There are various methods to changing the look of your Mustang, from paint to vinyl graphics to complete vehicle wraps, but this latest method is perhaps one of the most creative we’ve ever seen. Artist Chris Dunlop, known as Pinstripe Chris, specializes in customizing cars with a Sharpie marker. That’s right, Chris actually draws graphics freehand onto cars. His latest project is the 1999 Ford Mustang you see here, which features Dunlop’s artwork on the hood, front fenders, roof and trunk. The graphics took nearly 50 hours to complete and were made permanent with a clear coat, wet sand and buff. While the look isn’t for everyone, it’s certainly unique.

You can see photos of this Sharpie-clad Ford Mustang in the gallery below, or head over to Chris’ blog to see more of his projects.

The press launch for the 2013 Shelby GT500 is taking place this week in Atlanta where journalists are getting to drive the car both on the road course at Road Atlanta and the quarter mile drag strip at Atlanta. While we probably won’t see driving impressions for the new GT500 until next week, Ford has uploaded dozens of photos from the event for our viewing pleasure. The images show both coupe and convertible Shelbys in a variety of colors taking on the beautiful 12-turn track as well as making passes on the drag strip. Needless to say, we’re pretty jealous.

You can see all of the new photos of the 2013 Shelby GT500 in the massive gallery below.

The 2013 Shelby GT500 media drive is this week at Road Atlanta, and while the reviews are embargoed for a later date, MotorAuthority.com is giving us a preview of what we can expect. The web site today posted a video of a 2013 GT500 doing one of the things it does best: shred tires. With 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft torque on tap the Shelby easily overpowers the rear tires, making for a smokey burnout and a pair of black streaks left on the pavement.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the 2013 GT500 can’t put the power down. Thanks to revised gearing and an all new launch control system the new Shelby should be faster off the line than any other production Mustang.

You can check out the video of the 2013 Shelby GT500 burnout below, complete with three different angles of tire-shredding carnage.

[Source: MotorAuthority.com]

Motor Trend recently got their hands on a 2013 Ford Mustang V6 and have posted a full review and test results on their web site. The magazine praised the car’s performance capabilities, saying that “it’s evident the Mustang overachieves in almost every major objective test.” Their test car, equipped with the optional performance package, hit 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds and passed through the 1/4 mile in 13.9 seconds at 100 mph. “It can accelerate, turn, and stop quicker than most of the competition,” they went on to say.

Of course, Motor Trend had a few negative comments for the 2013 Mustang V6 as well. “The steering, while linear and nicely weighted, is like a talented conductor whose orchestra is always a note behind,” they noted. On their wish list for the next generation Mustang is an independent rear suspension and a reduction in weight. “We also hope Ford’s icon finally loses its solid rear axle, since an independent setup would make the Mustang a more rewarding tool when exploring those last few tenths,” they continued.

You can read Motor Trend’s full review of the 2013 Ford Mustang V6 Premium over at their web site.

Last night a one-off Mustang built by Roush Performance and Ford Racing was auctioned off at the SAE Foundation’s 25th anniversary celebration at Ford Field in Detroit, MI. The final bid for the car was $100,000, with the proceeds being donated to benefit the SAE Foundation’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs. The price tag is a relative bargain compared to other custom Mustangs that have recently been offered up for charity like the Blue Angels Mustang that sold for $400,000 at EAA AirVenure or the one-off School Bus Yellow 2012 Mustang Boss 302 that raised $300,000 for the Henry Ford Hospital last year.

“The evening was a testament to the industry-wide support for our STEM education programs,” said Matt Miller, director of the SAE Foundation and pre-professional programs.  “The support from companies like Ford, Roush and the dozens of others who are committed to improving the industry’s competitiveness will help us offer our programs to even more students in the future.”

The specially built Stage 3 Mustang features a custom silver paint job with blue and red graphics, a Roush tuned suspension, custom SVT GT500 track pack wheels, Roush custom body components and a customized Roush interior. Under the hood is an Aluminator long block from Ford Racing along with Roush’s TVS2300 supercharger system good for 625 horsepower and 540 lb-ft torque.

You can see photos of the one-off 2013 Roush Stage 3 Mustang below.

According to the NHTSA, Ford has issued a recall for several models including the 2012-2013 Mustang for a problem with the reverse gear. Affecting models with the automatic transmission only, the recall states that the vehicles “may have a transmission range sensor (TRS) that was calibrated out of specification for reverse gear. The result is that the transmission may not go into reverse or the backup lights may not illuminate. Ford says that they will be notifying customers of affected vehicles, with the recall expected to begin in late June. You can see the official details of the recall below.

