In less than three weeks we’ll be back in Las Vegas for the 2024 edition of the annual SEMA Show.
While SEMA is essentially an automotive aftermarket show, it is also one of the world’s largest stages for custom and custom car debuts. From bizarre to truly astonishing: we’re guaranteed to see it all. Ten years ago in Vegas, Dino presented perhaps the coolest brand new sixth-generation Ford Mustang at the show – Vaughn Gittin Jr.‘s Spec 5 Mustang RTR. Let’s revisit that story for this week’s throwback post.
2014 Feature
If you saw my post about the 2015 Spec 2 Mustang RTR, there’s one question you may have asked yourself: what if you wanted more? The Spec 2 is a great and very capable road car in its own right, but just imagine what you could achieve if you took it up a few notches… Well, you don’t really have to imagine , because Vaughn Gittin Jr. . didn’t waste any time putting That car together too. He then spent a week covering it outside the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2014 SEMA Show…
Since the new 2015 Mustang made such a splash at this year’s show, all we had to do was borrow the ‘Spec 5 Mustang RTR’ – hands down our favorite – and immortalize it against a decidedly Vegas backdrop. Coming from Japan, where moving a car from a trade show requires faxing (yes, faxing!) numerous requests to the event organizers months in advance and having them countersigned and approved by at least 25 people, I’m always impressed by how easy it is to do these kinds of things in the United States.
Larry called Vaughn and told him to drive the car out of the Las Vegas Convention Center, through the back streets, and then meet us on the top floor of a huge parking garage. Fast forward 10 minutes and this is the view that greeted us.
You’ve probably already gathered that I’m quite a fan of this new ‘Stang. Ford has managed to create a design with a huge presence that allows almost anyone with even a passing interest in cars to know what it is right away. But within a few months, Vaughn and his team took the base car and pumped it full of steroids to create the drift machine you see here.
Built in a partnership between Vaughn’s RTR brand, MA-Motorsports and ASD Motorsports, the car was put together with the goal of having fun. That said, it not only had to look badass, but also have all the skills needed to perform as both a grip and a drift, a full-fledged track weapon, if you will.
In addition to the fun Vaughn had creating this car – and then driving it all out at the SEMA exhibit – this Spec 5 concept also serves as a development platform.
As you’d expect, the Spec 5’s exterior is much more in your face than the Mustang RTR Spec 2 road car. The visual impact starts at the front, where the signature RTR grille with backlit ‘nostrils’ is carried over, albeit with green lighting to match the other bright details and the Team Monster motif.
Efficient cooling is key when drifting, and to direct more air to the radiator, a secondary grille has been cut into the bumper.
An aggressively shaped chin spoiler is also fitted, and beneath it a thin carbon fiber splitter that extends further outwards to increase front downforce.
Each corner of the splitter is connected to a canard that mounts directly to the bolt-on fenders, and here we find the main selling point of the Spec 5 conversion.
The overfenders make the Mustang 50mm thick at the front and 75mm at the rear, and of course leave plenty of room for wide RTR wheels with an aggressive offset to widen the track and allow for some suspension adjustments.
The extra size does wonders for the car’s overall stance, which is extremely aggressive from all angles.
The rear is completed with a diffuser finished in black to provide contrast with the flat, silver-colored housing.
Fully adjustable coilovers are fitted at each corner to give Vaughn the ability to tune the car to a specific course or circuit, while ASD Motorsport’s front lower wishbones allow for the right kind of steering geometry to put the big coupe into full-slip balancing. .
Then of course there are HRE’s massive 20-inch 3-piece RTR wheels – 10 inches and 11 inches wide front and rear respectively, and fitted with Nitto NT05 rubber.
You can almost make out the big Brembo stoppers behind the spokes of the wheels – 6-pot calipers up front to ensure there’s no shortage of stopping power.
In my opinion, aftermarket side skirts are some of the more difficult aesthetic additions to the design, but the RTR Spec 5 items add just the right amount of continuity between the pumped front and rear fenders.
The car exudes presence and it seems like it wants to go completely sideways even when stationary.
I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that the looks here have been nailed to perfection, so it’s down to the rest of the details that make up this impressive drift machine.
First up is Vaughn’s office. What really makes the interior stand out, like the exterior of the car, is the sheer simplicity of everything. But that doesn’t mean it was easy to achieve.
Opening the wafer-thin composite doors, you’re confronted with an array of details, from the Wilwood pedal box to the custom dashboard and center console where the switch panel is located.
Climbing over the roll cage door bars takes you into one of two supportive Recaro boxes – made of carbon fiber, of course, and fitted with Takata 5-point harnesses. As with all racing cars, the seating positions have been offset slightly to the rear to aid weight balance/distribution, but also to align the seats with the B-pillars for added safety in the event of a crash or impact.
See what I mean when I use the word “simplicity”? Take a look at the dashboard: a contoured section of polished carbon fiber that does the job of concealing the bar work, frame and various wiring, as well as providing a perfect mounting point for the Bosch Motorsport DDU 7 digital display unit.
As Vaughn quickly pointed out, this is a trick that can provide some pretty cool and customizable displays. His teammates even added some photos of important moments in his life for a little visual motivation.
It all comes together to form a fun and highly capable new project car for Vaughn to drive, but most importantly, develop from.
But of course, a drift car’s true potential all comes down to its power-producing parts, and in the case of the RTR Spec 5, it’s all hidden beneath a ventilated composite hood.
Lift it up and your eyes immediately spot the Ford Racing logo atop the intake plenum feeding the V8 below. The Mustang RTR Spec 2 that Larry and I drove impressed us with its wide torque spread, coupled with a punchy mid-range and top-end range – not to mention a nice willingness to rev. But the engine fitted to this particular car takes these qualities even further…
Aptly named the ‘5.0L Aluminator V8 It runs reliably up to 8,000 rpm thanks to Mahle hard-anodized forged pistons with low-friction coating, Manley H-beam connecting rods and a lighter but stronger aluminum block with special cross-bolt main bearing caps. CNC-ported Boss heads and high-lift cams take care of the rest, making this a powerful and impressively responsive setup.
The guys at Vaughn added American Racing headers and a Magnaflow exhaust system, while the engine breathes through a K&N cone filter, Ford Racing intake and the big throttle body you see here.
To get the most out of the engine setup, the drivetrain uses a close-ratio Ford Racing 6-speed transmission that flows into a Driveshaft Shop Ford 9-inch diff conversion with 4:56 gears. For added strength, bulletproof driveshafts and aluminum axles from the driveshaft shop are also installed.
Once all the mechanical parts were sorted out, Revolution Automotive had to squeeze out large amounts of power and torque, which they did.
This car certainly represents what the new Mustang is all about: a great package that begs to be personalized, built up and refined, regardless of its end use.
And if that’s drifting, Vaughn and his team have already shown us the power this car has when it comes to tearing up tires!
As the sun set over the Vegas Strip, I was happy to have the opportunity to take a detailed look at this RTR concept. I was impressed with the overall build and appearance, not to mention the performance. The Mustang legend is certainly here to stay in all its different guises!
To wrap things up, check out this video of Vaughn driving the Spec 5 (and other machines) at SEMA.
The Speedhunters
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Dino Dalle Carbonare
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dino@speedhunters.com
Additional photography by Mike Garrett
Instagram: Japanfornia
