[AMChrisRose]

We recently took possession of our 2011 Mustang GT 5.0L Automatic. There may or may not have been excited giggling as we poured out of our offices to catch a glimpse, but we’re not at liberty to say! Our first impression: this car begs to be pushed to its limits. Small styling changes in the interior are completely overshadowed by the massively impressive upgrade under the hood.

Most of us remember the original 5.0L 302. When Ford released it, it was under-designed and under-powered, and there weren’t any real aftermarket performance parts available at first release. Thankfully, that won’t be the case this time around. The biggest names in aftermarket Mustang parts are developing sweet performance upgrades, and we’re working right alongside them. Our vendors are working with us exclusively to test parts, as well as research fitment and performance. We’re going to be building our GT the same way any enthusiast does—right here, in our garage. Along the way, we’ll be showing you more coverage of our mod strategy and giving you examples of real world numbers, both on the dyno and on the asphalt.

Needless to say, we can’t let a car sit for long. Within hours of delivery of our 2011, we were all thinking of one thing – Maple Grove Raceway. We broke it in as quickly as possible (the hardest 2 days ever!), and high-tailed it to the track this past Friday afternoon for some baseline testing. We were pleased with the times, considering we ran it at the track in its bone-stock condition. Our team laid down some impressive numbers out of the GT, with consistent times of 13.034 at 109mph and 13.022 at 110mph. Check out the awesome video below to see the team flying down the track!

YouTube - AmericanMuscle Test Runs Stock 2011 Ford Mustang GT

YouTube - AmericanMuscle Test Runs Stock 2011 Ford Mustang GT

Like what you see? So do we! The 2011 GT is impressive even without any modifications. We’re not sufficiently impressed to leave it stock for long, though. We’re working in conjunction with several of our vendors and using our 2011 for research, development, and testing fitment for a lot of exciting parts. While we’re at it, we’re also working on calibrations for the 2011 with our in-house dyno.

We’ve got plans for gears, exhaust products, suspension components, wheels and tires, a cold air induction system, and Bama Custom Tuning. That’s all before this beast heads back to the ¼ mile! Those aren’t the only tricks we have up our sleeves, though. Make sure you subscribe to our youtube channel and keep an eye on the blog so you’ll be the first to know when we announce the next big thing for the 2011!

We want to know what you want to see us do next! Comment below and tell us your ideas for our 2011 Mustang GT project. The most popular ideas could make it to future videos and other press coverage! Give us your predictions for the track and tell us what you’d like to see in the next video. Install footage? More track coverage and interviews? Let us know what you think.

[v606er]

Sweet!