Horse Sense: As we write this, Vaughn is finalizing arrangements with a number of Ford dealerships around the country, where you'll be able to order a new Mustang GT to your specifications and have the RTR package installed for an estimated $7,500. Though not yet fully spec'd out, Gittin plans a V-6 RTR package too. Check out www.mustangrtr.com for details.
No more than 10 of Vaughn...
No more than 10 of Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s RTR-C Mustangs will be built this year. Such exclusivity comes at a price of $135,000, but where else can you find a Mustang entirely paneled in lightweight carbon fiber? Even with blower and intercooler hardware on board and a full tank, it weighs just 3,355 pounds. It's Editor Turner's carbon-fiber fantasy in the flesh.
Many of you are likely familiar with the sideways, smoking exploits of Vaughn Gittin Jr. If not, by way of introduction, we suppose it's fair to describe Mr. Gittin as the dude who almost singlehandedly made the S197 a force to be reckoned with in the wildly popular sport of drifting. Before Vaughn's Falken Tire-sponsored '05 Mustang GT hit the circuit, the world of drifting was pretty much the domain of Japanese cars and a dedicated sport-compact crowd. In the ensuing half-decade, Vaughn has no doubt boosted Mustang status and acceptance amongst a segment of the population that might otherwise be inclined to ignore any form of domestic vehicle. He has, in other words, introduced the Mustang phenomenon to a whole new demographic. Now, following the precedent of other noted racers, he's introducing his own road-going versions of Mustang-the RTR and the extremely limited-edition carbon-fiber RTR-C.
Vaughn himself is a relative newcomer to the Mustang fold, having no overpowering interest in them prior to being suddenly seduced by the S197. He was just 24 years old when he took it upon himself to introduce our beloved American icon to the drift arena, where, he admits, the reception was initially more than a bit chilly, as you might expect from a decidedly import-biased crowd. Perhaps it was merely because they'd never seen a V-8 Mustang in a full sideways snit before. "The first time I drove the car in Atlanta, 2005, it just shut everybody up. The first run-where I came down that chute at 100 miles an hour, threw the car into the turn, smoke everywhere, with the V-8 just screaming at 8,000 rpm-it just shut up everybody real quick." And it probably didn't hurt that Vaughn won the D1GP USA-versus-Japan championship that year. "That sent shockwaves through the drifting world, you know? I've been able to make waves with that car... we've changed minds in the youth and import markets."
Still, as much as he loves the '05-and-up Mustangs, Vaughn perceives that there's maybe been too much focus on "retro" in the aftermarket's S197 styling enhancements. While this was obviously just fine for traditional Mustang buyers, Vaughn believed a different, non-retrospective design approach might help cement a lasting relationship between the potent Pony and a younger import-centric generation.
"While I have huge respect for the heritage and traditional styling of Mustang overall," says Vaughn, "I wanted to add a bit of a modern twist to change it up a bit-a little bit of new styling-with hopes of opening up new eyes to Mustang." So he tag-teamed with such notables as Ford Racing and Classic Design Concepts in putting together his dealer-installed RTR package, and went really nuts with his carbon-fiber-bodied RTR-C, of which a maximum of 10 will be built.
The RTR-C
The whole RTR brand actually started with the RTR-C, the first of which-the one shown-was built for the SEMA show in pursuit of Vaughn's concept of "the baddest-ass Mustang that I could imagine, starting off with a full carbon-fiber body and going from there."
When Vaughn says "a full carbon-fiber body," he means it, as everything from fenders, hood, trunklid, doors, and quarters right down to the roof panel, the fascias and the grille are comprised of lightweight Epoxy Carbon Composite. These are not skins. The factory panels are all replaced. Even the hoops of the RTR-C's HRE wheels are carbon construction.
This initial RTR-C has a Three-Valve 4.6 boosted to 550 hp by a Ford Racing/Whipple twin-screw supercharger kit, but all customer RTR-Cs will be even more potent, since they'll be based on the 2011-spec 5.0 Coyote powertrain, again with a Ford Racing/Whipple blower kit. That kit is still undergoing final testing on the Coyote powerplant as we write this, so no power figures are available, but it's safe to assume it should handily exceed the 550hp mark, and will dish out elephantine torque as well.
Chassis-wise the RTR-C will be just as happy on-track as on the street. Tein coilovers at all corners will be cockpit-adjustable, but you will have to crawl underneath to adjust the front and rear antiroll bars. The rearend houses a Torsen T2R torque-sensing diff, and is located by Autosport Dynamics adjustable upper and lower control arms and Panhard bar. Brakes are 14-inch Wilwoods all 'round, with six-piston calipers up front and four-piston versions out back.
Inside, even the Sparco-manufactured custom RTR-C bucket seats have carbon-fiber structure but are wrapped in premium leather, as is the custom rear seat-delete panel. A harness bar anchors four-point belts, and the RTR-C has unique interior trim panels, along with discreet badging and a serialization plaque.
A maximum of 10 customer RTR-Cs will be hand-built in 2010 at Autosport Dynamics, a noted race car fabrication shop in Charlotte, North Carolina, that also builds and maintains Vaughn's competition Mustangs. The price of admission will be $135,000
This first RTR-C was built...
This first RTR-C was built prior to the release of the new 5.0 Coyote, and so uses a Three-Valve 4.6, topped with Ford Racing's 11-psi Super Pack Whipple screw blower kit, for about 550 hp. It's expected that all subsequent RTR-Cs will be Coyote-based and put out even more power.
The RTR-C is a two-seater,...
The RTR-C is a two-seater, and those buckets are custom made by Sparco, laid up from carbon fiber, and skinned in premium leather. Also so skinned is the rear seat-delete panel. In race car fashion, damper settings on the RTR-C's Tein coilovers are cockpit adjustable.