Quarter-mile muscle: Bama Performance’s Mustang breaks nine-second mark without forced induction

By Andrew Hard December 11, 2014

Whenever a new performance car is released, a spirited game of one-upmanship begins.

Tuning companies, both in house and aftermarket, scramble to push the boundaries of the just-released vehicle, manufacturing and testing performance packages to improve driving capabilities in a safe, marketable way.

As for the 2015 Ford Mustang, Maryland firm Bama Performance is leading the charge thus far.

The Ford tuner has just broken the 9.0-second quarter-mile mark with its sixth-generation Mustang GT, the first company to do so, but more impressive is the fact that it did so without aid of forced induction.

That’s not to say the pony car is straight off the showroom floor. Bama added a cold-air intake, Boss intake manifold, long-tube headers, mid-pipe exhaust, and a carbon fiber driveshaft to the V8 ‘Stang, but the biggest enhancement comes via a shot of nitrous and Bama’s in-house tune.

At Maryland’s MIR raceway, the GT managed a 9.91-second quarter mile at 135.41 mph on slick tires and FTW Purple race gas. American Muscle recently posted a video of the feat, which includes a breakdown of the car with Bama’s engineers.

Another focus of Bama’s speed-hunting endeavor was weight savings, so the team stripped out the majority of the interior. With a driver and a quarter tank of gas, the Mustang weighs about 3,450 pounds, some 255 lbs less than the manual GT’s curb weight.

Despite exponentially increasing difficulty to push the car past the 9.0-second mark, Bama’s team is looking to make the car even faster, which will undoubtedly require forced induction.

Given the company’s expertise and forward-thinking ambition, 8.0 seconds is only a matter of time.

(Video via American Muscle)

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…

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