2021 RTR Ford Mustang review

Some phone calls are better than others. “Scotty, would you like to test drive a Ford Mustang that’s purpose-built to go sideways?” Yes, yes I would.

Vaughn Gittin Jr isn’t a household name in Australia but he’s a big deal in the world of modifying Fords in the United States. He is also one of the world’s leading exponents of sideways driving, being a two-time Formula Drift champion and three-time World Drift Series champion.

His brand, RTR Vehicles, offers a range of products for the Mustang, F-150 and Ranger, while also having a major role in projects like Ken Block’s Hoonicorn Mustang and the Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 concept. This RTR gear is now available in Australia courtesy of Mustang Motorsport and it threw us the keys to its Spec 3 example for a taste.

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The RTR offering starts at Spec 1, which includes a full bodykit (upper and lower grille with LED lights, chin spoiler, side skirts, rear spoiler), lowered springs, a choice of 19-inch wheel designs and a bunch of tidbits like badging, a signed dash plaque and shift knob (manual only). This pack starts at $13,000 fitted.

Spec 2 is an extra $6500 and includes all the aforementioned plus staggered 20-inch rims wearing 275/35 rubber up front and 305/30 at the rear, adjustable anti-roll bars and adjustable dampers for non-MagneRide cars.

Last but certainly not least, the Spec 3 cherry on top is the addition of a Ford Performance supercharger that lifts outputs from the standard 339kW/556Nm to 559kW/908Nm, though it’ll decrease your bank account by a further $21,500. The supercharger comes with a five-year/100,000km warranty and the package is seven-state ADR compliant.

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All up, including the donor car, you’re looking at around $110,000 – a lotta money for a Mustang, but cheap for a 559kW two-door coupe and it does look the part. RTR’s signature Aero wheels split opinion, but a set of more conventional 14-spoke ‘Tech’ alloys are available.

The signature LED grille lights are a cool touch, but it’s the other end of the car that garners the most attention. This thing is LOUD. James from Mustang Motorsport tells me when returning the car that the exhaust’s Quiet mode is still available, knowledge that my neighbours would have appreciated during some early morning starts.

All up, you’re looking at around $110,000 – a lotta money for a Mustang, but cheap for a 559kW coupe and it does look the part.

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While the RTR’s chassis upgrades are actually the main event here, let’s start with the monster under the bonnet. Ever since the 2018 upgrade, the Mustang GT’s 5.0-litre V8 has been somewhat fickle when it comes to being supercharged. Early examples, even of this official Ford-backed Roush kit, left a bit to be desired in terms of response and driveability, but happily in its latest evolution all the bugs have been ironed out.

It obviously goes like the clappers, with a furious appetite for revs, especially with the closely-stacked ratios of our test car’s 10-speed automatic. With this amount of grunt, having so many gears can be more of a curse than a blessing but on the flip side you can just leave it in third or fourth (or fifth, really) and use the engine’s powerband.

Of more importance than the outright power and torque – of which there is more than ample – is its delivery, but throttle response is clean and you can accurately measure out how much power you want, though to be honest it really just measures out how quickly the rear wheels spin.

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As mentioned, the Spec 2 package comes with staggered rubber (275mm front; 305mm rear) but our test car wears 275s at both ends as the rears were likely to be a bit sad after a day at the track. Consequently, customer cars are likely to have a little more traction but then traction isn’t really the point of the RTR Mustang.

RTR has its own hashtag, #funhaver, wisely stating that in this day and age any mega-horsepower muscle car is likely to be hosed in a straight line by an A45 AMG or RS3 under anything but perfect circumstances. Instead it leans into the smiles per hour mantra, which is perhaps unsurprising given its founder’s motorsport of choice.

The suspension changes undoubtedly work; this is one of the easiest and most transparent cars I’ve driven. It undoubtedly requires respect with the supercharger kit, as it will quite easily spin the tyres in fourth gear on a dry, smooth race track, but at least it telegraphs its intentions while doing so.

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It improves on the standard Mustang in a number of areas. Number one is steering; the slight slack around the straight-ahead is eliminated and there’s genuine feedback about when the front tyres start to slip across the road. The weighting is well-judged, too, not too heavy, not too light.

Overall balance is also improved, the RTR responding accurately to your inputs. Carry too much speed into a corner and it’ll understeer; trail the brakes into a corner and the back will unstick; on corner exit, the amount of throttle essentially corresponds to the angle of the rear end. When it does slide, though, it does so in a slow-motion, in an almost languid manner. It would be interesting to drive a non-supercharged Spec 2 RTR as it could be a very enjoyable, exploitable weekender.

This behaviour increases confidence and while lap times aren’t the focus for RTR, this Spec 3 Mustang circuits the tricky Bryant Park hillclimb track in 1min6sec, almost a second quicker than an Audi RS5 and Lexus RC F Track Edition. This was despite the rear wheels travelling probably double the distance of the fronts as it slithered its way around, but in most circumstances you feel confident to drive right through it like Cole Trickle.

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Its biggest shortcoming in a performance sense is the fact that engine temperatures spike quickly, triggering the ECU’s protective measures and limiting power. And by quickly I mean within one lap. The issue is easily fixed by adding extra coolers, like those found on the Roush RS3 we tested, but decreasing temperatures will increase the purchase price. Oh, and the LSD struggles to contain all the power on track; if you were attending regularly a Torsen upgrade wouldn’t go astray.

However, RTR’s modifications don’t compromise the Mustang’s on-road capability. Far from being a tied-down track car, the dampers, which are actually the standard units re-valved and with adjustability added, still offer plenty of compliance. Lowered ride height aside, it’s really no more taxing than a standard car, though enjoy the performance and you’ll be visiting the petrol bowser a little more frequently.

The suspension changes work; this is one of the most transparent cars I’ve driven. It undoubtedly requires respect … but at least it telegraphs its intentions.

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To be honest, while most will concentrate on the engine’s huge power figures, to do so is missing the point of the RTR slightly. The engine package is familiar – it underpins most modified Mustangs, whether it be the Roush, RTR or even official R-Spec – but it’s the way the chassis modifications make the Mustang more playful, communicative and predictable that’s really the highlight. It certainly lives up to RTR’s hashtag.

2021 RTR Ford Mustang specifications