04-24-06: Story by Sam Haymart
Our test-drive in an early Roush Stage 3 Mustang development car back in January resulted in us looking at re-finance options for our house and months of emails to Roush Performance asking when production starts. It's that kind of car.
While many specialty known builders rolled their horsepower added performance Mustangs out to the public just months after the 2005 Mustang hit showrooms, Roush spent an extra year testing and proving their top performance car, the Stage 3 supercharged Mustang.
While the Roush Stage 1 and Stage 2 Mustangs start with core components such as the trademark Roush body package, custom interior leather, upgraded suspension, wheels, tires and exhaust system, the top level Stage 3 Mustang adds the ROUSHcharger system raising horsepower to 415 with 385 lb-ft of torque.
The Stage 3, 4.6L, 3-valve V8 is fitted with the inter-cooled ROUSHcharger system at the Roush Performance facilities in Livonia, MI. With a custom ROUSH-calibrated ECM and several other performance modifications, this upgrade is a vast improvement over the factory stock 300 horsepower engine. The extra year engineers spent testing and refining the ROUSHcharger system is evident when you drive the car. The engine is as refined in feel as anything from BMW, but has the power and soul of a NASCAR Ford V8 when prodded.
In keeping with Roush tradition the new Roush Stage 3 tests at more than 1G rating on the skid-pad. The suspension upgrades include new front struts and rear shocks with proprietary Roush tuning, lower front and rear springs, thicker front and rear sway bars and beefier jounce bumpers. The front brakes are a massive set of 14-inch two-piece Roush/Stop-Tech rotors with four-piston calipers. While the 1G skid-pad rating might suggest a stiff rough riding suspension, think again. That extra year of testing and tuning has resulted in a car that rides and drives with no more noise, vibration, and harshness than the stock Mustang GT that Roush started with.
 
This likely makes the new Stage 3 the quickest, best-handling, and most stylish Mustang that Roush Performance has built to date. Jack Roush succinctly said, "This is the best Mustang we have ever built." Having driven this car, and several 2001-2004 Roush Mustangs we have to concur with Jack. The new Roush Mustangs benefits from the much more refined S-197 chassis, quality interior and exterior fit and fresh styling to start with. Their modifications only raise the bar.
On the exterior, Roush adds a seven-piece body package comprised of a front fascia with fog lamps, front chin spoiler, hood scoop, rocker panels, rear fascia valance and rear wing installed by ROUSH factory technicians. Because Roush is in the business of manufacturing similar parts for Big-3 production cars, the package for the Mustang is constructed from OEM-type materials. The Stage 3 also wears a newly designed set of 18-inch forged rims with high-performance tires from BFGoodrich.
The interior of the Stage 3 comes alive with two-tone sport leather seat covers, embroidered floor mats, billet aluminum pedals including a new dead pedal, and the Stage 3 electro-luminescent white face gauge cluster with ROUSH logo.
Roush badging throughout and a serialized engine bay plaque indicating the car was hand-built in the Livonia, Mich., facility. This is important to note, because only Roush can build a genuine Roush Stage 3. Most all the parts to build a Stage 3 are available to dealers and the public, but only cars built by Roush will have the Stage 3 serial number and specific badges. When shopping for one of these, make sure it is not a "Dealership Special" by spotting the Roush Stage 3 exterior badging, serial number sticker, and plaque.
"This new Roush Stage 3 Mustang will literally turn heads twice," claimed Joe Thompson, general manager of ROUSH Performance Products. "The first time is when they see how much better this car looks, and the second comes as you put your foot in it, kick in the ROUSHcharger, and blow by just about anything on the road."
Optional Roush components to further customize the car include racing stripes, interior dash trim kits, locking lug nuts, trunk tool kit, short throw shifter, billet aluminum shift knob, and more. The new Roush Stage 3 Mustang is available in both coupe and convertible versions. Best of all, as with all ROUSH cars, the industry-leading 3 year/36,000 mile warranty remains intact and covers all components.
The Stage 3 package starts at $20,225 and additional Roush options can put you closer to a $23,000 add to the stock Mustang GT MSRP. Added to a $30,000 Mustang GT that will place the average cost of a Roush Stage 3 coupe at around $53,000 and a convertible at $56,000. It sounds like a lot of money, but when you look at what is available at the same price and performance benchmarks from other OEM manufacturers, it is right in the middle of the pack.
It takes a special kind of Mustang enthusiast to spend 50k + on a Mustang. But this one delivers more value, performance and quality for the money than any Roush Mustang that has come before it.
More information at: www.RoushPerformance.com
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