With 435 horsepower onboard, Ford’s Mustang GT isn’t exactly a blubbering puddle of automotive sadness. It’s a swift coupe?or convertible?with a sweet-sounding V-8 that, in our testing, is capable of hitting 60 mph in as little as 4.3 seconds. That’s all fine and well, but for those who must have more power and quicker acceleration, Ford Performance has released a trio of “power packs” that kick the Mustang GT’s power up a notch (or three).

The first kit, Power Pack 1, will become available next month and comes with a high-flow air filter and a new engine calibration good for an extra 13 horsepower and 16 lb-ft of torque. Power Pack 1 not only moves the needle on the GT’s power peaks but also reshapes the torque curve, such that at 1500 rpm, the Mustang’s 5.0-liter V-8 gains 40 lb-ft over stock. Power Pack 2 is more comprehensive, swapping the GT’s air-intake assembly for the cold-air intake and 87-mm throttle body from the Mustang Shelby GT350 and a more aggressive engine calibration that adds 21 horsepower and 24 lb-ft of torque over the baseline Mustang GT. For those keeping score, that’s 456 horsepower and 424 lb-ft; for the Chevrolet fans keeping score, yes, that horsepower figure barely eclipses that of an off-the-shelf Camaro SS?while still falling short of the Chevy’s 455 lb-ft of torque.
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