SEMA: Team Need For Speed's Mustang RTR-X

Le Mans / ALMS

SEMA: Team Need For Speed’s Mustang RTR-X

SPEED.com's Andy Blackmore, designer of the unique Retro Mod Mustang RTR-X, details the build of the Vaughn Gittin Jr.-inspired drifting and road racing muscle car.

Andy Blackmore | http://andyblackmoredesign.com/ | Posted October 31, 2010

Andy Blackmore, better known to SPEED.com readers for his ALMS and Le Mans Spotter Guides, also penned the Mustang RTR-X which will debut at SEMA next week. (Speedhunters.com/Andy Blackmore)

Vaughn Gittin Jr. has two reasons to celebrate at next week’s 2010 SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Gittin dominated the 2010 Formula Drift Championship, taking the title before the final event had concluded. I had had the opportunity to work with the Champion in his spare time on a special project car, which will make its debut at the SEMA show.

The Team Need for Speed Ford Mustang RTR-X project is the latest development of Vaughn’s ‘RTR’ brand and the Team Need for Speed program which competes in Formula Drift and FIA GT3 European Championship.

The build is a one-of-a-kind, fully-functional Street\Drift machine. Balancing tire-shredding American horsepower with multi-cultural design influences, Vaughn has incorporated state-of-the-art technology into his vision for the 69’ Mustang’s timeless body.

The RTR-X was designed and built from the ground up to be driven hard; the RTR-X is NOT a trailer queen. While Vaughn will be the only one thrashing it in real life, the entire world will be able to enjoy driving the RTR-X virtually in future Need for Speed video game releases.

When I was asked to come on board, Vaughn and ‘Need for Speed’ Creative Director, Rod Chong already had a clear idea of the car, how it would be packaged and built. The initial discussions began during the 2009 SEMA show where the Mustang RTR and RTR-C had left a lasting impression. With the real "nuts and bolts" settled, it made for a easier project.

The inspiration for the RTR-X has come from a mixture of things we have grown to love from custom Japanese nostalgic car styling to classic race and muscle cars. It was vital we pushed the envelope and explored new avenues on this car.

PHOTOS: View the RTR-X Gallery.

The final design took shape earlier this year between Vaughn, I and the Need for Speed team at Electronic Arts. I don’t think we disagreed on a single thing and it proved to be one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve worked on. The initial concepts were presented on Need for Speed’s Car Culture blog, Speedhunters.com earlier this year. We kept the Speedhunters audience up to date with the entire build, which you can view in detail here.

We even asked for the audience to vote for their preferred livery which was a risk if you are not confident of all the options! Luckily, we were and in the end, the audience chose the same design we liked the most: Understated in Graphite Grey Metallic with ‘Sonic Green’ contrasting highlight and Need for Speed graphic, cropped on the hood in Satin Graphite Grey.

The RTR-X started life as a brand new Dynacorn 1969 Ford Mustang fastback body. The Dynacorn bodies are reproductions that use the original Ford tools and they are very affordable. It also saves an old Mustang from getting cut up.

The mandate was that the car had to perform, and perform mightily. We needed to slam it, to have 50 to 60 degrees of steering angle and to retain decent suspension geometry. To accomplish this, Art Morrison built a special custom front sub-frame for the RTR-X. Taking inspiration from old-school race cars, we really wanted a cantilever rocker-style type of shock setup for the rear. It would be functional, as well as different as far as a street car, and it would also easily allow us the extremely low ride-height we were going for as we need to notch the frame outback. Maier Racing makes an incredible rear suspension setup that lined up with Gittin Jr’s vision.

Ford Racing were on board with this project and the new Ford Racing Boss 302R crate engine was sourced, providing 440hp stock and capable of around 8000RPM when coupled with Kinsler individual throttle body injection and the brand new Ford Racing Boss 302 R1 six-speed transmission.

Insane wheels with huge lips and proper fitment were a must for the RTR-X. It might not suit traditionalists, but we wanted to push the boundaries and also appeal to the wide Need for Speed and Drifting audience, without compromising on grip or handling. We opted for a set of timeless Work Meister's with the lip and offset charts maxed out, wrapped in Falken RT615-K tires. As if this wasn’t enough, we had these wheels coated, with "antifreeze" rim’s, just like Jr’s Formula Drift machine, and Dark Green metallic centers.

At the front, we have cleaned up the lines, pulling the bumpers in, new Carbon Fiber grille and adding lens covers to the headlamps. The stock chin spoiler has been extended and the bolt-on style fender flares highlight the wider track.

We could have gone the easy route and flared out or rolled the fenders, but the extra width would have made this look very heavy. Vaughn is going to be drifting this car, and form should follow function. We decided early on to have special bolt-on fenders. It also makes the RTR-X quite unique.

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