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A Look At Five Of The Baddest 2011 Mustang GT 5.0s

The all-new 5.0-liter engine that Ford released to a flurry of anticipation and fanfare earlier this year on the 2011 Mustang has been a hot ticket item among performance shops and blue-blooded enthusiasts everywhere. And understandably so – the original 5.0-liter, 302 cubic inch engine that debuted in the Mustang for the 1982 model year and offered through 1995 in the SN-95 Mustang GT, made it one of the most revered enthusiast automobiles of all time, continuing that distinction to this day.

The new V8 “Coyote” 5.0 engine produces 412 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque right from the factory with it’s 32 valves and Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing technology, making it an excellent starting point for those looking to produce some serious power.  Already, several speed warehouses have produced some bad-to-the-bone 2011 5.0-liter Mustangs that have made waves around the high performance community. Here, StangTV takes a closer look at some of the quickest and most awe-inspiring Five-Oh’s to hit the quarter mile thus far in 2010.

FastLane Turbo

Specs:
Power Adder: 72mm Custom Turbo Kit
Engine Modifications: Forged Pistons and Rods, stock bore and stroke
Power: 700 horsepower at 14 PSI
Suspension/Drivetrain: Powerglide transmission, Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials
Quarter Mile: 10.40 @ 137 MPH


The guys at FastLane Turbo in Houston have quickly made a name for themselves in the Mustang performance market.  They quickly put their mark on the 2011 GT map with an Ebony Black model that a customer delivered for them to put their handiwork into to become a 10-second player.

This GT went in bone stock, straight from the showroom floor with less than 100 miles on the odometer, and a myriad of bolt on components including headers, exhaust, cold air intakes and such were installed to test for horsepower gains on the dyno. Then, the custom 72mm turbocharger system was fabricated to create the necessary horsepower for a bad ass street-driven ride.

The engine is a standard, factory 5.0L with the factory bore and stroke, with a set of forged pistons and rods installed to handle the 14-pounds of boost. The camshafts were also reground to a profile that would match the new turbo combination, but later replaced with the stock camshafts. At 14 pounds of boost, this killer GT produces nearly 700 horsepower. In essence, this a stock 2011 Mustang GT 5.0L with a turbo kit running in the 10’s – a real testament to the performance capability of this new-age Mustang.

The Mustang’s suspension is completely stock, and the only change in the drivetrain is the swap to a Powerglide transmission in place of the automatic as-purchased. In addition, it was outfitted with a set of Mickey Thompson ET Street Drag Radials, though was showing off the bling in the SCT booth at SEMA.

Intended as a 10-second capable street terror, this Mustang has made a few passes down the quarter mile, with a current best of a low 10.40 at 137 MPH.

Strictly Performance

Specs:
Power Adder: NOS 250 Direct Port Nitrous Oxide
Engine Modifications: Custom nitrous tune, MMR cold air intake, Custom 3-inch exhaust with Magnaflow MagnaPacks
Power: 670 RWHP
Suspension/Drivetrain: BMR rear suspension, replaced front seats
Quarter Mile: 9.84 @ 139 MPH


Earlier this summer, Strictly Performance in Houston, Texas became the first 5.0L to break into the nine-second zone, as shop founder and owner Richard Lelsz drove a Performance white 2011 GT to a 9.968 at 137.19 miles per hour at Houston Raceway Park.

Unlike some of the other lightning quick 5.0L combinations, Strictly Performance chose to go the route of nitrous-assistance rather than boost, utilizing an NOS direct-port nitrous system pumping out in the neighborhood of 250 additional horses. At the time of the nine-second pass, the engine was completely bone stock from the factory with a mere 500 road and track miles on the odometer.

