DEARBORN, MI (May, 2007) -- While the sport of "Drifting" has been gaining much exposure of late, it actually began in Japan more than 20 years ago and officially made its debut in the United States back in 1996. The first public events were held in Southern California, and the sport quickly became popular with young driving enthusiasts in the so-called "tuner" crowd. About three years ago, Ford was evaluating potential exposure opportunities for the Mustang in the competitive new series called Formula Drift. But Ford Racing faced a challenge on two fronts if it wanted to be in the game: One, successfully introducing the all-American Mustang in an import-dominated sport; and Two, fielding a competitive car and driver right out of the box.

By 2005 Ford Racing had put a plan in place to team up with 19-year-old drifting ace Ken Gushi and then have its engineers develop the Mustang and a supercharged version of its modular V-8 into the ultimate drift machine. Even at that young age, Gushi already had a strong drifting background -- but it had been mostly with turbocharged Nissans. Yet he was excited about the chance to compete in a high-torque supercharged beast like the Ford Mustang. Ford Racing engineers got into the task of setting up a competitive car/engine combination, and worked closely with Gushi to build the first Mustang development car. Ford managers knew they would have to bring their A-team, because Gushi would be competing against factory backed drift programs from Dodge and GM, and the fully sorted cars from the independent Japanese teams.

Ford pulled out its ace card for the drift project by revisiting one of the most successful Ford engine programs in recent history: The Ford SVT "Terminator" V-8. The Terminator program was the codename for the supercharged engine that was developed for the 2003-04 SVT Mustang Cobra. The engine was designed around a cast-iron block and featured fully forged crankshaft, Manley H-beam connecting rods and forged pistons. The engine was rated from the factory at 390 horsepower, but as soon as the cars hit the streets many aftermarket tuners were making "adjustments" to produce numbers in the 500-600 horsepower range. The engine was so durable in race trim that it developed quite a reputation on the drag strips and enthusiast internet message boards nationwide. So Ford racing installed a "tuned" version of the supercharged 4.6L "Terminator" engine into drift-prepped Mustang chassis and prepared to go into battle with its ace, Ken Gushi, at the wheel.

Gushi took delivery of his drifting Mustang in April of 2005, and immediately served notice to the drifting world as he scored a historic first win for Ford at the Formula D event in Houston. Gushi went on to finish third in the 2005 Formula D Championship in Ford's inaugural year in the series, which on all accounts was quite an accomplishment for a new car and team in its first year.

After that year of development in the books, Ford Racing and Ken Gushi started the 2006 season with a brand-new drifting Mustang. The car was built by Ford Racing engineers in Ford's Dearborn famed "X-garage." Utilizing all of what they had learned in 2005, the new car was completely updated for better balance on the track. The radiator, battery and fuel cell were relocated to the trunk for improved cooling and weight distribution. The braking system was upgraded to Wildwood six-piston calipers with slotted rotors. A hydraulic-assisted rear brake lever was installed to assist Ken in setting up the car for the numerous corners on a drift course. Drift-spec coil-over shocks were installed, along with larger-diameter front and rear stabilizer bars.

Powering the new Mustang was the secret weapon -- an all-new, 700-horsepower, supercharged "Aluminator" Ford Racing engine. The Terminator's cast-iron block was replaced with a lighter-weight aluminum block, and maintains the durability of the Terminator's high-strength forged rotating assembly. The system controlling all the engine functions was upgraded to the engine management system from the Grand-Am Cup championship-winning FR500C Mustang.

But there's more to Ford's foray into drifting than just getting exposure for the Mustang among an import-oriented fan base. The Gushi drift program also serves as a severe-duty test bed for this new "Aluminator" engine combination. The drifting Mustang sees a wide range of hard on/off throttle engine RPM demands as well as extreme heat conditions -- the perfect place to test the durability of engine components.

"The program has proved successful so far with no engine-related failures due to design or manufacturing," said Dev Saberwal, FRPP Performance / Competition Engine Calibration Specialist. "And that's despite living most of its life at the engine's 7,000-rpm rev limit."

Better still, the same track-tested components in the Gushi drift team Mustang are available to all Mustang enthusiasts through the Ford Racing Performance Parts Catalog. The "Aluminator" short block, cylinder heads and supercharger kit are all available to the public and are ideal for open track or drag race applications.

"Last year we ran the whole season without any failures, and the parts are proven to be a good power-per-dollar deal," said Ford Racing program manager Andy Slankard. "For 2007 we want to promote the program around the engine that we plan on selling in the Ford Racing catalog."

"We are going to offer the engine in a short-block and long-block application in two different configurations," Slankard added. "We'll offer a low-compression package, perfect for supercharger or turbocharger applications. That engine will be geared more toward drag racing. And then a high-compression engine that’s better suited for a road race car. Both engines will also be streetable … it just depends on if the guy wants to run a blower of not. The engine looks good for durability -- and that's in excess of 600 horsepower. It should be a nice modular engine that can compliment Ford Racing's successful pushrod engine business."

Last year Gushi finished seventh in the Formula D Championship, but with a bumper-to-bumper rebuild done on the car during the off-season, he aims to be much more competitive in '07. (For a look at one of Gushi's drifting runs in his 2006 Mustang, click HERE)

When you think about it, the idea of jumping right into competition armed with little more than a strong product and a winning spirit is nothing new to Ford Motor Company. It's also no secret that Henry Ford himself had won the first and only race he ever competed in just to find the backing to build his upstart car business. In fact, innovation and success has long been part of Ford's competitive history. Clearly, the Gushi Drifting Mustang program and Ford Racing's new "Aluminator" crate engine offering is proof that the competitive spirit continues to inspire Ford engineers even to this day.