Giugiaro Ford Mustang Concept - Performance and Specifications - First Drive

Underneath, the Mustang Concept owes its stripes to Ford Racing, which added an intercooled, twin-scroll supercharger to the standard 4.6-liter V-8. Pressuring the cylinders with 11 psi of boost, the blower bumps output to an estimated 500 horsepower. Also on board is Ford Racing's Mustang GT Handling Pack, which lowers the car and includes stiffer springs and shocks and thick anti-roll bars. Italdesign tacked on big Brembo brakes all around, "purely because they look so good inside the O.Z. Racing wheels," Giugiaro says. Around Las Vegas Speedway, supercharged V-8 roaring, the Mustang Concept feels a lot like a Shelby GT500 -- albeit one wearing a fighter-jet canopy. Show cars --those that move at all -- usually struggle to behave like bona-fide automobiles on the road, but the Mustang Concept functions well enough to toss around the track with confidence. Sure, there are squeaks and shimmies you wouldn't find in a production Mustang, and the glass roof has a few ripples that become bothersome when you're looking for an apex, but overall the Concept is uncompromised: After 30,000 man-hours of development, it's every bit the fast, exceptionally debonair, reality-grounded Mustang Fabrizio Giugiaro intended it to be.

Which leads to yet another obvious question: Is the Mustang Concept a preview of the next production Ford Mustang, due for 2010? "Absolutely not," Fabrizio Giugiaro insists. "I have seen the designs for the new Mustang, and while it is very modern and very lovely, it is not my car." Ultimately, then, Giugiaro's Ford Mustang Concept is a calling card. "At the moment we are not working with any American automakers," Giugiaro says, "but with this Mustang for Ford we have designed an exciting, drivable car that fits with America's unique rules, one that's fully capable of being produced."

Translation: "Hello, Big Three. Have you driven a Giugiaro lately?"