Special Vehicle Team (SVT) / Ford Racing Performance Parts (FRPP)

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Welcome to Calgary's largest Ford Dealership and Western Canada's only authorized SVT and Ford Racing Performance Parts Retailer.

SVT

SVT was founded in late 1991 when Robert L. Rewey, Group Vice President-Marketing and Sales, Ford Automotive Operations, and Neil Ressler, Vice President of Research & Vehicle Technology and Chief Technical Officer, saw the need for the company to step up its commitment to develop and market a line of Ford-badged performance vehicles that would appeal to knowledgeable automotive enthusiasts.

The 1992 Chicago Auto Show featured the official launch of the result of Rewey's and Ressler's interest - SVT - and the unveiling of the '93 SVT Mustang Cobra and SVT F-150 Lightning. Both limited-edition products went on sale in February 1993. The racing version of the Fox-platform SVT Mustang, the 1993 Cobra R, arrived on the scene three months later.

Building on the solid base of the all-new SN95 platform, the second-generation SVT Mustang Cobra coupe arrived in '94. Beyond the improved strength and rigidity of the new Mustang body structure, the Cobra received improvements to its brakes, safety features, suspension tuning, engine and wheels and tires. Another first for SVT was the introduction of the SVT Cobra convertible, which paced the 1994 Indianapolis 500.

In what was perhaps the most publicized use of the 351-cid Windsor V-8, SVT installed the powerful engine in the 1995 SVT Mustang Cobra R. The '95 Cobra R was featured in almost every major automotive magazine in North America. SVT Cobra coupe and convertible models rounded out the 1995 SVT lineup, along with the highly acclaimed F-150 Lightning making its third model-year appearance.

For 1996, SVT introduced a hand-assembled 305-horsepower version of Ford's 4.6-liter four-valve V-8 to power the Cobra. SVT also took its first step beyond the U.S. market by entering the performance-enthusiast market of Canada. In February of '96, SVT returned to the Chicago Auto Show to unveil the 4.6-liter 4-valve Cobra convertible and to preview the newest SVT product, a high-performance version of the Ford Contour. The SVT Contour went on sale in the second quarter of 1997 as a '98 model.

The Ford Special Vehicle Team returned once more to the Chicago Auto Show to announce that it would introduce a new generation of the SVT F-150 Lightning as a 1999 model, featuring a supercharged 5.4-liter Triton V-8.

From the Cobra to the Lightning to the SVT Contour and beyond, the Special Vehicle Team's focus remains the same: to build enthusiast vehicles with balanced performance. Toward that end, SVT vehicles must stop as well as they accelerate, ride as well as they handle - and above all, they must always be fun to drive.

The Ford Special Vehicle Team's 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R is the pony car icon taken to the extreme of pure performance. Developed specifically for racing, 300 of these vehicles were built at Ford's Dearborn Assembly Plant in Spring of 2000, and sold through selected SVT certified dealers.

The limited-production SVT products are sold only through specially trained and SVT certified Ford dealers in North America who are prepared to satisfy discriminating driving enthusiasts before, during and after the sale. Interested customers can find the location of an SVT dealer in their area by using the Dealer Locator. Or they can call the toll-free SVT hotline at 800-FORD-SVT (800-367-3788) for more information about our products.

Ford Racing

Metro Ford Sales Ltd.
Serving Western Canada and USA
(403) 263-6670
(800) 661-1210
Need Technical help? E-mail Metro Ford Racing

SVT AND FORD RACING WORKING TOGETHER
Jay O’Connell is the chief engineer for the new Mustang GT500 and the Special Vehicle Team engineering group. A former pro racer and Ford Racing employee, Jay was instrumental in the development of the FR500C Grand Am Cup Mustang. Here are some excerpts from a recent column Jay wrote for Inside the Oval magazine talking about the excitement of the GT500 and the collaboration between Ford Racing and SVT.
From Inside the Oval, Contact Patch, April 2006

As the start of GT500 production approaches, SVT engineers are working hard to put the finishing touches on the long-awaited reincarnation of Ford’s Shelby Mustang. Much like the efforts of a racing team, our engineers are all focusing on specific steps needed to reach our goal – except instead of the finish line, ours is the assembly line.

In January a group of SVT engineers were at the Las Vegas drag strip, testing the final-spec GT500 clutch, transmission and driveline components. SVT test procedures also require 550 drag starts on three sample vehicles, and our latest production-intent pieces were up to the task. I know what you must be thinking: It’s a tough job accumulating 200 drag starts per Shelby GT500 per day, but hey, somebody has to do it, right? Over the five-day test, our engineers completed more than 1,600 maximum-effort launches with no loss in performance or drivability on any of the cars.

Also in January, Hau Thai-Tang and I attended the first Grand Am Cup race of the season at Daytona. There were 12 Ford FR500C Mustangs on the grid, with one customer car starting outside pole. After running away with the championship last year, the Ford Racing Mustang is more popular than ever. However, winning five of nine races last year has led to a new mandated inlet air restrictor to reduce power. The result: Mustangs took third through seventh place, but there was no repeat of last year’s season-opening Daytona victory. We all agreed that it’s time to crank up the performance before the next race.

In fact, SVT is working with Ford Racing to homologate the Shelby GT500 front fascia and more importantly the splitter, to improve the FR500C’s aerodynamics. During development of the FR500C, we found that the center of pressure is too far forward due to too much front lift. So, for the Shelby GT500 we added a deeper front fascia and incorporated a horizontal splitter to reduce front lift and move the center of pressure rearward. At speed, the Shelby has 70 percent less front lift than the Mustang GT. Racing the Mustang has led to improvements in the street version, so why not run the best pieces we have on the track?