Ford Mustang Hot Tuner 2017 DNF: Streetfighter SF700S

How fast is the Streetfighter SF700S? Faster than a Ferrari 488 GTB, for one.

During last year’s Performance Car of the Year testing the twin-turbo 488, one of the quickest accelerating cars MOTOR has driven, devoured 100-200km/h in 6.3sec. Streetfighter’s supercharged ponycar dispatched it in 6.19sec.

Yes, this stonking ’Stang is as fast from 100-200km/h as a quick-ish hot hatch is from 0-100km/h.

Severe traction difficulties limited the Streetfighter’s ability off the line – on his first run Luffy left two black lines for the entire length of the drag strip and even with plenty of heat in the sticky Toyo R888s launches were done gingerly in second gear – but 0-100km/h in 4.19sec and an 11.73sec quarter mile at 211.11km/h still made it a clear straight-line champion.

On a proper drag strip on slicks there’s little doubt it would dip deep into the 10s.

Its head-tearing acceleration also suggests Streetfighter’s SF700S package is good for every single one of its claimed 525kW/760Nm. The lift of 219kW/230Nm over the standard car is largely due to the 2.9-litre supercharger sitting atop the 5.0-litre Coyote V8. A front-feed, twin-screw unit, the blower uses air-to-water intercooling and fits neatly under the factory bonnet.

The rest of the SF700S pack includes dyno tuning, Ford Racing bonnet struts, Streetfighter rear exterior badge and underbonnet serial number, ADR compliance certificate and it’s backed by a limited three-year/100,000km driveline warranty.

It’ll set you back $18,980 and can be enhanced further by Streetfighter’s full three-inch exhaust system and ceramic-coated headers ($5334), which add a further 16kW to the total. All this makes Streetfighter boss David Roscio’s claim that this is the company’s mildest blown offering even more remarkable.

“It’s our entry-level package,” he explained. “It’s a genuine 700hp, so it does do what we say it does, then when you go to 750hp (559kW) it’s a similar upgrade but more power underfoot ... then we go to our full vehicle builds, they’re full built engines, no ADR-compliance, no warranties.”

Roscio says that despite the urge on tap the SF700S is essentially a pussycat:

“It’s got all that grunt but it’s under-pedal grunt, so if you want it it’s there but if you don’t you just drive it around like normal – we were doing 9.4L/100km on the way from Adelaide.”

Yep, Roscio and the Streetfighter team drove both cars the 800km from Adelaide to Winton, though sadly the supercharged car would not leave under its own steam.

It was on Luffy’s first flying lap that the telltale plume of smoke emerged from the rear of the SF700S. According to Roscio, a split in the oil cooler let oil pressure drop to zero and regardless of how much power they’re making, engines don’t like running with no oil.

It was a huge blow, particularly to the car’s proud owner who was present on the day, and unfortunately occurred both before a lap time could be recorded (hence the DNF) and before yours truly could drive it, but it’s safe to say the event’s most powerful car on street-legal track tyres would have made a significant impression on the stopwatch and this author.

The Streetfighter SF700S might be the company’s entry-level supercharged offering, but in this company it served as an example of just how far tuners are capable of pushing the Mustang platform while still feeling comfortable enough to offer ADR-compliance and a driveline warranty.

Not everyone is going to want a car capable of wheelspin at 160km/h on cold rubber, but for those who like to give Prancing Horses a scare, this could be the Pony package for you

WARREN LUFF SAYS:

“Unfortunately it succumbed to some sort of mechanical issue, but this car is highly impressive. Down the quarter mile it was certainly the fastest car here. Huge amounts of horsepower, so it’s a car you’ve got to give respect to out on the track. Through all the tight stuff at Winton I had to use third gear just to try and get drive. It’s a fantastic engine and you can see a lot of work has been done to the suspension, etc.”

STREETFIGHTER MUSTANG SF700S SPECS

Power: 525kW
Torque: 760Nm

0-100km/h: 4.19 seconds
0-400m: 11.73 seconds
80-120km/h: 1.9 seconds
100-0km/h: 34.46 metres
Lap Time: N/A
Apex km/h: N/A
Lap V-max: N/A
400m V-max: 211.11km/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: 20 x 10.0-inch (f); 20 x 11.0-inch (r)
Tyres: 285/35 ZR20 (f); 285/30 ZR20 (r); Toyo R888

PARTS AND PRICES

SF700S Package: $18,980
Full Exhaust: $5334
Wheels: $5940
Tyres: $2400
Total Mods Cost: $41,920
Vehicle Cost: $59,990
Total Cost: $101,910