If you love custom vehicles that dare to be different, the 2017 EcoBoost Mustang built by MRT for The SEMA Show is right up your alley. It would be easy to throw on a bigger turbo and some flashy paint and call it show ready, but MRT gave its Mustang a complete makeover highlighted by a crazy, compound-boost setup.
Going with bigger turbos is one thing, but adding boost with a supercharger is a little different. We like being different.
Looking to stand out from crowd, the MRT Mustang features basic black paint scheme accented by splashes of color and generous dose of carbon fiber from Anderson Composites. The scheme is just enough to let you know this isn’t your average EcoBoost Mustang and that theme continues with the suspension.
“Our friends at BC Racing helped us out with the coilovers that let us set the stance of the car exactly the way we want it. The stance of the car says I am road hungry and I want to handle the corners,” Scott said. “To accomplish that we teamed up with Toyo on a set of performance Proxes and to support the tires are the stunning HE forged wheels, which are debuting at SEMA. These are brand-new to the marketplace. HE stands for Halibrand Engineering and you know the history of Halibrand. They were the first mag wheel in the automotive industry, so this is where it began and they are back again.”
MRT 2017 EcoBoost Mustang
Powertrain
- Vortech supercharger, intercooler, blow-off valve, wastegate
- MRT stainless steel exhaust
- MGW short-throw shifter
Chassis
- BC Racing coilover suspension
- Baer Eradispeed rotors
- Baer six-piston caliper brakes
Wheels & Tires
- HB Engineering 20-inch wheels
- Toyo Proxes T1 Sport performance 255/35/20 front, 285/35/20 rear tires
Exterior
- Anderson Composites carbon fiber hood, chin spoiler, grille, ground effects, rear spoiler, taillight panel
- MRT custom Candy Cherry paint accents
- Shadow tinted glass
- MRT rear window louvers
- Ford Licensed Accessories lighted pony grille
Interior
- Anderson Composites full carbon fiber rear seat delete
- Sparco carbon fiber front seats
- MRT color-accented trim
- MGW short-throw shifter
- Kicker audio system
While dropping a few pounds at each corner helps with performance, MRT set out to really ramp up the power level of the 2.3-liter engine under the hood. That started with a few well-chosen bolt-ons.
“At MRT we cannot leave the exhaust alone. We are the experts in that field at balancing performance, sound and comfort,” Scott enthused. “It has no resonance and no boom, but it delivers a performance sound for an EcoBoost. When you start it, it says I’m something special and it was also a big enabler for us to get the horsepower to the ground.”
Besides the exhaust, MRT turned to JMS for its dynamic duo of plug-and-play performance enhancers.
“We have added the PedalMax and BoostMax and the best way I can describe it is that the PedalMax absolutely connects you to the car. Your throttle response is right there, crisp and right now,” he said. “There is also increased area under the curve thanks to the BoostMax and it really is a lot of fun.”
Of course, what really builds steam under the hood is a custom Vortech supercharger installation. Rather than supplanting the factory turbocharger, it is configured to deliver boost into the turbo. Compound boost dates back to World War II fighter planes, so the concept isn’t new, but the execution on a gas-turbo direct injection application definitely is new, but the question remains if this system will make the leap from custom to production.
It fits, it works and the concept is proven. Now we need to finish the details so that the consumer experience is right
The main thing to work out is providing adequate fuel to feed the dual-power-adder 2.3, but those solutions are making their way to market, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar setup offered for sale.