MISTER MUSTANG STRIKES AGAIN

It’s been 40 years since Dick Johnson won at Bathurst and established what has become the most popular team in Supercars.

To make the anniversary, the long-term performance partner of the Queensland touring car legend has
gone all-out with a very special Ford Mustang. It’s the best that Rob Herrod could do.

The DJR 40th Anniversary Mustang is the fourth model from the Melbourne-based Blue Oval
ace, following the R-Spec, the Dick Johnson Limited Edition and the SM17, a Scott McLaughlin
limited edition.

Its headline number, apart from 40, is 578Kw. That’s around 750 horsepower from the supercharged 5-litre Ford Coyote V8. But Herrod has also done a number on the rest of the car and is committed to building 100 of his new babies.

“The whole idea of the car is the ultimate Mustang. I had to do something special for DJ’s anniversary,” Herrod tells Auto Action. “I was wondering what to do and then it came to me. DJ loves the idea and Ryan Story, his partner at Dick Johnson Racing, was even more enthusiastic. They both wanted me to get right onto it.”

It’s taken several months to put the pieces in place, from the very latest Whipple supercharger and special cooling systems from PWR, and also to lock-in the 100 cars that will be transformed at Herrod Performance in Melbourne.

“We’ve all been flat-out. I could’t have done it without everyone who has helped, from the people at Ford Performance in the USA to Ford Australia, Whipple, PWR and, of course, DJ and The Doc.”

It follows a special giveaway car that was created for Repco at last year’s Bathurst 1000.

“We couldn’t announce what we were planning because at that stage we didn’t know if we could get the cars from America,” says Herrod. “But the stars have aligned. We’ve got an allocation directly from the USA and we’ve signed off the mechanical package and the bodywork and interior.”

The 40th Mustang will take the production total at Herrod Performance to nearly 700 cars, although the 100-car run is well short of the R-Spec collaboration with Ford Australia.

Pricing is still to be finalised, but he expects it will add about $60,000 to the base price of each Mustang. Buyers will be able to choose their specification, right down to the colour and trim, before it moves into the Herrod build.

“It will have second-tier manufacturer status, which means it will be road legal in all Australian states and territories,” says Herrod.

“The reaction from the dealers has been fantastic. We have partners in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory and they are all ordering cars before they have signed the buyers.

Digging into the details, and since Herrod has always been a Ford V8 man, he talks about the HP Gen5 X supercharger. It has a 3-litre capacity and is a joint project with Whipple in the USA. It has 578 kiloWatts and 810 Newton-metres of torque.

There are 20-inch Herrod Performance alloys, with 285×30 and 305×30 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres and
black-painted calipers. There are Ford Performance springs and sway bars, with a unique calibration for the Magnaride suspension. There is a bi-modal exhaust, too.

“We worked hand-in hand with PWR to develop engine and transmission coolers, as well as our own bespoke radiator,” says Herrod.

Visually, there is a unique lower splitter, with a rear wing taken from the GT500 ’stang, as well as an Italian leather trim package for the cabin, bespoke mirror skins and a special Herrod steering wheel.

“It was all about building a lovely touring car. You can take the family on a quiet trip, or get up early and get a bit angry on your own,” Herrod says.

“You’re not shaking your teeth with the suspension or having to worry about reliability. We’ve taken the best we could find, then given it a Herrod twist and a bit of a boost.”

Herrod is now moving towards production and plans to have all 100 cars completed by the end of 2022.

“We’re going to be very busy. We can build three to four cars a week. It’s all labour intensive and done by hand.

“But by the end we’ll have taken the total number of cars through Herrod Performance over 1000. And we’re pretty proud about that.”

Check out more Road and Track content in the next issue of AUTO ACTION.