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When someone asks if you want another Bronco Raptor, you say “YES!!” I’m pretty sure I remember a line simpler to that from a movie somewhere, but it still holds true. Anytime I’m given the chance to drive a BRaptor, even though I own the first one ever sold, you can bet I’m going to take it. So when Ford offered to send us one spec’d out way differently than mine, I jumped at the opportunity.

This particular truck was bathed in Ford’s Iconic Silver paint, which I believe is one of the best paint codes available from The Blue Oval. On top of that, this one is loaded up with the Lux Package and the optional leather seats. One other stand out difference between this silver BRaptor and my personal unit is one I can never get used to in a Bronco: carpet. That particular floor covering seems antithetical to the intended use of a Bronco, but I do have to say that the black carpet in this particular truck does look good. However, if you want to see why I would always select the vinyl...

There are few things we find more interesting than tearing down a new engine and seeing what changes/upgrades the engineers have made. So when we heard Livernois Motorsports had a pile of F-150 Gen IV Coyote V8s they were disassembling and rebuilding, it was an obvious choice to stop by and check everything out. We left educated and excited to see what’s to come.

Our visit took place in August of 2023, and the Gen IV Coyote had yet to hit the streets in the S650 Mustang. However, a much different version of the Gen IV found its way under the hood of the updated 2023 F-150. The major changes from the very popular Gen III Coyote include; a belt-drive variable vane oil pump, cylinder deactivation, and significantly revised cylinder heads. In the following video we take you along as we explore these changes across several engines in various states of assembly/disassembly. Check it out:

This is the day we’ve been waiting for. True custom tuning is now available for the Bronco Raptor, as well as the rest of the Bronco line-up. 5 Star Tuning and HP-Tuners have collaborated to science out a way to break a factory Ford ECU’s encryption, then upload a custom tune file to it. Once the encryption is broken, the BRaptor can be tuned with an HP-Tuners RTD or MPVI just like Fords of years past. You know once we heard about this performance break-through we would have to get in on the action, so that’s exactly what we did.

We loaded up the SVTP Bronco Raptor and headed out the 5 Star Tuning in Florence, SC so Josh, Brandon, and the rest of the 5 Star Crew could work their magic. The first step was to use a Ford FDRS (Ford Diagnostic & Repair System) equipped laptop to draw the factory calibration from the ECU. While Brandon was doing that, Josh was busy “decrypting” a brand new Ford ECU. From there, Brandon swapped the computers and loaded our factory BRaptor calibration...

It is an undisputed fact that since its initial release, the Maverick pickup has been a resounding sales success for Ford Motor Company. I know these little trucks are not held in the highest regard in some circles on SVTP, but we feel that the Maverick definitely has a place in the current Ford lineup. We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the tippy-top Maverick model, The Tremor.

The Maverick Tremor follow the family formula Ford has laid out for the Tremor Nameplate across their various trucks; placing it as the most capable off-road package available on a given truck, without stepping up to a specialty Raptor model. In the case of the Mav, this meant adding a small suspension lift (around 1-inch of additional height), more aggressive 30-inch tall Falken Wildpeak tires, and raiding the Bronco Sport Badlands parts-bin for some drivetrain upgrades. Specifically, the Tremor gets a rear locker and the ability to lock the AWD system into 4WD (though without a...

SVTP members have heard it many times over; the Woodward Dream Cruise, especially the Mustang Alley section, is one of our favorite events to visit every year. The Motor City area is filled every kind of unique American automobile you can image, and it seems like they all come out to cruise Woodward Ave in late summer. In addition to that, Ford puts together a few impressive displays along the route.

We’ve been attending WDC for the past several years, and the 2023 version was perfect. Great builds, awesome products, good friends, and delicious eats/drinks abounded. Easily one of the highlights of the trip was getting a personal tour of the Ford Performance Racing Parts display from SVT Engineering Alumni Nick Terzes (currently Ford Performance Parts Product Planning & Strategy Manager). Check it out:


Walking the Mustang Alley display is always a blast, and you get to see some very special cars along the stroll. We have plenty...

