Forget burying money under the chicken coop like your nan did, just buy a limited edition muscle car and reap the rewards.

With our locked down island still crazy for special locally developed cars, we wonder how it is that there’s any limited-edition Mustang R-Spec stock still left. Though somehow there is. And it’s still at what could be a relatively cheap $100k with a probable destiny as a collector’s item.

What baffles, is that Australian car enthusiasts can’t seem to get enough limited edition Fords, particularly Aussie built ones. The R-Spec is also a Rob Herrod development, and some of Herrod’s Mustangs past and present ask in excess of six-figures without the backing of the factory, like the R-Spec.

This is all in light of the recent Dick Johnson Racing limited edition mustang, a car we reported on earlier this year which sold for just shy of $200k. The R-Spec seems bargain basement pricing.

It’s Ford’s first supercharged edition of the factory-delivered Aussie Mustang (with a full five-year warranty), and it could just be the next “Chicken Coupe”- a car wrapped under chicken wire for 32 years (though it looks like that didn’t stop the birds pooping on it) which is now tipped to auction for over $200,000.

Just as the Chicken Coupe was a weaponised Fast Ford, the R-Spec is Ford Australia’s answer to offering a supercharged Mustang on the showroom floor, with Herrod Performance carrying out the second-life manufacturing phase on donor GT cars in Melbourne. Herrod also did all the development work.

The 5.0-litre V8 Coyote engine is supplemented with a Herrod-developed supercharger, helping the bent eight to deliver over 500kW and 800Nm to the rear wheels. That’s quite an increase on the standard 339kW and 556Nm.

The exhaust is replaced with a unique sports system, and the intake is modified to suit the blown induction. Additional touches from Herrod include 20mm lower suspension tuning, MagneRide dampers, adjustable stabiliser bars, 19-inch alloys and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber.

True, there was a temporary hold up on the line, with Ford shifting the Broadmeadows assembly to put together facemasks during the coronavirus, but now every one of the 500 limited R-Specs to ever be built have rolled into dealers, and there’s still a few left.

The retails is $99,980, and of course you can’t find a private seller under $100K. Likewise, you can’t find a Mustang Bullitt selling for under about $80k, with clean examples at $90k and above. The Bullitt isn’t even an Aussie-built special and came in a larger batch of 700 units. It retailed for $73,688.

So forget burying your savings in the chicken coop bank, because it seems the only coupe worth putting your money on is a car.

Read the full Mustang R-Spec review here.

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Alex Rae

Alex Rae brings almost two decades’ experience, previously working at publications including Wheels, WhichCar, Drive/Fairfax, Carsales.com.au, AMC, Just Cars, and more.

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