Race Ace and Road Warrior

Mater Cars for Cancer’s latest prize pool covers off ‘road, land and sea’, but ‘road’ is where the muscle is. For that, they’re offering a Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3, and it could be yours.

Mater Cars for Cancer returns to its roots for Lottery 106, with a ‘winner takes all’ draw that includes a Mustang RTR Spec 3, a Ranger Wildtrak and a pair of Yamaha VX Deluxe jet skis. Roll this in with a pile of cashable gold bullion, and you’ve got a total prize pool valued at an even $300k.

A sizeable chunk of that considerable coin is dedicated to the sixth generation Ford Mustang GT with Spec 3 upgrades from RTR Vehicles based in Concord, North Carolina. They’re a relative new outfit, but more on them later. As for the Mustang, it was a true icon well prior to the release of the sixth gen in 2015 and since then, the popularity of the original pony car has progressed unabated.

Ford offers the fast-but-frugal EcoBoost four or the headline act 5.0 Mustang GT V8; either way that classic profile is there, equal parts svelte and savage. But, it seems, not savage enough for some, because to truly own the road (or track), you’ll need the RTR Spec 3 package, and in order to get it, and the 5.0 Mustang GT V8 it’s attached to, you’ll need a ticket in Lottery 106.

RTR Vehicles was founded in 2007 by professional drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. Gittin’s motor racing exploits are renowned amongst the international drifting community where he is a true giant of the sport. However, as he entered the drift scene, he became disillusioned with the lack of proper ‘tuner’ gear for his beloved Ford Mustang. Instead, he found only more ‘traditional’ mods inappropriate for drifting, or he could change steeds to a Japanese import, which wasn’t going to happen. Much like winning isn’t going to happen without a ticket!

Gittin saw much camaraderie in the Mustang scene but still wanted to shake up the aftermarket, so in 2009 he created the first RTR Vehicles Mustang. His journey down the entrepreneurial rabbit hole continued unabated, and by 2010 he’d forged an official alliance with Ford Motor Company, pushing RTR Vehicles beyond a simple aftermarket business into the ‘OEM+’ category.

‘OEM’ stands for ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer’; the kind of stuff made for Ford, branded ‘Ford’ and only available via their official channels. Conversely, aftermarket gear is a free-for-all, pretty much describing any replacement or modification part not supplied by the manufacturer, however while some of that gear can be great, quality can be inconsistent and sometimes, you get what you pay for.

‘OEM+’ sits between those two concepts; it’s aftermarket gear, but it’s only available through select channels and, most importantly, is supplied and fitted to brand-new cars by Ford dealers, pre-delivery. RTR Vehicles as an official OEM+ supplier puts your mind at ease; nobody wants to win a muscle car that turns into a mechanical liability! But naturally, you’ve got to be in it to win it.

The RTR Vehicles Spec 3 body kit includes all that’s needed to properly stand out from the crowd: rear spoiler, upper and lower front grilles, front chin spoiler, bumper inserts and turning vanes, and bonnet extractor vents, all bespoke to RTR Vehicles. The prize pony isn’t likely to be mistaken for any of its brethren, and RTR ensure this right down to the race inspired RTR Aero 7 alloys, finished in sinister charcoal.

But let’s not beat around the bush; that’s what the Ford Ranger Wildtrak is for! The Mustang RTR Spec 3 can wear all the body kit and rare alloy wheels in the world, but it’s completely pointless without some serious numbers to back it up. That’s where the 5.0 litre ‘Coyote’ V8 comes in. The factory Ford donk is topped with a menacing, ribbed Whipple supercharger, upping power to a significant 750 horsepower with 615 foot-pounds of torque. If you only speak metric, that’s just shy of 560kw and over 830 stonking Newton metres of twist: more than enough, in other words.

Mater Cars for Cancer haven’t laid down any 0-100 or quarter mile times; that’s for you to do (legally) if you’re the lucky ticket holder when the prize is drawn. The Mustang is a relatively common sports car, but the RTR Spec 3 upgrade will put it a cut above any other Mustang in the car park. Gittin himself stands behind his product, signing the dash plaque affixed to the sporty interior.

Racing is cool; even having a car that can race is cool, even if it never sees the racetrack. Because for all the talk, racing is unimportant; it’s a pastime, it’s a hobby and it’s a multi-million-dollar business, sure. But it’s not the race against curing cancer; that’s one where we are yet to see success, but one that Mater, along with your help, is fighting every day to win.

Grab a ticket today, for all of those reasons.