Ken Block's methanol-fueled Hoonicorn may be the best-known Mustang drift car on the planet these days, but Number 43 hasn't been hooning around with 'Stangs on the public stage nearly as long as Vaughn Gittin Jr.While Block has managed to turn his motorsports exploits into an international multimedia and merchandise machine, Gitten has taken a more traditional track (no pun intended) to spread his personal brand: lending his image and expertise to the creation of a special Ford Mustang street car.
But Gittin's street-legal Ford Mustang RTR, as his special-edition 'Stang is called, is far from one of those paint-and-sticker NASCAR specials. (It's also not quite as nutty as his 950-horsepower drift car, but that's another story.) Especially the latest version. While the specifics are still somewhat nebulous, two things are for certain when it comes to the 2018 Ford Mustang RTR: It'll be capable of cranking out more than 700 horsepower, and it looks fine.
The car, set to debut at the Ford booth of the SEMA show in Las Vegas next week, will be sold directly through selected Ford dealerships in three different states of tune, known as Spec 1, Spec 2, and Spec 3. Gittin hasn't disclosed exactly what output each of those will crank out, beyond the fact that the top-tier one will produce more than the aforementioned 700 ponies. That said, it seems safe to guess the new version might take after the 2017 model year RTR, which also comes in three versions: a Spec 1 making the same power as stock, a Spec 2 making an extra 30 ponies thanks to a new exhaust and engine tune, and a Spec 3 making 670 horsepower with the addition of a supercharger and a few other fun bits.
Regardless of how many ponies are flowing to the rear tires, however, all 2018 Mustang RTRs will come correct with the RTR Design package and bespoke lighting setup seen in the images above. Each will also come with a dash plaque signed by Mr. Gittin himself.
The 2018 Mustang RTR should hit the showrooms "soon," according to Gittin's PR department, with additional information to arrive shortly. The cost of the RTR upgrades is one of those still-TBD details—but again, going by the 2017 model year version, you can probably expect to fork over at least $20,000 over the $39,990 base price of a 2018 Mustang GT with the Performance Package if you want the full 700-plus-pony extravaganza.
