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Many people passed by this 1934 Ford three window coupe at SEMA, paying more attention to the blinged out Mustangs and Foci packed around it - or perhaps they were too busy watching the boys from Galpin Auto building that classic green Mustang in the background.  In any case, I saw a great many people glance at this street rod and move on, as the unique modern drivetrain was so seamlessly installed that many might have assumed it to be a typical street rod packed with a V8.

However, a closer look at this pristine '34 Ford coupe tells a very different story.  With cooperation from Ford Motor Company and a handful of Michigan-based businesses, owner Kurt Kurtenbach has fitted a twin turbocharged direct injection 3.5L V6 from the Ford Taurus SHO into his beautiful street rod.

Starting in May 2009, Chip Foose, Magnaflow Performance Exhaust, and PowerBlockTV teamed up to created a one-of-a-kind 2010 Ford Mustang to be awarded by means of a random drawing.  The Foose Mustang featured a paint design by Chip Foose, and Mr. Foose was in the Magnaflow display this year at the SEMA Show to help show off the sweepstakes Mustang. 

The performance modifications begin with a Magnaflow Performance exhaust system and an Edelbrock supercharger system to increase the power to the wheels and a Baer big brake kit and Eibach suspension kit help the Foose Magnaflow Mustang handle as well as it accelerates.  A set of Foose wheels and high performance Pirelli tires add style and performance, and this custom 2010 Mustang stands out in a crowd even without an outlandish paint scheme or body kit.

It's pretty clear that Ford Motor Company is very proud of the 2010 refresh of the Ford Mustang - even though the Mustang has not yet received the "big motor news".  Since launching the 2010 Mustang at the LA Auto Show last year, Ford has been showing off their proud new baby like any good doting parent and the 2009 SEMA Show was virtually an alter to the fabled pony car.

 

This is nothing new, as the gigantic Ford display at SEMA is never without a nice spread of modified Mustangs, and models like the new Cobra Jet and the RTR-C Mustang fit the SEMA mold nicely.  However, this year featured the first for Ford as they debuted the first ever Ford Mustang stock car for NASCAR along with a pair of beautiful Shelby Mustangs being raffled off to help with veterans charities.  Also, Ford offered up a handful of production 2010 Mustangs showing off the latest and greatest 'aftermarket' additions available from Ford Racing.

 

Ford has used the SEMA Show in Las Vegas show off new products from Ford Racing in the past, and with the Motor Company being the official car manufacturer of this year's show, we can expect more excitement. One hint as to what we could see at SEMA was offered by yesterday, as Ford Racing issued a press release officially announcing the 2010 Ford Racing Boss 302R Mustang and some of the cars' specifications.

Paying homage to the success of the 1970 Boss Mustang in the racing world, the 2010 302R will be a race only model and production will be limited to just 50 units.  The 2010 Boss 302R Mustang will come in the "standard" 302R form, or a Grand-Am Homologation package is available for those intending to compete in the KONI Challenge series.  The 2010 Boss 302R has an MSRP of $79,000, and for those wanting a fully built race car, the Grand-Am prepped 302R will run you around $129,000.

Like the 1970 Boss 302, the 2010 302R will feature a 5.0L V8, but this modern 5.0L offers an "estimated" 400hp.  The real power figures are more likely to be distributed once Ford has announced the power figures for the 2011 Mustang at this year's LA Auto Show, but with the Mustang GT expected to offer around 400hp from the 5.0L Coyote V8, I hope to see GT500-like power out of this $79,000 dollar race Mustang.  The more expensive Koni Challenge Boss 302R comes with a "sealed high output race motor", and the SEMA Show could be the perfect venue for such a monster factory built race car.

When Steve Saleen parted from Saleen Motorsports, it was unknown what would come of the near legendary line of high performance Saleen Mustangs.  Mr. Saleen departed to start the new SMS Supercars, and the original company has retained the Saleen name (after a couple lawsuits) and has now become Saleen Performance Vehicles.

A few months ago, the new Saleen Performance Vehicles released their first take on the refreshed 2010 Mustang, minus Steve Saleen's influence, in the form of the Mustang 435S.  The changes to the exterior of the Saleen 435S were minimal, but along with suspension upgrades, the new Saleen received engine improvements to the tune of 435 horsepower.  This monster Mustang is an excellent first chapter to the Steve-less Saleen Performance, but we all knew that more was to come.