2006 Ford Mustang GT - Projected Winner

Beneath the removable vinyl... 

   

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Beneath the removable vinyl skin is a comprehensively tricked-out Performance White '06 GT.

Horse Sense: We're told a formal announcement of the new owner of Fire & Ice will be made at November's SEMA show.

Well, for the last few issues we've been describing the bits and the process that went into transforming Old World Industries' Peak Performance/SplitFire '06 Mustang GT into one of the coolest giveaway vehicles any 'Stanghead could ever hope to tuck into his or her garage. It's called Project Fire & Ice, and unfortunately those of us slaving away on this magazine can't win it, but you might. Our loss, your gain. With all the wrench work finally done, this time we're wrapping up with a look at the final product and a recap of all the gear that makes it so desirable.

OK, so the multi-color rolling-billboard... 

   

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OK, so the multi-color rolling-billboard wrap is likely to catch your eye first (precisely as it was planned to do), but beneath the removable vinyl skin is a comprehensively tricked-out Performance White '06 GT. On the outside, Classic Design Concepts' chin spoiler, ducktail, and taillight filler panel share the glory with Ford Racing's forged, thin-spoke Ford GT rims.

When the bone-stock, '06 Performance White GT rolled into the Jackson, Michigan, shops of Paul's High Performance last winter to begin this adventure in modification, it was already nicely optioned with Ford's Interior Upgrade Package that features various satin-aluminum trim pieces, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an in-dash message center, among other niceties. It also had an active anti-theft system, side airbags, and the new-for-2006 18-inch wheel/tire package. Kind of a waste, the latter, since we soon ditched them in favor of even nicer 18x9 forged rims wearing 245/40ZR (front) and 255/45ZR Nitto 555 rubber. We had little choice but to use these pricey ($940 apiece) but gorgeous Ford GT rims, as they were the only ones in the Ford Racing catalog that would fit over the likewise pricey ($3,450) FR500C front-disc-brake package. The other exterior improvements come from Classic Design Concepts and consist of a matte-black chin spoiler, a wraparound ducktail rear spoiler, and a ribbed black filler panel between the taillights, fittingly wearing a discrete red FR500 logo. For its cross-country promotional duties-including Hot Rod's Power Tour-the whole shebang was literally wrapped in a colorful vinyl skin. Should the winner decide to peel this giant decal, Fire & Ice will revert back to its original and subtle monochromatic Performance White. Then again, maybe it'll be worth more as a one-off collector's item, fully wrapped. Tough decision-at least we won't have to make it.

Forgetting how it looks for a moment, let's review what went on underneath, starting with FRPP's comprehensive Handling Pack, comprised of lowering springs (about 1.5 inches), struts, and shocks calibrated by Multimatic Motorsports and manufactured by Dynamic Suspensions, stiffer front and rear antiroll bars with urethane bushings, and a parallel-beam strut-tower brace that went on the car only to come back off to make room for the supercharger that we'll get to in a minute. The factory 3.55 cogs went away in favor of 4.10s, part of FRPP's Drag Pack that also includes short-tube headers, a 90mm cold-air kit, a performance oil filter, a flash tuner loaded with a fresh premium-fuel calibration to account for the 4.10 gears, and-last but not least-a Hurst-manufactured short-throw shifter. Since the entire buildup took place at Paul's High Performance, the shifter also benefited from the addition of one of PHP's ShiftRite braces, a boon to reliable Second-to-Third speed shifts. If FRPP's new S197-specific axle girdle gets into production in time, one will be fitted to the 8.8-inch rearend. You'll also find on the belly of the beast Borla-manufactured, stainless FRPP mufflers with polished 4-inch tips, along with a new X-shape crossover pipe to back up the headers.

Optioned from the factory... 

   

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Optioned from the factory with Ford's Interior Upgrade Package, the cabin also wears FRPP's stainless scuff plates and embossed floor mats, and that highly visible 5-inch tach is from SplitFire, the spark plug people. Though it may appear stock, the shifter is an FRPP/Hurst unit bolstered with a ShiftRite brace from the car's builder, Paul's High Performance.

In the cabin, FRPP stainless steel entry guards over the rockers add a little bling, and the Ford Racing-embossed floor mats leave no doubt as to who supplied most of the goodies for this project. On the dash is SplitFire's 5-inch tachometer with shift light and high-rpm telltale. Of course, it wouldn't work without the FRPP tach-driver module that converts the car's electronic waveform into one that aftermarket tachs can understand.

This leads us to the engine compartment, where FRPP brightened the view with chrome cam covers and a billet-aluminum oil-fill cap. As mentioned, we had to remove the aforementioned strut-tower brace, along with the Drag Pack's cold-air setup, in order to bolt FRPP's new Whipple-manufactured twin-screw supercharger in place of the stock intake. We did this after these studio shots were taken. This trade-off was well worth it. As detailed in last month's issue, this easily installed blower generated more than 362 rear-wheel horsepower and 342 lb-ft of torque in linear fashion. At 3,000 rpm, for instance, torque is up nearly 60 lb-ft over stock, and if you can't feel that, you'd better have your spinal column checked because we think it may have been severed. With big power, massive brakes, a firmed-up chassis, and a tastefully gussied-up exterior, who wouldn't want to add Fire & Ice to their personal fleet. Maybe I'll enter under a phony name...