Summary:

Ford is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford F-150, 2012 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator and 2012-2013 Mustang vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standards NOS. 102, “transmission shifter lever sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect” and 108 “lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment.” These vehicles may have a transmission range sensor (TRS) that was calibrated out of specification for reverse gear.

Consequence:

If this condition exists, the transmission may not go into reverse or when the driver pushes the shift lever in the reverse “R” position and the vehicle’s transmission does go in reverse, the “R” may not illluminate on the dashboard of the F-150, Expedition or Navigator models and/or the backup lamp on the rear of the F-150, Expedition, Navigator or Mustang vehicles may not illuminate. These conditions increase the risk of a crash or a pedestrian being struck due to the vehicle’s not signaling it is in reverse.

Remedy:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the TRS as necessary, free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about June 25, 2012. Owners may contact Ford Motor Company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.

Paraphrasing a classic quote – “With great power comes the need for great control” – the engineers at Ford’s Special Vehicles Team have stepped up to the plate to manage the massive output of the 2013 Shelby GT500. Whether a driver is a track-day veteran or getting his first ultra-high-performance sports car, the new launch control system on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 will help ensure he gets smooth, consistent and fast starts every time. Uncontrolled wheel spin is generally undesirable, whether commuting to work or racing away from the Christmas tree on a Friday night at the drag strip. Both safety and performance suffer when the wheels can’t get enough grip on the road. However, properly regulated, some wheel slip can be your friend.

“Launch control is essentially a special mode of the traction control system that integrates the brake and engine management systems to keep the tires balanced on the peak of the mu-slip curve in order to achieve maximum thrust,” explains John Pfeiffer, senior engineer, SVT Vehicle Engineering. “With so much more power and torque on tap from the new 5.8-liter V8, launch control makes it easier for drivers to take advantage of the performance.”

With launch control enabled, the driver just has to press the accelerator pedal to the floor and then smoothly and quickly release the clutch pedal just as he normally would when executing a clean start. The difference is that the electronics will automatically hold the engine steady at the desired speed and manage the rear brakes to allow the optimum amount of wheel slip for maximum traction.

“We recognize not every driver has the same style, and surface, tire and climate conditions vary,” said Eddie Khan, SVT Engineering supervisor. “Most of our competitors’ launch control systems have a fixed engine launch speed. We’ve given Shelby GT500 drivers the ability to adjust the engine speed to achieve best and most consistent performance, no matter where and when they drive.”

Shelby GT500 drivers can enable launch control in two ways – either through Track Apps™ on the 4.2-inch LCD in the instrument cluster or simply by tapping a switch on the left side of the instrument panel. When using the Track Apps screen, drivers can also adjust the desired engine speed for the launch in 100 rpm increments from 3,000 to 4,500 rpm. When first getting accustomed to launch control or if the pavement is cooler, a lower speed may be more appropriate. Switching to racing tires or running in an autocross event on a warm Saturday morning may call for a launch speed closer to the upper end of the range.

Once the desired engine speed has been set, launch control can be toggled on or off by tapping the instrument panel switch – more convenient than the intricate multistep process required on many other vehicles. After the launch control has been enabled or disabled, it retains that mode even after the engine has been switched off and restarted, something drag racers frequently have to do as they slowly make their way through the lines to the next quarter-mile pass.

“We developed this system to enable 90 percent of drivers to be able to achieve very fast, smooth and consistent starts with the Shelby GT500 regardless of their skill level,” said Khan. “Experienced drag racers may be able to get away slightly quicker, but chances are they won’t be as consistent.”

Veteran drag racers will find the Shelby GT500 also gives them extra flexibility. Switching off the traction control while the launch control is on produces an rpm-only mode that engine calibration engineer Tom Siebyla has tuned to keep the engine speed rock-steady with the electronic throttle and ignition without scrubbing off any speed with the brakes. Autocrossers or track-day racers can also mix and match the normal, sport and off modes of the stability control with the launch control to achieve the degree of sliding or control that best suits the conditions or their personal driving style.

For those times when there isn’t enough grip to use launch control effectively, such as dust or moisture on the pavement, Ford electronic brake control development engineer Dan Dunn has built smarts into the launch control that enable it to automatically switch off and revert to traction control.

“It’s not as intrusive as some TC systems have been in the past,” added Khan. “We wanted to help the driver make consistent starts without getting in the way.”

