He may be widely tipped to be skipping Australasia in pursuit of IndyCar Series glory in the US at the end of the year, but that hasn’t stopped Scott McLaughlin from unveiling one last bang, in the form of his own modified Ford Mustang.
McLaughlin and Australian tuning firm Herrod have unveiled the Ford Mustang SM17; a restyled, souped up version of the 5.0-litre V8 Mustang GT.
Diving straight into performance, the SM17 gains a Whipple supercharger tweaked with different internals, a new intercooler with a 7.5-litre reservoir, a different inlet manifold, larger Bosch fuel injectors, and high flow intercooler pump among its changes. It helps boost power and torque from 339kW/556Nm to a whopping 570kW/810Nm.
Buyers can opt for either a 10-speed automatic or a six-speed manual. Suspension gains adjustable sway bars and an alternate tune in the magnetic ride. The new 20-inch wheels are wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber (275/30 at the front, 305/30 at the back), and a cat back stainless steel exhaust (integrated with Ford’s existing active-exhaust control) ensures plenty of bark.
In terms of design, a larger front and rear spoiler, striping, and front canards built into the fog-light shrouds are the key changes that identify the SM17. The cabin, meanwhile, gains a different leather trim and an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel.
“When I first saw it I thought it was mega. It was everything I was hoping for,” McLaughlin said, speaking to Race News.
“It’s a phenomenal package. Any Supercars driver would love to have their name on a car like this, and I had Rob Herrod to handle all the heavy lifting. I’ve always wanted a racy red car with black wheels. And now I’ve got it – and then some.”
“It’s a phenomenal result. Rob Herrod is very smart with the performance side of things and very passionate. He knows cars, he loves the Mustang, and he shares my passion. He’s been really cool with the whole thing.
“I’ve really enjoyed the project, even down to working with Rob and The Doc on little things like my signatures and the build plates for the cars. It didn’t distract me from my racing, either, because I know we had the best people working on the car.”
“We started development with a base GT with Magnaride suspension only,” added Rob Herrod. “The key thing is the Whipple supercharger, which is a world first. It looks like a regular Whipple, but internally it is completely different. The key is the throttle response, but it also makes big numbers and there is a nice supercharger whine with a roar when it really gets going.”