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Roush Stage 3 2001 Mustang

Roush Performance Takes On The Tuners With Its Almost-OEM Stage 3 Mustang
By Steve Turner
Photography by Dale Amy
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Front Driver Side
You can easily pick out a... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Front Driver Side
You can easily pick out a Stage 3 by noticing its unique front valance, which includes driving lights and a lower grille. Behind the grille you can make out the heat exchanger tasked with cooling off the dual-pass air-to-water intercooler. Our Stage 3 tester stood out from the crowd thanks to optional rocker panels, a side-exit exhaust, and chrome wheels.
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Engine
Here’s the part that... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Engine
Here’s the part that gets most of us excited. The Stage 3 packs a fourth-generation Eaton M90 supercharger atop a factory 4.6 Two-Valve. The blower draws in through a factory mass air—tweaked for increased range—and a BBK 70mm throttle body. From there, 6 pounds of boost is rammed into a Roush lower intake manifold incorporating a two-core, air-to-water intercooler from Allied Signal. Coupled with Roush’s EEC V tuning, this package cranks out 360 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque without a hint of rough idling, noise, or detonation, even under the duress of a road-course environment.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Driver Side
Zipping the Stage 3 around... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Driver Side
Zipping the Stage 3 around the school track at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler, Arizona, proved as entertaining as you might expect. Roush actually provided several Mustangs, including Stage 2 and Stage 3 versions. The Stage 2 cars felt a bit lighter and more nimble on track, but the brute power and superb braking of the Stage 3 made it the car all the writers at the press introduction wanted to drive. The Stage 3’s power comes on early and hard in the midrange but tapers off before 6,000, so it feels a bit like the Cobra R without the sparkling top end.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Rear Driver Side
Out back the Roush wing and... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Rear Driver Side
Out back the Roush wing and convertible styling bar further the Stage 3’s cruising profile, but there’s no fancy IRS under this car. It does just fine with a stock solid-axle 8.8 rearend fitted only with 3.27 gears.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Rear Passenger Side
Stage 3s can get by with such... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Rear Passenger Side
Stage 3s can get by with such modest gearing thanks to the brute torque produced by the Eaton-supercharged Two-Valve underhood.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Interior
After spending a couple days... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Interior
After spending a couple days in Stage 3 Mustangs, we came away with that “nice daily driver feeling.” For most jaded 5.0&SF readers used to 500hp, super-charged 5.0s, 360 hp might not seem like much, but consider it’s warranteed and tested to standards that would make Ford happy, and then you begin to appreciate the combination of power and reliability. Obviously Roush is going after the market wanting something unique to Ford’s offerings, but a bit more aggressive. Now those in the market for a Kenny Brown, Saleen, or Steeda Mustang have one more choice to consider.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Interior Gauge
Subtle are the changes inside... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Interior Gauge
Subtle are the changes inside the Stage 3. Naturally it packs all the latest Ford appointments, to which Roush added electroluminescent, white-face gauges and supple, amply bolstered seats upholstered in Nupa leather.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Seat Stitching0
Subtly embroidered Roush logos... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Seat Stitching0
Subtly embroidered Roush logos adorn the driver and passenger seats, which embodies where Roush is going with the Stage 3.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Interior
The company has actually reduced... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Interior
The company has actually reduced the number of logos and badges found on the Stage 3—as compared with previous Roush Mustangs—to produce an understated look.
2001 Roush Ford Mustang Wheel
Big brakes and chrome wheels—two... 
   
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2001 Roush Ford Mustang Wheel
Big brakes and chrome wheels—two options well worth adding to any Roush Mustang. These huge stoppers proved fade-free after being beat by countless members of the automotive press, while the chrome wheels simply deliver those extra points in the looks department. Behind the wheels and brakes is the Stage 3 suspension, including springs, struts, shocks, sway bars, and rear lower control arms. It, as did all the Stage 3 components, stood up to rigorous, OEM-level testing before finally finding a home on the production car.
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“I challenged my team... 
   
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P77842 Image Large
“I challenged my team to find the balance between a race car and a road car,” Jack Roush says. “I started out over 30 years ago racing Mustangs. To me, it’s always been about Mustangs.”

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