I pull into the lot and there are a cool half dozen Roush products lined up for display. Three Roush trucks, and three Roush Mustangs." 

That covers the go portion, so here is the STOP portion. 14 inch slotted disks in front with Alcon 4 piston mono block calipers provide excellent fade free stops that are straight as an arrow.. The rear disks are upgraded to 13 inch slotted rotors with PBR 2 piston calipers. The brake pads are Roush brand.

The suspension that keeps the car flat and the tires contact patch in touch with the road is Roush specific with new springs. Bilstein shocks, custom made for Roush, a 35mm front sway bar special patented Roush lower control arms in the rear. This car does NOT have the IRS that the Cobra has, Roush feels the straight axle gives better control for acceleration, especially with the Roush tweaked rear suspension.

The Roush body kit is attractive and paintwork is first class. The car may be over the top for a lot of more conservative types, in that case, you can order your Roush with just the performance parts or just some of the body kit. Our Yellow test car sports a prototype Roush bra that does a great job of preventing rock chips over the entire front and 90% of the hood. It also doesn’t appear to move around as much thanks to the back side hooking all the way at the back of the hood.

The Roush interior is comfortable, and the dash is a great combination of retro/modern.

How does it go? We did not get a chance for instrumented tests, but Car and Driver testing indicates 0-60 in 4.3 seconds, 0-100 in 10.1 seconds. 0-70 braking in 185 feet and the quarter mile in only 12.9 seconds at 111 mph. Lateral acceleration is .91g. Now, on to the fun.

Tall-lean Mike Elais, District Sales Manager from Roush Performance, Livonia, Michigan is giving rides to any and all members of the press, including yours truly.  Mike is shown below preparing to give another "demonstration" ride.

The back lot of the trucking company has a new slab of concrete and some side sections of blacktop that make for a short but fun slalom course and a tiny straight. The straight is good for 0-50 runs and ABS braking tests, all-in-one, before you run out of pavement and start plowing black dirt.  Trust me, a locally made Challenger Caterpillar tractor is better for plowing dirt than a Mustang.  On the other hand, the Mustang is much better for quick trips down a drag strip.

I get the first ride and drive. As a passenger, Mike takes me through the slalom at about 40 mph. With only the factory lap/shoulder belts, my size XL body moves around a bit as I brace for the turns. At the far end Mike lines up the car with the straight and punches it leaving about 30 feet of twin black stripes as the 295-35ZR18 BF Goodrich Comp T/A’s fight for traction on the new concrete. (front tires are 265-35ZR18)

A bit of drainage slope lets the car take about a 10 degree slide to the left till the tires bite, then it is time to hit the brakes. The ABS is aggressive and later, while standing to the side, you see the large chrome 18" 5 spoke alloy wheels stop and start in dramatic fashion. There is a fully defeatable traction control that we leave off for the test. The car would tend to behave badly under full throttle runs with it left on.

After Mike’s demonstration, I get behind the wheel. There were cars parked on one side of the "test track" and a muddy plowed field on the other side so I didn’t attempt any heroics on the Slalom. I went through at about 30 mph, which I think was at least as fast as the TV scribes. A LOT faster than a couple of them.

It was the little acceleration/brake strip where I got my jollies. From an Idle I stomped the gas, and gave the firm feel steering a tiny tweak to the left as the back of the car lit up both tires and stepped to the left. The car never shifted out of first before we got to the pylons indicating the braking zone. Applying the ABS technique learned at the V8 SHO school I attended in New Jersey in 1997, I hit the brakes hard and quick. The tires bit hard and we were thrown against the straps coming to an uneventful, but quick stop that could be hands-free were I to have more room to experiment.

The sponsoring dealer should be familiar to SHO Club regulars. It is Mangold Ford in Eureka. Owner Mike Mangold helped sponsor our One Lap of America adventure in 1996 and they are building a new bigger service/parts addition to the dealership. This is one small town Ford dealer that not only believes in small town service and courtesy, but they also are big on performance being one of the few fully certified SVT dealers, and a Roush dealer of significance, selling cars all over the United States.