Monday, August 6, 2012

BLOG FEATURE: 1100bhp, 220mph "Widow Maker" Mustang
















Thanks to Road pal, Tim Porter for this piece on his incredible, 1,100bhp "widow maker" Mustang:
Once you get bitten by the performance bug, they say, there is no going back... The story goes like this. Following a series of triumphant Cannonball world events, our man Tim was keen to get the adrenaline pumping through his veins... something to get the blood pumping the moment you turned the key (or pushed the button, whatever!).So, after owning a Ferraris and Lambos over the years, he wanted a car that made them look like watching paint dry– based on the Ford Mustang. The end result was named UBB, short for Ultimate Bad Boy, and the brand was born in 2007. In a segment dominated by the likes of Roush, Saleen and Shelby, Tim knew that he had to build something with greater performance and better handling if he wanted to be noticed. And it was not to be a one-dimensional, straight line-performer either, the car had to be usable on a daily basis as well. With this in mind, Tim teamed up with none other than Steve Saleen to produce around a dozen Saleen 600hp Ultimate Bad Boy S281E cars. But, to Tim, even these lacked the power and handling combo that he was looking for and, unsurprisingly, it was time to move on when inspiration struck again.
Tim simply decided to go ahead and build the world’s fastest street-legal Mustang, which he did back in July 2008, when the first UBB Mustang rolled out, featuring a mental 1000hp from a tweaked Ford GT sourced 5.4-litre V8. And now he’s back with an even more badass version – the 1,100bhp "Widow Maker."The Shelby GT500-derived Mustang boasting an aggressive stance and killer looks. The first thing that strikes you is that the 5.4-litre quad cam V8 features a 4.0-litre supercharger, quite incredible when you consider that even the mighty Shelby GT 500 makes do with a 2.3-litre blower!
In addition to the big blower, the ‘stang receives 100cc fuel injectors and twin cooling fans to keep things breezy and many other internal parts. Taking care of handling duties are adjustable coilover shocks from Penski, accompanied by a 3.75 limited slip differential.
The Widow Maker rolls on massive 305/35 19 Toyo 888 rubber wrapped around gorgeous 10.5 X 19-inch rims, with Brembo brakes peeking from beneath. Rounding out the crazy performance is a full carbon-fibre body kit, which is joined on the inside by Recaro seats, a 230mph/8000rpm instrument cluster.
Press the red ignition button and the UBB demon emits a throaty rumble, causing the whole car to literally throb. It’s no bare bones racer either, with the interior on this model receiving sumptuous nappa leather and a carbon fibre-covered dash, of course accompanied by the requisite figure-hugging Recaro race seats. Convenience bits include a sat nav, keyless entry, A/C, Microsoft Sync 5000 track memory and even a DVD player.
Out on the track, pedal to metal, the UBB delivers like a freight train just hit you from the back; acceleration is almost surreal, with a 0-96km/h time of just 3.4seconds but where it comes in to its own is mid range from 90mph to180mph and we are talking seconds here. Being a modern American muscle car, straight line speed and balance is exemplary, but even more welcome is how nicely the whole package comes together in the twisties, thanks in no small part to the grippy front end. Tim Porter says that this new UBB will easily do 365km/h and belt out a staggering 900lbs per ft of torque!
On the handling side, the mean UBB has fully adjustable Penski coilovers and a Cortex suspension designed by aerospace engineer Filip Trojanek, enabling the beast to corner on rails, producing up to 1.5 G in tight turns. Topped off with a powerful braking system, this is a perfect weekend track tool for enthusiasts and a perfectly usable supercar for everyday use, at the same time. Two for the price of one, then. It also boasts 10.5 x 19” alloy rims at all four corners. Tim Porter further says that, at around USD $120,000, the UBB is the best value supercar around. All said and done, the UBB’s Widow Maker is like the Road Runner on steroids; in a class of its own when it comes to muscle, speed and swagger. Tie this in with some innovative engineering and design, and the new UBB package can only be described as truly awesome. And now the package is for sale, at 85,000 USD... so, what are you waiting for? www.ubbmustang.com

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