Carl And Donald Weinreich, '91 Mustang LX
Not only do the mechanics and ingenuity of a Mustang catch our eye, but the story behind it as well. Take Carl and Donald Weinreich's '91 Mustang LX coupe. Carl built the Stang for his son, who joined the Army and took a one-year, government-paid vacation to Iraq. While there, Carl finished off the project he and Donald started, resulting in this over-the-top street car. Underhood lies a 306 small-block Ford topped with a Holley 750 carburetor and a NOS Big Shot nitrous plate system worth an extra 250 hp.
It isn't only about the horsepower though, as this is about as clean of a Mustang you will find. The interior of the Fox-body is immaculate, and the paint, well, that's just a different story. A custom formula of 20 different blends of orange, combined with a ghosting of the UPR logo on the doors, sets this car apart. That's why it made it into the Dec. '08 issue and the Top 10.
Steve Matusek, '07 Shelby GT500
When you build not only a hot-looking NHRA/Street-legal shootout Mustang, that is also the fastest modular car in the world, it's not hard to get noticed. That's what Steve Matusek did with a 5.4L mod motor that can run 6.40s at upwards of 215 mph.
Matusek, who debuted the car late last year and appeared in the Feb. '08 issue, really stepped things up for 2008. His tube-chassied GT500 relies on the aforementioned 5.4 mod monster (with some really high-tech pieces on it, we might add) and a pair of 76mm Precision turbos to create in the neighborhood of 2,000 hp.
In the trans tunnel lies a Liberty five-speed gearbox instead of the normally accepted automatic. Throw in some really cool graphics on the car's body, as well as a No. 1 qualifying effort in Competition Eliminator at the recent '08 U.S. Nationals, and there's no question why the car is number four on our list.
Kenny Bingham, '85 Mustang
There is no denying the obscene amount of craziness associated with our April '08 cover car. It can be summed up in five simple and short phrases: 605ci big-block Ford; 1,300 hp; nitrous oxide assisted; quiet and streetable muffled exhaust system; 8.35 at 167. 'Nuff said.
Kenny Bingham's wild coupe started out life as a four-eyed car. It's transformation over to the smoother '87-'93 bodywork was only one small part of the entire equation. A nitrous-assisted fat block was stuffed in the engine bay, the attending safety equipment and mechanical changes required when going low 8s were installed, and one loud paint scheme finished things off. While all of that is cool in its own right, the fact that this car has gone 8.30s with the inclusion of a cross-pipe system and mufflers that, according to Associate Editor Steve Baur who took photos of the Mustang, "have this car running quieter than your average Terminator Cobra," makes it a shoe-in for the Top 10.
Roush Performance, '08 Roush 427R Mustang
Since the advent of the S197 platform, we've had a slew of Roush-prepped Mustangs to test, evaluate, and play with. By far, the Roush 427R that we put on the cover of the May '08 issue was the most fun. While the specifics of the car and its attending dragstrip numbers were impressive, it was the comments, looks, and in some cases, telephone numbers from cute females that surprised us most.
Roush dropped the 427R off packing a 435hp punch out of the Roushcharger-blown Three-Valve. The difference with this car as opposed to the others we have had in the past from Roush was the 5R55S five-speed automatic transmission. Yes, we said automatic. By no means was the car a dog, as it ripped off a pair of 12.20s at the track. The looks we got in the car were something else. No matter who was driving it or where we went, the car gathered more looks and comments than any other press car (or truck) we have received. We would like to think it was because we handsome staffers were behind the wheel, but realistically speaking, it was more the car's looks and the bold 427R badging and graphics that earned us the street cred and earned the 427R sixth place on our Top 10.