Put Your 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost into the 12s for $800

The 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost is billed as more of a fuel economy model and with EPA ratings of 32 miles per gallon on the highway (automatic transmission) and 26 miles per gallon combined (manual transmission), the project is a fuel economy success. The 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine makes the 2015 Mustang the most fuel efficient muscle car on the market while also being one of the most efficient sports cars sold in America.

Best of all, Ford has managed to design the new 2.3L EcoBoost engine in a way that allows it to be both very efficient and impressively powerful, with 310hp and 320lb-ft of torque. Those numbers have made the 4-cylinder Mustang a very viable option for prospective buyers who want a strong balance of power and efficiency, but more importantly, the EcoBoost technology lends itself to improved performance through the aftermarket.

Not surprisingly, as the first examples of the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost have reached owners around the country, we have seen some impressive real world performance figures for this new turbocharged 4-cylinder. The folks from American Muscle took their 2015 Mustang EcoBoost to the drag strip with nothing more than a set of drag radials, a cold air intake and a tuner to see what they could get out of the fuel friendly pony car.

Racing the EcoBoost Mustang
The American Muscle 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost is equipped with the 6-speed automatic transmission and in the video below, it is fitted up with a set of sticky drag radial tires. In factory stock form, this turbocharged Mustang ran an impressive 13.64 at 98.91 miles per hour. That isn’t mind-blowing, but it is very respectable for a bone-stock car with an automatic transmission that can hit 32mpg on the highway.

2015 Ford Mustang Galleries:
Live images from the 2015 Ford Mustang Detroit Debut
A look at the similarities in styling across the 2015 Ford Mustang trimlines
The 2015 Ford Mustang in Triple Yellow

$800 Worth of Goodies
After getting the baseline numbers for the 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost, the folks from Bama Performance did a little work on the car, adding an AirRaid cold air intake to let the engine breathe better while a Bama high performance engine calibration adjusts a collection of parameters to pull better power from the 2.3L EcoBoost engine. This includes increasing the shift pressure, increasing the throttle input and – most importantly – increasing the boost to 22psi.

We don’t know what the exact power ratings are for the EcoBoost Mustang with the Bama tune and the AirRaid intake, but it increased the output enough to drop the quarter mile time down to 12.98 seconds while improving the trap speed from 98 up to 103 miles per hour. That package of the AirRaid intake and the Bama tuner list for $799.99 online so for $800 bucks, your 32mpg Mustang can pack enough power to run in the high 12 second range…although actually getting into the 12s will also require some good tires.

However, a 12 second EcoBoost Mustang with just an intake, a tune and good tires is an impressive claim for a car that is also the most efficient of the modern muscle cars. Numbers like these quarter mile times – both the stock 13.6s and the modified 12.9s – are why the EcoBoost Mustang will succeed.