We’ve seen our fair share of weird and wacky cars here on Motor1, covering everything from a Lada with working legs to a wooden kit car. Having said that, we think that the MUDstang is a genuine contender for the top of the bonkers list.
While a Mustang is probably the last car you’d pick for a hill climb, this is no ordinary pony car we’re talking about. It’s not rocket science that the most noticeable modification is the bigger tires and wider axles to accommodate them. Rather than installing a lift kit and keeping the same track width, the owner decided to simply extend the axles and build one of the widest and craziest vehicles we’ve seen yet.
Power comes from a gen 2 Coyote 5.0-liter V8, that’s been heavily modified to produce roughly 1,200 horsepower (894.8 kilowatts) to the wheels. The crazy power numbers are capable thanks to a pair of 67mm turbochargers – which are connected to hood-mounted exhaust exits similar to Ken Block’s Hoonicorn. While turbos tend to take away the low-end torque you’d generally want from an offroader, it doesn’t appear to matter with this beast.
As for the hill climb race, the owner decided to pit the MUDstang up against a lightly modified version – a bit like bringing a knife to a machine-gun fight, the results were quite predictable. The underdog Mustang surprisingly tackled the hill quite well on its first attempt but struggled after the course was wet down. It’s important to note that apart from the massive gap in power, the bigger tires definitely played a role here as well.
Regardless of how much or how little we learned from the drag race, it’s refreshing to see such a crazy car build. It shows that no matter how advanced things get, there will still be someone bombastic and creative enough to build a MUDstang type creation.