Classical Gas; If it's traditional Mustang character you seek, Roush offers a full dose.

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

Whoever named the latest Roush-tuned Mustang the ``Classic'' nailed it. Without going back to a pushrod 5.0-liter and rear drum brakes, this car offers up all the traditional pony car driving experience you could hope for in an '03 model, with all the improvements in that experience that nearly 40 years of development would lead one to expect.

It is, at heart, a Mustang GT-live axle and single-overhead cam modular 4.6-liter V8, rather than the Cobra's independent suspension and twin-cam-but with upgraded horsepower thanks to a Roush-engineered Roots-type supercharger and intercooler system. Behind the belt-driven supercharger, the induction system uses a Roush manifold, modified airflow sensor with greater range, Bosch injectors and a BBK throttle body. The air-to-liquid intercooler has its own electric water pump, the fuel system is upgraded to deliver greater flow and a lighter, aluminum flywheel replaces the standard one. (Opt for an automatic and Roush provides an auxiliary cooler for it.) The powerplant is just like that in Roush Performance's other models, the 380R and Stage 3. That means you get serious performance, with the factory quoting test figures of 4.3 seconds to 60 mph and a 12.6-second quarter-mile at 111 mph.

But where the 380R and Stage 3 are hot-rod flamboyant and put the emphasis on all-out performance, the Classic is meant more as a daily driver, with less flashy looks and more comfort oriented trimmings. The bodywork is subtler, the suspension is stock Mustang GT with bigger 17-inch wheels and tires to improve grip, and the brakes are 13-inch front/10.5-inch rear discs, cross-drilled and with dual-piston PBR calipers up front (stock calipers in the rear).

The Classic's body kit enhances the standard Ford shape and draws cues from many elements of the model's history, without going over the top. It borrows the front fascia, hood and rear wing from the Stage 3. The standard wheel is a chrome Roush model, with 18-inchers optional, both wearing Z-rated Goodyear Eagle tires. They were 245/45-ZR-17s on this one (which, as it turned out, is Jack Roush's own car), the chrome rims set off nicely against the silver-gray paint. Inside, there are ``this is something special'' reminders like a Roush white-faced gauge package with Jack Roush's signature (``Jack Roush, USA'') on the tach, and Roush logos also on custom leather seats and floor mats.

If over the top is what you want, Roush can do that for you-we drove an all-out Roush 380R with a wake-the-neighbors exhaust system and even louder appearance package just before we got into the Classic. It was fun, but it was one of those fun-in-short-bursts numbers, the droning exhaust and stiffer suspension making an urban commute more chore than a joy. Those descriptors are reversed in the Classic. At least for those of us of modest dimensions-the tall guys had a problem with either the Roush seat or its mounting, which seemed to limit rearward travel. Those standing over six feet tall all said they were in pain while driving the Classic. Those under that mark preferred this seat to the stock equipment, or didn't even notice much difference in the seating position.

What we all noticed was the Roush-badged aluminum shift lever with a backward bend to it like a drag racer's favorite Hurst model. We have long complained that the shifter is mounted too far forward in the current Mustang-this backward bend addresses the problem, at least superficially, and we suspect it would do so for even tall drivers, had they been able to find a comfortable position. The downside, though, is that in second and fourth gears, the lever winds up pretty much parallel to the console with the indented-ball knob at the forward cupholder. You have to lift up on it to get third or fifth. Takes some getting used to, it does, and while we'd easily adapt our driving style for Saturday night bracket races, if your weekend fun came ...