(Joe McHugh photo)

“I’m truly stunned!” exclaimed the Hoosier state campaigner as he discovered the results embedded in the acceleration graphs displayed from the readout of the onboard data. “I had no idea these cars were reaching these speeds so quickly. We honestly didn’t realize we had the quickest zero-to-sixty production car on the planet!”

Although open to all production vehicles, the ADRL’s SuperCar Showdown requires strict adherence to factory equipment and modifications are not permitted. Butner’s Mustang utilized the production 5.4-liter, (330 cubic inch), V8 engine equipped with a 2.4-liter supercharger, a production automatic transmission and a factory-produced chassis. The Ford weighed in a 3,550 pounds was also required to compete on drive tires no wider than nine inches, (228 mm).

During the event, Butner also clocked a 0-to-100-mph time of 3.26 seconds to eclipse any known claim for the same performance by an auto manufacturer. “The fact the weather conditions at Houston weren’t really conducive to developing maximum power makes me really wonder just how quick these cars can eventually run,” said Butner. “We really haven’t applied all the power-making techniques, such as changing gear ratios, to these cars yet. I have to believe they’ll be quicker and faster in the coming SuperCar Showdown events”.