Launch control won’t do the driving, but it is a tool to help drivers extract consistent high performance from the most powerful production Mustang ever.

“For drivers who want to have some fun at their local drag strip with a stock machine, the 2013 Shelby GT500 is the ultimate bracket racer,” said Khan. “We’ve given our drivers the ability to exert control over all the power and torque this Mustang can produce.”

[Source: Ford]

When we first saw Creations n’ Chrome’s Boy Racer Mustang right before it debuted at SEMA, Gary Watson, the company’s founder, told us that it wasn’t just going to be a show car. While we don’t consider Watson to be untrustworthy, we had a hard time believing that he would risk ruining the chrome red paint job worth thousands of dollars. We should have believed him, though, as Watson had no hesitation putting his Mustang to the test. Earlier this month he took the car out to the Mojave Mile, an event in Southern California to see how fast cars can go in the standing mile.

So how fast can the Boy Racer Mustang go? After adding a few front modifications to improve the car’s aerodynamics, Watson took the Boy Racer out on the 12,000 foot runway and blasted past through the finish line at over 182 mph. Don’t believe us? Watson had the cameras rolling during the run, and has a video for proof. You can check it out below.

Formula DRIFT returned to Road Atlanta for Round 2: Road to the Championship. Justin Pawlak takes the victory in the Falken Tire Mustang increasing his point lead in the Pro Championship Points Standings.

Round 2: Road to the Championship brought the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship back to the Series birthplace nine years ago. Fans came in droves seeing an increase in attendance at Road Atlanta. This marks another consecutive season of growth.

“It’s very satisfying that Road Atlanta and Formula DRIFT have formed a partnership nine years ago to help grow drifting in this region,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to our ten year anniversary at this venue next season.”

Justin Pawlak takes his second consecutive victory to increase his points lead. Additionally, Pawlak is now the points leader in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. Pawlak faced Fredric Aasbo in the Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC and edged out the 2010 Rookie of the Year to take the victory. Walker Wilkerson in the Falken / Fatlace / Garage Autohero Nissan 240SX battled Formula DRIFT rookie, Daigo Saito in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 in the consolation round. After a one more time battle Saito beat out Wilkerson to take his second third place finish of the season.

“The boys at ASD and Falken gave me what I need to help me get to that number 1 spot,” said Justin Pawlak, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “Next round is West Palm Beach and with a great car and great team we were able to take the win there last year and plan to remain focused and keep this momentum going.”

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 3: Invasion at West Palm Beach International Raceway on June 1-2, 2012.

[Source: Formula Drift]

After a disappointing tenth place finish at Miller Motorsports Park last month, Justin Bell and the rest of the Tiger Racing team were looking forward to this week’s SCCA World Challenge race at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. Bell is very familiar with the track, having previously won a Trans-Am race there, and he would be racing with 70 less pounds of reward weight. In addition, Tiger Racing would be debuting their second Mustang Boss 302S driven by Dane Moxlow. Bell hoped to increase his lead in the GTS points standings and Moxlow was aiming to get valuable seat time in his new ride and bring the car home safely.

Unfortunately neither of those things happened. By the end of the race both Tiger Racing Mustangs were beat up and bruised, and both were brought back to the pits on the back of tow trucks. Moxlow’s Mustang undoubtedly looked the better of the two, with the damage being mostly cosmetic. Bell’s Boss Mustang 302S, however, looked like it had been hit by a wrecking ball.

While watching the car being unloaded back in the pits, Bell told us what led to the crash:

“At the restart we ended up with all these touring cars around us. I probably shouldn’t have been there, but it wasn’t really a problem. So coming down into [turn] 11 I didn’t want Cunningham and those guys to get away when I just had the chance to get close to them again. I was driving the heck out of the car even just to stay in fourth. I picked up a lot of rubber on my tires going down the inside, and when I went around the corner and put the gas on I had no grip. What hurt was that I got hit twice – I hit the wall and then I got hit by another car, so it was a double impact.”

We initially assumed that the damage to Bell’s Boss 302S was bad enough that it might be scrapped, but team owner Paul Brown told us that they would begin rebuilding the car as soon as they got it back to the shop. “We have to rebuild it,” he told us. “We have too much into the rest of the car.”

Below you can watch a video of the No. 50 Tiger Racing Mustang Boss 302S being unloaded off the tow truck and see detailed photos of both cars after their wrecks.

Photos © 2012 MustangsDaily.com