Twist the key and the exhaust erupts with a ferocious bellow. In enclosed garages, it is a fearsome explosion that sets off car alarms and nasty looks. Out in the open, its thunderous note turns heads and raises eyebrows.
"This can't be legal" is your first thought.
The idle is too lumpy, too raspy, too loud. It's a dull rumble that becomes a guttural roar -- at quarter throttle. Declutch a cold engine and coast to a stop, and the exhaust crackles and sizzles -- the sound of raw fuel hitting hot metal.
"I'm going to jail" is the next thought, but this one comes with an evil grin.
There is something unapologetically ballsy about Roush's latest creation, the 2010 Roush 427R Mustang. Even though this latest version makes more power, the model's three digits come from the 427 horsepower put out by the first series of 427Rs sold in 2007. As for the R, take your pick: Roush, racing, righteous, run for the hills. We say it stands for rudeboy.Forget ever flooring a 427R within city limits. With 435 supercharged horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque underfoot from the Roots blown 4.6-liter V-8, you're guaranteed instant burnouts and such a racket that, by the time you've made it to second gear, the local constabulary will be lighting you up and politely asking to see your hands.
This is not idle exaggeration. I spent three days with the 427R among the urban canyons of Los Angeles and found few places where I could safely lay down the loud pedal without drawing attention from the boys in blue. I had one cop flash me his high beams as I coasted past -- foot off the throttle. I swore another flipped a U-turn for a closer look. Any wonder why? Just look at that paint job. Ford's torch red combined with Roush's reverse Starsky and Hutch decals draws more cops than Dunkin's free-doughnut Friday.
Did I mention that the 427R is loud? Credit Ford engineers for giving the Mustang some beefy window seals and other sound deadening. The 427R is actually quite livable provided you short shift every gear (below 2000 rpm) and keep the glass rolled up all the time. But crack the windows and throttle and you're in a land of obnoxiousness known only to Harley-Davidson riders.
At full throttle, you can barely hear the supercharger over the exhaust. You feel it much earlier than 5000 rpm, but that's about the engine speed when your ears will detect the whine over the roar from the back. On a hunch, I checked with Roush HQ and verified that the source of the racket is a $710 dealer-installed exhaust option that's not part of the package and for "off-highway use only."
Even without it, our fully optioned 427R, with its chrome dubs, myriad badges, and "Roushcharged" decal along the hood bulge, is loud and proud, even when shut off and parked. It looks fast too: Under Roush's guidance, the Mustang's front bumper and rockers have sprouted splitters, while the back sports a new rear valance and decklid spoiler.
Inside, the 427R package decks out the interior with a performance pedal set, embroidered floormats, and stenciled, white-faced instruments. The fanciest stuff is all optional, like the suede seat surfaces with signature stitching ($1725) and trick boost pressure gauge suspended in the left A/C vent ($435). Perhaps the best of these upgrades is the shifter, a white cue ball that sits atop a tall shaft of hardened steel. Throws are short and stiff through the gates, so the whole business takes some muscle and manhandling.
On a list that includes the new Shelby GT500, Corvette ZR-1, and Camaro SS, Roush manages to claim the laudable position of building the rudest thing I've driven in recent memory. But is it fast?
It is if you can find the traction. Get the tires to hook up and you'll hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and 100 mph in 11 seconds flat. The quarter mile arrives in 13.1 seconds at 108.8 mph. Not too shabby, although a stock 2010 Mustang GT will hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and the quarter in 13.5 seconds at 104.2 mph. Still that's least a tick or two off what should be possible, at least by the estimates of road test editor Scott Mortara.
What gives? Probably the optional, 20-inch wheel and tire package. Though the chromed five-spokes come wrapped in sticky Dunlop Sportmaxx rubber, you do pay for it. The dubs not only cost $1115, they add a significant amount of weight over the 18-inch standard wheel package.
Braking performance is also a bit compromised. A full stop from 60 mph comes in 111 feet. Pretty good, but not when you consider that a track-packed Mustang GT stops three feet shorter -- without the 427R's optional performance brake kit that includes slotted front and rear rotors and four piston front calipers with upgraded pads.
Lateral grip is another headscratcher. The 427R pulls a very respectable 0.90 g, but that's a bit off the 0.95 g we got from the same track-pack-equipped GT. It could be the result of the extra hundred or so pounds the Roush upgrades add, mostly in the nose, that shifts the front/rear weight distribution from 53/47 percent in the stock GT to 55/45 in the 427R.
Comparing the 427R with its obvious rival, the 2010 Shelby GT500, reveals no surprises. With a blown 5.4-liter pumping out 540 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed transmission, the GT500 is quicker to 60 mph (4.6 seconds) and faster through the quarter mile (12.8 seconds at 115.3 mph) than the 427R. The GT500 also stops shorter (109 feet) and handles better (0.92 g/25.3 seconds at 0.75 g). It is also touch more expensive; with a base price of $48,175 it is $4,274 dollars more than a base 427R. Our fully optioned 427R rang the register at $55,218.
So is the 427R worth the money? From a pure performance standpoint, no. The Shelby GT500 is a lot more powerful and a bit faster for a reasonable amount of money. That shouldn't deter the legions of Mustang fans who will consider the Roush for reasons other than pure speed and horsepower. Some of them will no doubt want a muscle car that delivers the type of rudeboy character that made our short stay with the 427R so memorable.
[source:MotorTrend]
