The Mustang FR500 is Ford Racing Technology’s expression of the “ultimate” Mustang.

This car was built for SEMA 1999 to showcase and gauge public interest for upcoming Ford Racing parts. The FR500 itself was a unique build as it stretched the factory wheelbase as can be seen in the photo above. The engine was a especially interesting as it used the existing 4.6L Modular as a base, while being punched out to 5.0L of displacement. The cylinder heads were special castings with flow numbers that approached those of the famed 2000 Cobra R, specially matched camshafts and a magnesium intake manifold moved power production high in the RPM range. These parts, were available to purchase through the Ford Racing Performance Parts Catalog and have been used to develop significant naturally aspirated power nearing 8,000 RPM by performance enthusiasts.

Even the exhaust was a marvel, it featured mufflers taken from Ford’s overseas Jaguar parts bin that, reduced sound significantly at idle and cruise, but under WOT conditions bypassed all baffling material to deliver a nearly un-muffled exhaust note. Combined with a second downstream X-shaped crossover this exhaust sounded fantastic, slightly offsetting the $1200 CDN price tag and endearing it to car enthusiasts.

12 years after this prototype was produced, it’s easy to see the direction Ford was experimenting with when compared the current production 5.0L Coyote engine and it’s power delivery numbers.

In total there were 2 FR500 Mustangs produced, while the parts they showcased can still be found today.

Spec Card

• Original Price: $54,000 (build cost)
• Engine: 5.0L 32 Valve Modular V8, Aluminum Block and Heads, 415 HP @ 6800 RPM & 365 TQ @ 4200 RPM
• Transmission: Tremec T56 6-speed Manual
• Weight: unknown
• Performance 0-60 MPH: 4.5 seconds
• Performance 1/4 Mile: 13.0 @ 110 MPH
• Top Speed: 281.6 km/h (175.0 MPH)