The Ford Mustang has always been an iconic car for us, and when the new 2024 S650 was announced we couldn’t wait to get our hands on.
Having previously worked extensively on the older S550 models, including taking our own car to become to first Whipple Stage 2 supercharged car in the UK, we knew we had to do something special for the new model. Building on this experience of developing products for both the 5.0 V8 Coyote and 2.3l EcoBoost motors we wanted to bring something new to market and develop a range of products that focussed on performance, sound, drone and resonance control while giving other potential owners the best range of choices of how they want to configure the exhaust on their own car.
With our US HQ fully operational with its new R&D facility just in time for our Vapour Blue Dark Horse with Handling package to arrive from our local Ford dealership, we wasted no time in getting to work, totally redesigning the exhaust from the ground up.
Starting with the 5.0 V8 we choose to offer a range of center sections, with options for X pipe, H Pipe, Straight pipe, Center Resonator or the new Active H Pipe. The Active H pipe brings the option to run as a traditional H pipe or close the active valve in the H section to create a straight pipe setup for a deeper more aggressive tone to the exhaust. The pipework as with all Milltek systems is T304L Stainless Steel (hence the new license plate on car) and for the new S650 we optimised the pipework to be twin 2 ¾” thin wall for the best flow and reduce weight.
Next we looked at the rear muffler setups, with options covering the dual outlet (non-active exhaust) 2.3l Ecoboosts and 5.0 V8, Quad Outlet Active Exhaust GT models and rounding off the range for the Dark Horse with the larger diameter OE tips a final option to cover this model. All muffler setup’s use reflective technology to help produce a deep tone without drone or resonance to complement the various center section options. For the Active Exhaust models we connect directly to the OE wiring and retain the factory control options with a unique design and creates a muffler bypass when the valves are open.
For the tips we took from our existing range a choice of four finishes, including polished stainless, cerakote satin black, brushed titanium and burnt titanium, These tips are 4” for the Ecoboost and GT models and 4.5” for the Dark Horse to perfectly compliment the OE diffuser sizes.
Once the development was complete at our Knoxville, TN HQ we had only a few weeks to get the car ready for it’s first major event, SEMA. We quickly formulated the plan of what we wanted for the car and set about some changes, first off was the color change, for us a classic racing green was one of the colors we wished Ford had offered from factory, so having used Inozetek before, we knew exactly where to turn and their Super Gloss Vintage Racing Green was the perfect fit, expertly installed by the team at AZ Rag in Knoville combined with the classic race inspired graphics and stripes gave us the base to continue our modifications from.
Next up was the wheels, the stock wheels just no longer cut it for us, so wanted something more detailed with a color to work with the new green wrap, so after a call to Vossen we ordered a set of their LC3-01’s wheels in the Satin Bronze and in no time they were dispatched from Florida, wrapped in some Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, these really look the part when combined with the Steeda lowering springs we also fitted.
Finally to help the new exhaust get air into the engine a little quicker we called our partners, Ramair, and they created a new pleated cotton cone filter to the replace the OE paper cones.
We love the way the car has turned out,and can’t wait to continue to build on this new platform with lots for additions planned for the future, including long tube header and CEL free high flow sports cats.
