Roush Working on Propane-Fueled Mustang Pull Cars
Roush is working on a couple of Mustang drag cars that would stop the beating of Hank Hill's heart.
One of them, a 2005 Roush Stage 3 Mustang to be drivenby drag racer Donnie Bowles,will be unveiled this week at SEMA. The other, a 2010 Roush Stage 3,will beraced by SusanRoush-McClenaghan (Jack Roush's daughter) andisslated for a February 2010 debut. Both are fueled by liquid propane.
This is a green play, of course, but Roush has the resources to do it, as the company already sells propane conversion kits for Ford F-Series trucks and Econoline vans.
Each of these Mustang drag cars has a normally aspirated version of the 5.4-liter V8 from the Ford GT. Compression is higher at 12.5:1, though, and the fuel system is modified to cope with propane. The V8 also gets CNC-ported cylinder headswith different camshafts and valves. Also, these Mustangs will use a wet-sump oiling system, so it's a loose connection to the GT at best. Claimed horsepower is “in excess of 600.”
Bowles andRoush-McClenaghan willrace thesepropane-fueled Roush Mustangs in the NMRA Modular Muscle and NMCA Open Comp classes.
