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Phil originally came out with his 2014 5.0 Mustang GT to watch his friend, Brian, do the test, but we invited him to make a quick test hit as well.
The “Coyote” 5.0-liter V8 in this Mustang GT sports an aluminum block and was designed to compete against the 392 cubic inch (6.4-liter) Hemi engines found in the Dodge Charger and Challenger. This engine boasts an 11.0:1 compression, which is impressive for an engine that size. If it’s designed to compete against new-schooled engines twice Project E46 M3’s engine size, we may have bit off a little more than we chew with this one. In fact, this very car dyno-tested a whopping 375 WHP—in bone stock form, which was before it got its Ford Racing software and GT500 mufflers. Ford reports a gain of 16 WHP gain peak-to-peak for the software alone.
Project M3 is going to be flexing its muscles as much as it can with 3.2-liters of displacement and 11.5:1 compression ratio. It’s going up against a couple of V8 animals that sound downright thirsty for six-cylinder blood.
If you’ve been following our project you’ll know that the only thing under the hood that gives away any hint of an upgrade is the CSL-style fiberglass airbox from Castro Motorsports, which netted the car an 8 WHP gain peak-vs-peak. Thanks to this airbox, the typical roar of a modified M3 found in the E30, E36, and E92 is back.
With the power levels of today, of course the majority of the launch is going to depend a lot on grip. While all three cars are sporting street tires, they’re all different yet similarly sized in the rear. The red M3’s lightweight APEX wheels are wrapped with Bridgestone Potenza S-04s sized 275/35-18 (and in all four corners!).
