Supercharged Galpin-Fisker Rocket ‘should be fast enough,’ maker says
What do you tell the crowd at the L.A. Auto Show after unveiling a carbon-fiber-bodied, 725-horsepower supercharged coupe based on the new Ford Mustang?
“It should be fast enough.” That’s how famed car designer Henrik Fisker summed up the Rocket, his latest project with L.A. dealership Galpin Auto Sports.
“It’s a special moment when you get to work on a car like the Ford Mustang,” Fisker said. “This is a project born out of passion, it’s a dream come true, to have the opportunity to ‘touch’ a Mustang and apply my design ideas to it.”
Fisker, he of the failed hybrid brand, has a lengthy design resume that includes stints at BMW and Aston Martin. He approached Beau Boeckmann, Galpin’s president, in August with the idea of producing such a car.
“When Henrik showed me his ideas, I got chills -- it’s literally the most beautiful Mustang I have ever seen,” Boeckmann said. “It is a natural fit for us to try to make the performance stand out as much as the design does.”
The car is loosely based on the 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Galpin and Fisker took that car’s 5.0-liter V-8 and supercharged the snot out of it for a total of 725 horsepower.
The two then rebodied the entire car -- save for the doors and roof -- in lightweight carbon fiber panels, built by a shop based in Fountain Valley. They’re designed to grab and channel the massive plumes of air needed to keep the engine and transmission cool, and all 21-inch wheels glued to the ground.
There’s no word on actual curb weight, though the car will be lighter as a result.
The car also has 15-inch Brembo brakes, an adjustable suspension, rear wing and an upgraded interior to go with the new body.
Galpin hopes to build between 80 and 500 of these high-performance variants. They’ll each start at just over $100,000, though that price will vary depending on how each customer specs his or her machine.
Production is to begin in December, with the first deliveries in early 2015.