When it comes to elevating daily comfort and enjoyment in a vehicle, it’s often the little things that make the biggest difference. We have had very few complaints with our Bronco Raptor, but there are a couple minor ones to be found in the interior. Luckily, we were able to fix three of them for less than $100 in parts from Amazon. This video covers the installs:

The first beef, and biggest, is the fact that Ford installs goat-fur like carpet on the backs of the rear seats. Our Bronco Raptor was ordered with vinyl seats and a vinyl floor. We didn’t want any carpet to have to clean, but there it was. However, in less than 5 minutes we installed a set of Mabett Rear Seat-Back Protectors and effectively covered the rear seat carpet. The rubber protective mats are attached to the factory carpet with simple hook & loop (Velcro) strips, and can be easily removed if needed. They fit perfectly, work as designed, and are well worth the price...

One of my absolute favorite events to attend every year is the Woodward Dream Cruise (more on that next week) in Detroit, MI. Few places contain more awesome and unique cars of all types than the Motor City, and they all come out for Woodward. To cap off Cruise Week, the Mustang Owner’s Club of Southeast Michigan (“MOCSEM”) put on their annual Mustang Memories car show held at the Ford World Headquarters building.

The Mustang Memories show was extra special this year because it was also a celebration of SVT’s 30th Anniversary. For that occasion, Ford (and several private owners) brought some truly unique vehicles. In attendance was the rarely seen SVE/SVT 5.0 Ranger, the 5.4L Lightning V8 Powered SVT Ranger Thunderbolt, the last Contour SVT ever built, and every flavor of 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra Ford offered. Check out this video with Ford Performance’s Mark Wilson were we cover some of the special rides on display:


Those...

That headline also works as a rallying cry for the F-Series truck team, which for more than 75 years has delivered a lineup of tough, smart and capable trucks – the last 46 as the best-selling truck lineup in America.

The latest Ford better idea: the new 2024 Ford F-150® truck. Available starting early 2024, the truck is designed toenhance the ability to tackle challenges with purposeful features and tech. It has Built Ford Tough® capability to handle tough pursuits. And it has a tough new design, including the new available Pro Access Tailgate for even more access and utility.

With increased production of PowerBoost™ Hybrid for 2024, trims from XL through Platinum Plus, and off-road ready models like Tremor, Raptor and Raptor R, there’s an F-150 for almost every use case.

All that choice is important because F-150 is a leader in all the following industries: construction, government, utility services, agriculture, landscaping, road and highway maintenance, emergency vehicles...

We all know that the easiest way to crank up the fun-factor of your ride is to throw a little boost at it. In the case of the Coyote platform, adding a few PSI to the mix can spice things up to the tune of a several hundred additional horsepower. If you happen to own one of the 1st or 2nd Generation Coyote V8s, the crew at VMP Performance has been working on a budget friendly way to strap a 2650 TVS blower to your 5.0.

It’s no secret that Predator powered GT500 owner enjoy making major modifications to their factory boosted 5.2L power plants. Many times those modifications include a blower upgrade, which means a lot of OEM Predator superchargers tend to find their way onto the secondary market. That’s were VMP saw an opportunity, and worked to put together the products and process necessary to install a Predator supercharger on a 1st or 2nd Gen Coyote. This is one of those rare circumstances where availability, price point, and relative ease of installation combine to create a...

It's been nearly a year since we starting using our TopLift Pro to save time, and my back, when pulling the rear section of roof off our Bronco Raptor. It has performed flawlessly in that time and has added to the Bronco ownership experience. However, a few months back I picked up an add-on accessory for the TopLift that makes it even easier to use.

TopLift has an electrification kit (called the Power-Pro) that allows you to bolt on a linear actuator to your existing TopLift, which will then handle all the lifting for you. While the standard TopLift takes a 2-3 man job and makes it a 1 man job, the Power-Pro Motorized Attachment makes it a one finger job. Check it out:

I really like that you have the option to add a small 12v battery to the included battery tray and make the lift cord free if you prefer...

