Toy Story

How CGS Motorsports turned an S550 into a SEMA Show muscle star

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of CGS Performance Products

As you now know, Ford Motor Company has worked with a number of aftermarket companies to create a fleet of unique 2015 Mustangs for this year’s SEMA Show. All these customized S550s will be part of the company’s huge push to stand out amongst its competitors. Of course, each one of these builders is looking to stand out from this impressive group. A Mustang that won’t have trouble attracting special attention is the one created by CGS Performance Products of Chino, California.

An exhaust specialist, CGS has long worked with Ford and other manufacturers to build over 40 unique rides. These are the kind of vehicles that cut through all the noise on the show floor in Vegas and stand out. In doing so, CGS has garnered massive media attention and taken home hardware in the process, including winning the Ford Design Award four times and the Ford Project Excellence Award twice.

That said, it was a vehicle built for another manufacturer that made the Blue Oval take notice. After CGS wowed the show with its take on a Brand X ride, Ford reps insisted that CGS would need to work its magic on the 2015 Mustang when it finally arrived. After waiting patiently through the late-S197 refreshes, CGS finally got its hands on this 2015 Mustang GT just weeks before The SEMA Show.

“Our mission is to build a vehicle to promote our CGS brand,” Casey Scranton, President of CGS Performance Products, explained. “What better way to do that than start with a 2015 Ford Mustang and make it look like the toy that we all would like to play with.”

Of course, the cornerstone of Casey’s bold plan for the company’s 2015 Mustang project was fitting 24×16-inch Kompression Forged wheels and 405/25-R24 Pirelli tires under the rear of the new Mustang. Yes, you read those specs correctly. This car is wearing massive Flintstones out back and this look is sure to stop traffic on the show floor.

Casey said that most people react like this: “OMG, how did you do that? That rear wheel is huge! What size is that rear tire?”

As you might imagine, fitting this wheel and tire combo under the new Mustang took more than bolt-on engineering. Instead, Casey and company removed the factory rearend and suspension. Then they cut the entire rear floor out of the car and welded in a new Chris Alston’s Chassisworks’ rear subframe and Fab9 rearend featuring a Strange third member and axles.

Doing so just weeks before the car’s show debut was no small feat, but the CGS team definitely did its homework. Being prepared made the mods no big deal.

“It wasn’t too bad we met with the people at Ford back in June and we were lucky enough to get our hands on the new Mustang for a few days. We did a ton of measuring of that car so that we could get Chris Alston’s Chassisworks to start building the rear subframe and suspension,” Casey elaborated. “Once our car arrived to us back in September we were ready to rock and roll. We already had the rear subframe ready to go. It was the little things that mostly take up all your time, such as making the new aluminum fuel tank that would still house all the factory hardware, fuel pumps, and evap.”

In addition to getting exposure for the Ford Mustang, Casey clearly wanted to highlight his company’s exhaust products as well.

“We have designed two different exhaust systems for the 2015 Mustang, an axle-back and a cat-back. The axle-back system is a great system for someone that is looking for that great muscle car sound and doesn’t plan on doing any other major engine modifications,” Casey explained. “The cat-back system that we are making is a complete, dual-3-inch, mandrel-bent system with an X-pipe and two CGS Performance mufflers. It uses all factory-style hangers.”

There is a lot more to the CGS Mustang than just the rear suspension and the exhaust. While part of Casey’s plan is to keep the exterior relatively stock appearing, the car is receiving plenty of performance hardware, highlighted by a Whipple supercharger underhood. It’s certainly won’t hurt to have over 700 horsepower on tap if you want to spin those massive rear wheels.

Of course, if you miss this amazing car at The SEMA Show, you’ll be able to catch it on tour if you are out west. “For the next 18 months we will tour the Mustang around in our CGS Highway Hauler to different shows around the West Coast,” Casey added.

The Mod List

Powertrain
• Whipple supercharger
• CGS cat-back exhaust system
• CGS cold-air intake system
• McLeod clutch
• Cal Pony Cars carbon-fiber cam covers
• Cal Pony Cars hood-lift kit

Chassis & Suspension
• Chris Alston’s Chassisworks rear subframe
• Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Fab9 rearend
• Chris Alston’s Chassisworks double-adjustable coilovers
• Strange Engineering ST axles
• Strange Engineering third member
• Eibach Suspension Front Springs
• Eibach Suspension sway bar
• Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings
• Brembo monoblock six-piston front calipers w/ 15-inch rotors
• Brembo monoblock four-piston rear calipers w/ 15-inch rotors
• Inland Powder Coat powdercoating
• J.E. Reel driveline
• Kompression Forged 22×8.5-inch, front
• Kompression Forged 24×16-inch, rear
• Pirelli Tires 255/30-R22, front
• Pirelli Tires 405/25-R24, rear

Exterior
• Paint by Andy Meeh
• Axalta CGS Red paint
• 3M build supplies
• Cerakote Coatings ceramic paint
• Tint Works window tint
• Cover King satin stretch custom car cover
• Extreme Dimensions carbon-fiber front and side splitters

Interior
• GoPro action camera
• R-Blox sound deadener
• Chris Alston’s Chassiswork custom roll cage
• Pecca leather over Recaro seats
• UltraSuede interior
• Lloyd Mats custom floor mats
• Crow Enterprises five-point seat belts

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