Styling & Performance - June 2008 - (Page 29)

Shown are the Roush Boss (top right) and Roush 427R (bottom right); two vehicles of the many varieties that are modiﬁed in Roush’s plant in Livonia, Michigan. Berea College and a Masters in scientiﬁc mathematics from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. He ultimately left Ford to pursue his interest in engine development and motorsports. He worked for a year at Chrysler before partnering with Wayne Gapp to race in NHRA, IHRA and AHRA drag racing events. He formed Jack Roush Performance Engineering (the precursor of today’s Roush Industries) in 1976 and Roush Racing (now known as Roush Fenway Racing) in 1988. Roush Performance began in 1995, and the ﬁrst Roushbuilt Mustang was built on a 1999-model year-chassis. Prior to that, the company sold body kits and other components to dealers who “built” the cars. Throughout his career, Roush sold the parts he developed for his own team. In 1982, he formed a partnership with a German ﬁrm to develop road-racing vehicles for Ford. This led to victories in the Trans-Am series and IMSA Camel GT in the 1980s-90s. In 1988, Roush founded a NASCAR Nextel Cup team with driver Mark Martin. Roush Racing has won championships in the elite NASCAR Nextel Cup and also in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series, making it one of the few organizations to have won titles in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions, and Jack Roush is the only professional drag racer to successfully venture into NASCAR, SCCA Trans-Am and IMSA road and sports car racing. It’s been estimated that NASCAR activities provide 30 percent of Roush’s cash ﬂow. Roush Industries is a tier-one supplier of fully integrated engineering and development support services, while Roush Performance combines the engineering expertise of Roush Industries with the motorsports experience of Roush Racing to produce complete performance vehicles, modular engines and high-performance parts. Roush Manufacturing provides prototype and production parts, tooling and paint services. Almost 2,000 employees call Roush “Boss.” It would be easier to name companies Roush Enterprises hasn’t worked for if you could ﬁnd any at all; the domestic Big Three and imports alike. However, it is Ford with which the company (and the Roush name) is most closely associated. When driving to the Roush Performance manufacturing headquarters in Livonia, Michigan, one can’t help notice a “holding tank” of about 300 new Mustang GTs all waiting to be turned into Roush Mustangs. They’re held in a bailment system arrangement with Ford. Although Roush Performance does some work with V6 Mustangs, the vast majority of the company’s conversions start with the basic Mustang GT with a 300-horsepower V8. Entering the area where Mustangs are “reborn” is akin to an automotive fantasyland for gearheads. The ﬁrst “player” I encountered was a fearsome-looking Ford F-150 dressed like the late country singer Johnny Cash—all in black. It was Roush’s aptly named “Nitemare” pickup truck. It started life as a Ford F-150 pickup truck all right, but that’s where similarities end. Not your Uncle Bud’s feed-hauler for the farm, the Roush Nitemare sits on 22-inch alloy rims, has numerous external modiﬁcations, and its heart consists of a 5.4-liter Ford V8 that pumps out 450 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. With the cessation of the legendary 380-horsepower Ford SVT Lightning pickup, this gives a real boost in the aftermarket to those who want a high-performance truck. The Nitemare is quite a warm-up act for the rest of the plant. June/July 2008 I stylingperformance.com 29 http://stylingperformance.com

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Styling & Performance - June 2008 Contents Soapbox Buzz Making Money with 1967-72 Chevrolet/GMC Trucks, Part II Red, White, Blue... & Green Limiting Installation Liability The House That Jack Built MAP vs. MVP Pricing Supply Line Distributor Directory

Styling & Performance - June 2008

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