It not everyday that you just stumble upon a piece of history, but that's exactly what happened during a recent visit to Livernois Motorsports in Dearborn, MI. Amongst all the various Domestic performance machines in the show we spotted a pristine Toreador Red Contour SVT. It had the familiar Medium Prairie Tan interior, and still wore its original window sticker. We soon learned that this 2000 model year example was the very last CSVT to roll off the Kansas City Assembly lines.

As the story goes, several of the SVT team members have been moving this car around from location to location for over two decades. While it is not a perfect car by any means, they have managed to keep its mileage in the ~150 range. It was on the rack at Livernois getting a new fuel pump installed and fluids changed in preparation for a public show at the SVT 30th Anniversary gathering during the Mustang Memories show at Ford HQ. This video tell the story...

There’re few things we love more than being on the cutting edge of performance innovation and development. There’s something about this (paraphrased) series of lines from Jeremy Irons’ character in the film Margin Call that resonates with us …. “There’s three ways to make a living in this business; be first, be smarter, or cheat… and it sure is a hell of a lot easier to just be first.” That’s the basic philosophy that has lead our in our Bronco Raptor build, and today we’re carrying it forward in the realm of the F-150 Raptor R.

The R-R is Ford Performance’s latest creation, which combines the body and running gear of a Raptor 37 with the power plant of an S550 GT500 Mustang. The addition of the 5.2L Supercharged V8 engine has propelled the Raptor R to the top of the list of Ford’s I’d love to own. However, that’s a story for another day in the very near future. Today we have an R strapped to 5 Star Tuning’s dyno for some cutting edge testing of VMP Performance Predator...

Last week we stopped by the Charlotte Motor Speedway to witness the debut of the upcoming Mustang Dark Horse R. A few minutes after 7:00pm on a Thursday evening the Ford Performance brass rolled out the red carpet for the latest factory built race car to enter the FPRP catalog. But the DH-R announcement was accompanied by some very interesting news. That being, IMSA has partnered with Ford to establish a spec-racing series designed especially for purchasers of the Dark Horse R.

As long time fans of World Challenge and GT3 racing, we are definitely looking forward to traveling to a few IMSA Mustang Challenge races in the near future. We’ve been talking to a handful of well known Mustang-fielding race teams over the weekend, and it looks like we may see some familiar faces on the starting grid behind the wheel of the Dark Horse R. That’s something certainly worth looking forward to.

If you’re interest in the full specs of the DH-R, you can find them by...

Ford Performance today reveals the all-new Mustang Dark Horse™ R, offering the most demanding track enthusiasts a turn-key race car ready to compete in the all-new Mustang Challenge spec racing series, just for Mustang Dark Horse R and sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).

"Mustang Dark Horse R bridges the gap between Dark Horse and Mustang GT3 and GT4," stated Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Production-based Mustang vehicles have raced from the very beginning, all the way back to winning the 1964 Tour de France, even. Dark Horse R offers our passionate customers not just an attainable, factory-built race car, but also a racing series to compete with other Mustang enthusiasts.”

Mustang Dark Horse R Ready for the Track

With the Ford Mustang Dark Horse joining the herd as the most track-capable 5.0-liter V8 street-legal Mustang ever, Dark Horse R is a natural extension of the capabilities found in every Dark Horse...

In the late 1970s, Ford introduced the Free Wheeling package on F-100, F-150, Bronco, Econoline van, and more. The limited-run trim level featured graphics with red, orange and yellow gradients. The colorful option packs also added painted steel wheels, and black finishes on the grilles, mirrors, and bumpers. Inside the vehicle featured red and orange pinstriping on the dash and seat stitching.

“Bronco customers appreciate its heritage,” said Jason Hyde, Bronco Sport Marketing Manager. “After such a great response to the reimagined Bronco Sport Free Wheeling project vehicle in 2021, we decided to bring this special edition that ties Bronco Sport to its fun loving roots.”

