional release. It's one of those moments when you realize that the collector-car hobby really is about the people.

After a few seconds Haul looks up, lifts the microphone to his lips and says, "I hope it goes to a good home, because, as Inside Line said more than 30 years ago: 'It's a Mustang that proves the timeless value of the American muscle car formula.'"

Without a beat Assitor starts the bidding, "Blah, blah, blah, $300,000? Got it. $350,000? Got it. $400,000? Got it. Five? Got it. 550? 550? 550? Got it.

"Remember, we're live on Speed TV. Do I hear $600,000?"

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.