Some of the minor modifications performed on the car included Strictly Performances’ own custom nitrous tune, and bolt-on’s such as an MMR cold air intake, a custom three-inch exhaust system, and Magnaflow MagnaPack mufflers fed from the stock exhaust manifolds, producing an impressive 670 horses to the tire. The Strictly Performance GT rides on Bogart wheels and features BMR rear suspension underneath and the only weight reduction the car has seen is the removal of the comfortable factory drive and passenger seats for a pair of Corbeau racing seats.

Following the 9.96 pass, Lelsz indicated that the crew was unable to get the factory rev limiter out of the car, forcing him to short shift at 6,000 RPM, thus leaving some valuable elapsed time on the table. With a 9.84 best at 139 miles per hour, Lelsz and the Strictly Performance team are one to look out for in the battle for 2011 GT supremacy.

JPC Racing

Specs:
Power Adder: 100 shot fogger then a Paxton NOVI-2200 kit with air-to-air intercooler
Engine Modifications: Kooks headers, Bassani 3-inch X-pipe and 2.5-inch race mufflers
Power: 802 RWHP at 12 PSI
Suspension/Drivetrain: 4.56:1 rear gear, 31-spline axles, C-clip eliminators, spool, Tremec Magnum 6-speed
Quarter Mile:9.84 @ 140 mph


JPC Racing and owner Justin Burcham have long been a staple in the Mustang enthusiast aftermarket and on the NMRA trail in a variety of classes. With some very impressive exploits over the years, such as dragging his 10-second Mustang on the Hot Rod Drag Week tour and becoming the first three-valve S197 Mustang to run in the 8’s, it would come as no surprise that they’d quickly take to the 2011 5.0L GT and lay down some numbers.

The JPC team took their 2011 GT from the dealership straight to the dyno to be broken in, where it pulled 350 horses at the wheels. The car received a 4.56 gear, 31-spline axles, C-clip eliminators, and a spool. Upon looking around the shop to see what else they could outfit the car with, an old Bassani 3-inch X-pipe and 2.5-inch race mufflers were installed, gaining the car an additional 22 horses to the wheels. Finally, the team modified the car with a set of upper and lower control arms and a 100-shot fogger nitrous setup and managed to put out an impressive 430 horsepower to the rear wheels.

Despite missing out on becoming the first 5.0 to break into the 11’s, the JPC crew simply moved on to the next performance benchmark with an aim for the 10’s, and less than 24 hours after receiving their 2011 Mustang from the dealership, Burcham wheeled the silver ‘Stang outfitted with a set of 28×10-inch slicks to a 10.96 elapsed time at 125.75 miles per hour.

Since that time, Burcham and crew have continually made changes to the car, testing different parts and pieces to find the combination that is to the best of the 5.0L’s liking. Now outfitted with a Paxton Novi 2200 supercharger with an air-to-air intercooler on 12 pounds of boost, Kooks headers and x-pipe, and transferring through a Mangum six-speed manual transmission, Burcham has recorded a best lap of 9.84 at 140 miles per hour from this 800+ rear wheel horsepower beast.

Terry “Beefcake” Reeves

Specs:
Power Adder: Prototype Vortech Supercharger kit, V-3 Si-trim and air-to-air intercooler
Engine Modifications: Stainless Works 1-7/8ths” headers, Jon Lund tune, 93 octane
Power: 528 HP 448 lb/ft torque to the rear wheels at 8.5 psi
Suspension/Drivetrain: 3.55:1 rear gear, Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials
Quarter Mile: 10.81

Image: Greg Acosta/ProMedia Publishing

Reeves, who by day works as a car salesman for the largest Ford dealership in Cincinnati, Beechmont Ford, first made waves when he powered his new Kona Blue GT into the high 10-second range, making it one of the quickest 5.0’s to date in the country. Terry’s car utilizes a prototype Vortech supercharger system that comes complete with a V-3 Si-trim head unit with an air-to-air intercooler, 3.55 gears, and a set of Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials out back to adequately put the power to the ground.