The red, orange, and yellow sunset-inspired stripes became a focal point of the 1970s package.

“The Ford Free Wheeling package was developed to appeal to younger customers,” said Ted Ryan, Archives and Heritage Brand Manager for Ford. “The Free Wheeling Broncos were as popular as they were distinctive.”

Like...

During the recent NMRA event in Norwalk, OH we ran into a new offering for the Ford Performance enthusiast community. A pre-production Ranger Raptor was on premises, having been driven down by a Ford employee. We had the opportunity to give it a fairly close inspection, and I have to say I like what I saw.

Size wise, it is very similar to a PN-96 F-150. The Raptor’ization of the Ranger is much more conservative than what was bestowed on the Bronco Raptor. It is slimmer and wears smaller 33-inch tires. I believe this will ultimately make it more practical as a truck, while still maintaining impressive off-road capabilities. The rear suspension design appears to be a modified version of that found in some foreign market Ford trucks/SUVs, and it looks to be stoutly built.

The 3.0L EcoBoost V6 has been great in our Bronco Raptor, and puts in serious work in the Explorer ST. I suspect it will perform well in the Ranger Raptor. The interior is also greatly improved over that of the...

Firsts are important. Your first car, the first man on the moon, the first man to break the sound barrier; you know them all by heart. But do you know where the first Fox-Body built now lives? We happened to stumble across that particular piece of history while strolling through the Mustang Alley section of National Parts Depot’s massive collection of 200+ cars.

This particular car is 2nd level cool. Taken on its own, it is completely unassuming. On the surface it appears to be just a well preserved example of an early Fox Mustang with several now-rare options. However, when you dive into the history the story gets a little deeper. This video covers the particulars:


The options and early build features of this car is what really makes it stand out to me. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a Fox Mustang with a color matched vinyl roof fitted with a sun-roof. The turbo-4 under the hood was an interesting engine option for the...

It may not be what she was designed for, but the Bronco Raptor is shaping up to be quite the surprise on the strip. A few weeks back, with the help of a Whipple tune and intercooler combo, we set what we believed to be the current ¼ mile record with our BRaptor. A cool night in Darlington, SC yielded a best run of 13.93 @ 98.06 MPH. However, we always felt there was at least another tenth on the table if the launch could be better dialed-in.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we installed a set of SPD downpipes with the optional GESI cats on our rig at 5 Star Tuning in Florence, SC. That...

The idea for the SVT 30th Anniversary Reunion Car Show was conceived during a conversation with the NMRA staff at PRI 2022. After several months of preparation and promotion, the event took place at NMRA’s Norwalk, OH race just a few days ago. For a first time event, the results were impressive.

We had quite a few very nice SVT vehicles in the show field, including one of every color 1993 SVT Cobra Mustang produced. Several clean Terminators and nicely modded SN-95 Cobras were represented, as were both generations of SVT Lightning.

Beyond seeing some very nice cars, including those in the main car show field and in the pits, it was great meeting SVT owners and talking about their cars. If you get a chance, you really should try to make it out to one of these shows. Until then, check out the pics and vids we shot at SVT 30th Anniversary Reunion Car Show during NMRA Norwalk 2023:

We all know “that guy”. The one who used to have a sweet car in the garage, but now he’s had to give it up in order to live the life of a responsible family man. Deep down he still wants to build a nasty little street Mustang, but the wife says the family needs a more civilized car. But what if you could pull off something close to both? That’s the narrative I constructed in my head when I first laid eyes on what the NPD guys called the Motorsports Lincoln.

This silver Fox-body was one of many Lincoln Continentals in the National Parts Depot collection. It is one of many ultra-low mileage rigs on display, this one only showing ~500 miles. The interior still smells new. At first glance, it appears to just be super clean example of the 7th Generation Continental. However, when you start looking under the hood with the eyes of a Ford Performance enthusiast you’ll see that this one appears to have had the Ford Motorsports catalog thrown at it. Just see for yourself:

The presence of a...