‘Compliance Pack’: Not the sexiest name for a modified car, is it. I mean, what happened to ‘Thrust-o-Tron’ or ‘Helldeath 2000’?

Yet, the Herrod Performance entrant is hardly what you’d call a shrinking violet in any other way and, besides, the name alludes to the fact that, as the work of a fully-fledged secondary manufacturer, the Herrod car is 100 per cent legal.

Provided, of course, you only ever give it the berries somewhere like Winton, of course, because hold it flat from rest on the Queen’s Highway, and it’ll cease to be legal about 4.6 seconds later. Stay into it and you’ll have covered 400m in 12.4, which is a top-four result in both those disciplines.

The conversion includes an intercooler that gets sandwiched between the intake manifold and the blower and there’s a cat-back exhaust and a Ford Motorsport tune of the ECU. Without a dyno on site, we’re inclined to take Rob Herrod’s word for it when he says the output is 450kW at the wheels.

Boost is locked in at a maximum of 6psi, but the pressure is indexed for each gear in the six-speed auto, ensuring that no components are stretched beyond their comfort zone as engine speeds crank up.

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Because the car in this form is 100 per cent complied, there’s not the same scope for messing about with those items. That’s for the aftermarket and personal taste to sort out, says Herrod.

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The idea is to reduce deflection of the shaft when all those ponies hit home, but it means that there’s a slightly gravelly feel invading the cabin on full-bore launches. But again, it’s not a criticism, it’s an observation and it’s all because tuners like Rob Herrod know what a hiding any car in Hot Tuner can be expected to face.

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And while the engine has the real big horses stacked up high, it’s still porky enough down low to feel fast from any revs. It’s just that when you do release the hounds, not much is gonna stay with it. Or anywhere near it.

Beyond that, however, the Herrod car is remarkable for just how close to a stocker it sounds and feels. And when you consider what it’s capable of, that’s a big part of its attraction, especially to the type of geezer who can buy and immediately modify a brand new Mustang GT.

WARREN LUFF SAYS:

“For as long as we’ve been doing Hot Tuner, Herrod Performance has been coming along with some great cars like this Mustang.

“It’s not always about trying to chase a lap time or a number down the strip, Herrod brings what customers drive on the road.

“This car does everything right while still being an everyday road car. It’s not about being a track-day special.

“Full credit to Herrod as they’ve produced another great vehicle.”

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HERROD PERFORMANCE MUSTANG COMPLIANCE PACK SPECS

Power: 507kW Torque: 730Nm

0-100km/h: 4.59 seconds 0-400m: 12.40 seconds 80-120km/h: 2.2 seconds 100-0km/h: 39.0 metres Lap Time: 1:35.0sec Apex km/h: 81.79km/h Lap V-max: 205.32km/h 400m V-max: 198.58km/h

Engine: 4951cc V8, DOHC, 32v, supercharger Gearbox: 6-speed automatic Suspension: struts; anti-roll bar (f); multi-links, coil springs, anti-roll bar (r) Brakes: 380mm ventilated discs, 6-piston calipers (f); 330mm ventilated discs, single-piston calipers (r) Wheels: 19 x 9.0-inch (f); 19 x 9.5-inch (r) Tyres: 255/40 R19 (f); 275/40 R19 (r); Pirelli P Zero

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PARTS AND PRICES

Compliance Pack: $21,500 Optional Extras: $4000 Total Mods Cost: $25,500 Vehicle Cost: $59,990 Total Cost: $85,490