Autoblog

Click image for a high-res gallery of the Ford Racing Mustang FR500S

Nineteen Ford Racing FR500S Mustangs are now in the hands of their owners. In case you've forgotten, the Mustang FR500S is the $75,000, 325-horsepower racing car introduced at SEMA and offered directly to customers by Ford for use in the new single-make Ford Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup series. Starting this May at Road Atlanta, a series of eight Challenge races will take place in support of larger Grand-Am, HSR and NASCAR regional events, culminating with a September doubleheader at Miller Motorsports Park, for which the series and trophy are named.

Last weekend, the FR500S owners made a pilgrimage to the racetrack in Salt Lake City, UT where they attended performance driving school, participated in seminars about the series, and, most importantly, took delivery of their racers. Kudos to the pair of drivers who strayed from the norm, opting for black and red cars instead of the white chosen by everyone else. Once all the talking ended, the group headed out to the track for open practice sessions in their cars. May's not that far off, and the next time this group of racers gets together, they'll be competing for championship points. If you want to see the cars in action, we've pasted the Mustang Challenge schedule after the jump.


[Source: Mustang Challenge]

The latest edition to the Ford Racing Performance Parts catalog is a complete race-ready Ford Mustang called the FR500S that retails for a relatively affordable $75,000. Compare that to the $129,900 FR500C and the $250,000 FR500GT and it starts to look like a pretty inexpensive race car. The $75k gets you a fully stripped interior with a roll cage as well as Sparco racing seats and steering wheel. The FR500S package also includes an adjustable suspension, high capacity racing radiator, short throw shifter, racing differential, and drive shaft safety loops. The exterior is given a race car makeover as well, with a front spoiler, rear wing, and GT500 wheels mounted on BFGoodrich g-Force R1 tires. The 24-valve 4.6-liter V8 remains fairly stock with the exception of a cold air intake, exhaust system, and performance tune that is good for 325 horsepower.

So, in what racing series can you actually campaign the FR500S? Well Ford has the answer to that too. For 2008, Ford Racing and Miller Motorsports Park will be introducing the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup, which will feature the spec Stangs at eight races on various race tracks around the country as a support race to the Grand Am series. The only thing you need to compete is a national-level racing license. Oh yeah - and the $75,000.