Ford has revealed a new turbo Mustang for the yoof that’s built to drift

Young performance car enthusiasts of America, we bring you good tidings of performance brakes, active exhausts and anti-lag: meet the turbo Ford Mustang RTR built specifically to do big skids.

“This factory-built Mustang RTR is the answer for younger buyers seeking a performance-focused Mustang,” said RTR founder Vaughn Gittin Jr. Yep, the same multiple-drift-title-winning Vaughn Gittin Jr.

It’s the first RTR-spec Mustang built in-house by Ford and is absolutely not to be confused with the actual Mustang RTR Spec 5 we saw last month, which is basically a Mustang GTD for about half the price.

No, this one’s spun off the 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder Mustang producing 315bhp/350lb ft, but can be optioned up to 350bhp/400lb ft via Ford Performance parts. It gets the 10-speed auto 'box sending those turbocharged horsies to the rear wheels.

It’s been built for a slightly younger audience to get them into big, lairy and accessible performance cars. So why not the V8? “The Mustang EcoBoost is so underrated in my opinion,” Mr Gittin Jr said, “it is such a fun car.” He notes how the base 4cyl car's got a keener front end versus the eight-pot, but wanted to make it even keener. 

So, to this ‘fun car’, Gittin’s RTR and Ford added plenty of goodies from the V8 Dark Horse car, like: an adjustable strut alignment bracket, new front and rear stabiliser bars, and the Dark Horse’s rear subframe with stiffer bushes.

Then come more goodies like a GT-spec steering rack angle allowing a whopping 72.5mm of extra travel, a 600-watt cooling fan, Brembos all round, an active performance exhaust, and a “Ford-patented, race-derived anti-lag” for better throttle response. The MagneRide dampers and stability control also benefit from an RTR-specific tweak.

That’s the go, but what about the show? You’ll spot various ‘hyper lime’ accents on the car, nice wheels, RTR badges, and – of perhaps chief importance – a powder-coated electric drift brake lever.

So now, “Mustang RTR makes it easier to achieve and control a slide,” according to Mr Gittin Jr. “We really did create the most baddass turbocharged Mustang ever.”