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The 800HP CS800 Sutton Mustang Is A Rowdy Beast

High horsepower cars seem to appear around every corner these days. But not all of them cost a measly £64,950

Sutton, one of London’s leading supercar and luxury car dealers, have been providing the UK’s american customers with tuning packages for over 25 years now. They saw the opportunity to develop their own package with the knowledge and expertise they’d gained and took it to become the first company in England to supercharge a Ford GT in 2005.

Now in 2017, they’ve released their latest Mustang package based on the 5.0-litre model called the Sutton CS800. They realized that to please their European customers, they would need more than straight line performance, but let’s start there anyway.

By placing a stage 2 Whipple supercharger on top of the original 5.0-litre, as well as other supporting modifications such as upgraded fuel injectors, intercooler and throttle body, they’ve managed to squeeze 800hp out of the already powerful V8. Yes, this is the V8 before anyone asks, but Sutton will upgrade the EcoBoost engine too if you swing that way. The exhaust has had some work too, now with long tube headers, a sports catalyst and active quad tailpipes. After all, there’s no point in having a Mustang if you can’t hear it. Right?

The suspension is now three-way adjustable and said to be ‘more compliant than the car’s CS700 sibling’ – the CS700 being the 700hp younger brother that was released last year. What that actually means is absolutely nothing without driving the car, but on paper it looks great.

The exterior is where it all gets a bit too excessive for my taste. There are splitters galore and carbon-fibre bits and pieces all over the place, and a Super Snake bonnet, which I actually quite like, as well as the integrated spoiler at the rear above the sculpted carbon-fibre rear valance that houses the four exhaust tips. I’m afraid to say this carries on into the interior, where it looks like someone’s gone a bit mad on the carbon fibre wrap. But hey, that’s just my personal taste.

What I do like is the Ford Performance Recaro seats and the short shifter, accompanied by the Sutton stitching and badging. The show car also came with a nine-speaker 1,100-watt Audiofile hifi upgrade. Just enough speakers to hear your music over the singing of the exhaust.

Something to keep in mind about this car – it’s not supposed to be inconspicuous. Everything is designed to relay the outrageous performance it has hidden under the bonnet. When it drives past, all 800 horses are ordered to scream at you, not to shy away. It may not be to my taste, but these are the guys who supercharged a Ford GT. I’m not sure ‘inconspicuous’ is in their vocabulary.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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