Not wanting to miss a gear, we pressed the clutch pedal to the carpet and carefully eased the handle through the gates in "granny-style fashion." The result was a 12.12 at 113.97 mph. Not bad, but not 11s.
On a good note, the Drag Pak is equipped with a highly adjustable suspension that includes a bevy of BMR rear-suspension links and Roush-spec adjustable dampers. We dove in and set the front struts in the "loose" position, thus allowing plenty of front-end rise, and we tightened the rear shocks to ease the hit at the tires. The adjustments were enough to let the big front tires rise away from Mother Earth and for the 60-foot times to improve. The trunk-mounted battery was also a big plus in the weight-transfer department.
The changes gave us 60-foot times in the 1.70 range and a best of 1.68. If there's a downside, it's that the rod ends on the control arms are noisy on the street. But this is a track car, and on track we netted a string of 12.0 runs at 114 mph. Better, but still not in the coveted 11s.
Realizing our slow-shifting ways were costing valuable e.t., we decided to go for it. On the next pass we revved the 4.6 to an even 4,000, let it fly, and powershifted with wild aggression. Amazingly, the shifter jammed through the prescribed path and we engaged all four gears, each time at 6,700 rpm, as noted by the big Drag Pak tach with adjustable shift light. Shifting so high is possible because Roush engineers raised the rev limiter to let you take advantage of all 430 ponies. The 4.10s don't hurt either, as they let the engine rev nicely to the 7,000 redline.
Before we knew it, we were in Fourth heading for the 1,320 mark, and crossing the stripe brought a smile as the Drag Pak covered the distance in 11.92 seconds at 115 mph. A couple of backup runs netted an 11.93 and a quicker 11.91, all at a weight of 3,870 pounds with driver. We consider that to be pretty fast for an emissions-legal factory Mustang that you can buy new with a warranty.
While the MM&FF staff was proud to accomplish the mission, the Drag Pak Mustang could be quicker if Roush shed some of the unnecessary content. Classically, drag-optioned cars are void of (or could be ordered without) unnecessary items and/or expensive options that don't drastically enhance performance. This isn't the case with the Roush Drag Pak.
Our black test car had the...
Our black test car had the optional leather seats. They were quite comfortable, but we wonder if lightweight drag-racing seats wouldn't be better for reduced weight.
The base sticker price on a Drag Pak Mustang is roughly $58,720. That gets you a 430hp, 11-second Mustang that can be driven to and from the track with no hassle. While it's not cheap, you'd spend a pretty penny adding all the mods to a Mustang GT, and most would also have to pay for labor and tuning. Plus, the mods could void your factory warranty. So, for under $60,000 you get quite a lot of mods in a scienced-out package.
Nevertheless, our fully optioned Drag Pak tester rocked the wallet with a sticker price of $83,581! Expensive, you bet, but hey, don't shoot the messenger. This included $8,300 worth of carbon-fiber hood and fenders, and a $5,000 shifter fork/SFI-approved bellhousing option, amongst other things. We'll admit the carbon hood and fenders make a neat option, but it's one we can live without. We can also live without the four-point structure bar, which, like the carbon, is not street legal (as stated by Roush). We'd also delete the massive 14-inch front brakes, yank the front sway bar, and install skinny front tires. And you can keep the A/C, radio, sound deadening and the back seat, too. Our decontented Drag Pak would be capable of 11.60s or better, and that would put it solidly ahead of a stock Shelby GT500.
Overall, we're really enjoying the Drag Pak Mustang. It drew a crowd wherever we went, and the 430-horse 4.6 proves to be ultra-torquey right in the meat of the curve, where we like it. This car is an absolute blast, whether we're on the street or at the track. And while we'd love to write more, we have to split because the track opens in two hours.
 Although the retro shifter...  Although the retro shifter looks cool, it doesn't shift smoothly. The clutch was stiffer than a stock GT and the Shelby. The good news is that it never slipped, even after repeated dragstrip runs. |  This black bandit also had...  This black bandit also had the optional four-point rollbar with adjustable seatback brace. This is a neat idea, but the bar is not NHRA-legal (due to lack of a side bar). We found it prevented the rear seats from being flipped up, which increased the noise in the cockpit. |  We did like the big tach with...  We did like the big tach with adjustable shift light and the brake-pressure gauge, which helps you stage consistently. We set the light to come on at 6,500 so we could nail shifts at 6,700. |
 |  The Monster 14-inch front...  The Monster 14-inch front brake upgrade is awesome on the street, but it should be deleted for reduced weight and to allow skinny front tires to be mounted at the strip. |  Standard are white-faced electro-luminescent...  Standard are white-faced electro-luminescent gauges. |