SEMA 2015: Vaughn Gittin Jr Reveals 2016 RTR Ford Mustang Competition Car (Gallery)

SEMA is not just the time of year to see all the new parts and goodies that you’ll soon be able to buy for your car but it is also the time when new race cars and liveries debut.  This is especially true when it comes to new Formula Drift cars.  It looks like the first new drift car debut out of the gate is Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s 2016 Ford Mustang RTR Sponsored by Monster Energy Drink and Nitto Tire.  Built on a 2016 Ford Mustang, Gittin’s competition spec drift car went on a major diet with the help of carbon fiber body panels which brings the car’s weight down to 2,800 lbs wet with 50/50 weight distribution.

Up front is a Ford Performance/Roush-Yates built 900HP 436ci V8 engine that will redline at 9,000RPMs thanks to some serious tuning and individual throttle bodies.  Outside the livery is similar to what Vaughn designed for 2015 but with new shape motifs and a bit more color thrown in for extra contrast.  Take a closer look at Vaughn’s new car by clicking any of the thumbnails below.  For more info you can read the official press release below the pictures.  What do you think of Vaughn’s new ride?  Do you like the new look or not?  Do you think this car will help Vaughn earn his second championship in 2016?  Let us know in the comments or tweet to us at @MotorworldHype.

Gallery:

Press Release:

Las Vegas, NV – World Champion Drifter and Professional Funhaver, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Dave Pericak, global director of Ford Performance, unveiled the competition-spec 2016 Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR drift car today at  Ford Motor Company’s annual press conference at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV.

In January 2015, Vaughn debuted his prototype competition car, which his team used all year as a platform to meticulously develop the new competition-spec drift car for the 2016 Formula Drift season.

The competition car, built on the globally-available 2016 Ford Mustang platform and prepared at the RTR special projects lab in Charlotte, North Carolina, will utilize the confidence-inspiring independent suspension design featured in the all-new Ford Mustang, coupled with the sticky Nitto NT05 to ensure Vaughn will have the traction that he needs to drive in excess of 100mph sideways on any track put in front of him.

“It’s incredible to see how much drifting has progressed on all fronts in the last 10 years, It’s just crazy, the things we are doing on the track these days and I am pumped to have such an awesome car that will enable us to continue pushing the envelope,” mentions Vaughn. Consistent with Ford’s internal initiatives, the RTR team utilized modern light-weighting technology by using composites and other light metal alloys to drop the car to a near 2,800lbs wet with a 50/50 weight distribution.

Under the hood is a 436 cubic-inch Ford Performance/Roush Yates-built engine that revs to 9000 RPM and makes over 900 horsepower via individual throttle body injection breathing through K&N Performance Air Filters.  Vaughn shares his excitement on the car, “It’s crazy to think that I’m driving the equivalent of a 9-second drag racing car…. sideways. Needless to say, I’m pumped to get out there and have some fun!”

All the fun starts on Wednesday at SEMA when the Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR will be at the Ford Out Front experience giving rides and putting on a show for fans and convention attendees all week long. This is the first time a competition car has been unveiled inside and then brought out to flex its muscles.

The car will make its competition debut in April at the first round of the Formula Drift Championship in Long Beach, CA.  Although the competition car won’t be available to the public, the new Mustang RTR will be available at select Ford dealers in the USA and Europe in the spring of 2016.