It also benefits from Stainless Works 1-7/8″ headers, and sports a tune for use with 93 octane gas by Jon Lund and Evolution Performance. A trip to the dyno netted some stellar numbers, as it pumped out 528 horsepower and 448 ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheels, all at just under nine pounds of boost.

Images: Vortech Superchargers

Already making a name for itself with some quick numbers on the scoreboards, Reeves drove his 10-second GT through eliminations in the popular bracket-style Super Stang class at the NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green to become the very first 2011 Mustang to earn a win in any category in the NMRA. Making this win even more incredible is that Terry actually drove the car four hours each way from his home in Ohio, with a simple tire change upon arrival and he was ready to rock. Along the way to his win in the class, he also laid down a new personal best elapsed time of 10.81, despite weighing in 105 pounds heavier than previous events after adding a rollbar inside the car.

Evolution Performance

Specs:
Power Adder: Nitrous Oxide, then F1-C ProCharger with water-to-air intercooler
Engine Modifications: Stock cubic inches built short block, 10:1 compression forged Diamond pistons, Oliver rods, stock crank, Alky Control, 1 /78th-inch open headers to 3.5-inch collectors
Power:  1000 HP+ at 24 PSI
Suspension/Drivetrain: ProFormance Prepped C4, Strange Engineering adjustable struts, Evolution Performance 9-inch rear end and anti roll bar
Quarter Mile: 8.89 @ 147.86 MPH


Evolution Performance and their Kona Blue GT are without a doubt the leaders in the clubhouse when it comes to new-age 5.0 performance after becoming the first – and to this point, only – 2011 5.0L to break down the wall to the eight-second zone.

The guys at Evolution Performance received one of the very first GTs to roll off the production line in April, and set off on their mission to become the first to turn a sub nine-second lap. They drove the car, literally, straight from the dealership lot in Maryland to the track and turned in 13-second performances. Right away, some minor changes were made to the car in addition to a custom tune, knocking a couple seconds off the scoreboards with 11-second runs, the first 2011 to do so. The next step, a two-stage nitrous setup, netted a best lap of 10.22 at 137 miles per hour that already made this one impressive piece. But they weren’t even close to being done.

While all of this was transpiring, a new long block was being prepared for the car at L&M Race Engines that would produce the power necessary for powering the Mustang to single digit elapsed times. The new powerplant utilizes a stock cubic inch, 5.0L block with 10:1 compression, housing a set of forged Diamond Pistons and Oliver billet rods, and sporting stock camshafts, cylinder heads, intake manifold, and throttle body.

The heart of it all, however, is the F1-C ProCharger feeding through a front-mounted water-to-air intercooler that produces upwards of 24 pounds of boost, along with an Alky Control water-meth fuel injection system tuned by Jon Lund. A set of 1 7/8-inch open headers with 3.5-inch collectors rounds out the combination. The power is transferred via a ProFormance prepped C4 transmission.

Up front is a set of Strange Engineering double adjustable struts, and a fabricated Evolution Performance 9-inch rear end housing with a fabricated anti-roll bar out back.

The Evolution Performance Mustang, with co-owner Nelson Whitlock at the wheel, gave an indication of just the kind of power it was making at the NMRA Finals in Beech Bend, with a bumper-dragging wheel stand that broke the front struts upon return to Earth. Determined to reach their goal, repairs were made in just over a week and Whitlock and crew turned the trick in testing at Atco raceway, cranking off a stout 8.89 at 147.86 miles per to lay claim to the baddest 5.0 Mustang on the block.

So there you have our completely subjective look at five of the baddest 2011 Mustang GT 5.0L’s around. These types of feature articles are always open to debate, but it’d be hard to put together such a list without including each of these cars. The race for 5.0L Mustang supremacy is one that will surely continue for some time, even after the newness of the 5.0L has worn off, and the performance barriers and horsepower numbers are sure to climb. And as such, over time, our list will take on a whole new look.