New Zealand-born professional racing driver Scott McLaughlin, 27, has won three consecutive Virgin Australia Supercars Championships, quickly rising to the very top of the ranking. Local tune-up shop Herrod Performance is now designing a special vehicle series to commemorate his victories.
The custom build is called the Ford Mustang SM17. A GT at heart, the muscle car sports a new front bumper with side canards, a front splitter and a rear wing, assorted body decals, and an active-valve exhaust system. It rides on 20-inch rims wrapped in performance rubber.
The 5.0-liter V8 gains a three-liter large supercharger along with a plethora of other upgrades, culminating in 786 PS (775 hp / 578 kW) and 810 Nm (597 lb-ft) of torque. This represents an improvement of 325 PS (321 hp / 239 kW) and 254 Nm (187 lb-ft) over the stock numbers.
The inside space of the two-door track tool comes wrapped in Italian leather, the steering wheel is trimmed with Alcantara, and the seat backs wear McLaughlin’s badges.
Prices, production quantity and sprint times remain to be announced.