Photo: Ford
The most powerful Mustang GT that you can buy from the showroom these days for the 2020 model year is the Bullitt, a special edition that’s meant to make you feel like Steve McQueen driving a GT 390 through the streets of San Francisco, racing a Dodge Charger R/T. How much suck-squeeze-bang-blow does the Coyote V8 develop in this application?
Well, Ford Performance worked its magic on the 5.0-liter blunderbuss with a DOHC valvetrain by borrowing the intake manifold from the Mustang Shelby GT350. Increasing the size of the throttle body to 87 millimeters and recalibrating the ECU translate to 480 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque or 487 PS and 569 Nm in the metric system.
It’s easy to imagine Mustang GT owners crying foul over the special edition’s output ratings, but then again, Ford Performance has a solution for them in the guise of M-9603-M8B. That’s the codename of the “2018 – 2020 Mustang GT Calibration With Cold Air Intake and Throttle Body” package, priced at $1,275 in the United States. What does this upgrade include?
Well, the list starts with the 87-millimeter throttle body mentioned beforehand as well as an adapter and the Pro Cal 4 calibration delivery tool. Designed for 91-octane gasoline, the power pack promises 42 additional pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm, 18 more pound-feet at 6,500 rpm, and 19 additional horsepower at 6,500 rpm. If you run the numbers, you’ll notice how close this upgrade is to the Bullitt that costs a little too much.
The special edition retails at $47,705 excluding destination charge while the Mustang GT Premium Fastback on which it's based retails at $39,630. It’s obvious that the latter with the Ford Performance power package is the more value-oriented proposition, and better still, the M-9603-M8B is covered by a warranty from new vehicle in-service when installed by an authorized dealer.
On an ending note, the answer is yes; this upgrade is available for both manual- and automatic-equipped ponies. As per Ford Performance, the M-9603-M8B allows gear ratios of up to 4.09:1.
It’s easy to imagine Mustang GT owners crying foul over the special edition’s output ratings, but then again, Ford Performance has a solution for them in the guise of M-9603-M8B. That’s the codename of the “2018 – 2020 Mustang GT Calibration With Cold Air Intake and Throttle Body” package, priced at $1,275 in the United States. What does this upgrade include?
Well, the list starts with the 87-millimeter throttle body mentioned beforehand as well as an adapter and the Pro Cal 4 calibration delivery tool. Designed for 91-octane gasoline, the power pack promises 42 additional pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm, 18 more pound-feet at 6,500 rpm, and 19 additional horsepower at 6,500 rpm. If you run the numbers, you’ll notice how close this upgrade is to the Bullitt that costs a little too much.
The special edition retails at $47,705 excluding destination charge while the Mustang GT Premium Fastback on which it's based retails at $39,630. It’s obvious that the latter with the Ford Performance power package is the more value-oriented proposition, and better still, the M-9603-M8B is covered by a warranty from new vehicle in-service when installed by an authorized dealer.
On an ending note, the answer is yes; this upgrade is available for both manual- and automatic-equipped ponies. As per Ford Performance, the M-9603-M8B allows gear ratios of up to 4.09:1.
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