LIVONIA, Mich. — Roush Performance, long associated with the Ford Motor Company, has introduced its new Stage 3 Mustang, which owner Jack Roush calls "the best Mustang we have ever built."

What makes the Stage 3 so good? The addition of an intercooled Roots-type supercharger (or Roush-charger, in company speak), along with other engine modifications, helps kick output of the Mustang's 4.6-liter V8 from 300 to 415 horsepower and torque from 320 to 385 pound-feet. Roush offers a similar upgrade on the Ford F-150 pickup.

Roush also reworks the Mustang's suspension, firming up the struts, shocks, springs and stabilizer bars and upgrading the brakes.

A seven-piece body kit includes front fascia, front chin spoiler, hood scoop, rocker panels, rear fascia valance and rear wing. The Stage 3 kit also bundles foglamps, custom 18-inch forged rims with high-performance tires, sport leather seat covers, embroidered floor mats, billet aluminum pedals and an electroluminescent white-face gauge cluster.

Just so your friends will know, the car also has Roush badging throughout, including a serialized engine bay plaque indicating the car was hand built at the Roush shop in suburban Livonia.

The Stage 3 package is available through Ford dealers on both the Mustang coupe and convertible. Check it out at the Roush Web site.

What this means to you: Who better to kick some more giddyup into the Mustang than good ol' Jack Roush?

Roush-tuned Mustangs are usually pretty intimidating rides, but the Roush Stage 3 BlackJack gives us the chills just looking at it.

Based on a prototype that served as Roush's personal car during the 2006 season (and later auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson), the Stage 3 BlackJack packs a 430 horsepower punch through use of the Roushcharger, a Roots-style supercharger. As the name of the car indicates, the RoushStage 3 suspension package is also installed, trading nearly every major suspension component with a high-performance replacement. A wheel-hop kit to aid traction in low grip environments and a Roush big brake kit with 14-inch rotors are also included.


Cosmetically, the car is, of course, all black with a matte black stripe down the middle for contrast, and a seven-piece body kit is fitted. Inside, carbon fiber dash trim, white electroluminescent gauges, aluminum pedals, custom door sills, and a black shifter ball complete the car's menacing look.

This vehicle is the first to roll out of the factory's doors that has been engineered almost exclusively by company founder, Jack Roush. Only 100 copies will be available, each with a individually numbered plaque and a certificate of authenticity signed by Roush himself. Pricing information is not yet available, but you can contact your local Roush dealer for more information.

In the same week that Saleen announced its first upgrades for the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang, rival tuner Roush, an equal legend when it comes to tuning the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] icon, released the first photo of its own upgraded 2015 Mustang.

Roush’s upgraded 2015 Mustang is expected to be revealed soon, most likely in the lead up to the 2014 SEMA show in November. That means that we don’t have all the details just yet, but we do know that the company is once again planning various stages of tune for the car, broken down into familiar RS, RS1, RS2 and RS3 packages.

The RS3 package will offer the most performance, at least initially. It’s designed for the Mustang GT and is expected to add a supercharger, just like in previous Roush RS3 Mustangs. The 2014 Roush RS3 Mustang was good for 575 horsepower and 505 pound-feet of torque, but we suspect there will be a little more on offer for the 2015 model.

Roush’s RS, RS1 and RS2 packages, meanwhile, will offer a series of enhancements for the respective Mustang V-6, Mustang EcoBoost and Mustang GT models, but without major powertrain upgrades.

This car in the teaser above is the 2015 Roush RS2 Mustang. More photos can be seen at Automobile, which reports that all 2015 Roush Mustangs will come with a custom body kit, a vented hood and a new grille. Other upgrades will include 20-inch cast wheels that are said to be lighter than the stock set, as well as six-piston Brembo brake calipers and adjustable suspension.

We expect a remarkably finished, well-tuned car. Ford gives a select core of tuners advanced access to its parts and cars, and Roush has a solid history of building Mustangs with more power, plus improved handling to match—as well as a little more bodywork or trim to stand out and be recognized, yet not so much so as to be garish.