2020 Ford Mustang R-Spec Is Australia's 700-HP Shelby GT500 Alternative
Given the Shelby GT500's absence Down Under, Ford Australia made its own supercharged ’Stang complete with a six-speed manual.
Over the summer, Ford declared that it had no plans to sell the most powerful Mustang in the marque's history — the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 — in Australia. The land that gave us the word "hoon" couldn't stand for that and devised its own answer to the GT500, which it calls the Mustang R-Spec.
The R-Spec wouldn't be a competitor to the GT500 without enough horsepower to reverse the Earth's rotation, so Ford Australia will answer the Shelby by installing a Ford Performance Roush 2650 supercharger kit in every Mustang R-Spec. They haven't officially stated how much power R-Specs will make, but Roush says that this same kit will kick the Mustang GT's 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 up to a mighty 700 horsepower and 610 pound-feet of torque.
All that power gushes to the rear wheels through, thankfully, a six-speed manual gearbox (the GT500's 10-speed automatic is nowhere to be seen). As this makes the Mustang's rear end even livelier than usual, Ford Australia will also fit the R-Spec with a MagneRide Handling Pack, 19-inch alloy wheels, and a big old rear spoiler for maximum stability at the speeds easily attained with 700 horses.
