The Roush 600 RE was a happy end for some unsold Ford GTs—with more power, to boot. ufa.bet
It seems unbelievable now, but at the end of the run of the previous-generation Ford GT in 2006, there were a few that went unsold. Ford and its partner, Roush Engineering, found the upside in the form of the Roush 600 RE, modifying these special few late-production cars and sending them to Europe. And they didn't arrive empty-handed, either, as Roush's modifications ensured a healthy bump in output.
RE stands for Roush Europe, a clear indicator that these are no regular Roush-fettled Fords. And while this one has the retro-inspired Heritage Edition colors that invoke the blue-and-orange glory of the legendary Gulf Oil racing livery, this scheme apparently wasn't a common choice for the 600 RE. This may be the only one. Not that there are many in the first place—just 10 GTs were converted to 600 RE spec, according to RM Sotheby's.
On to the good stuff: power. There appears to be plenty, not that the GT was deficient in this regard before Roush got its mitts on the sports car. The Roush 600 RE belts out 600 hp, which is 50 hp more than stock. The extra power comes courtesy of a smaller supercharger pulley and less restrictive exhaust system. A transmission cooler helps keep things healthy in the driveline. The rest of the kit consists of cosmetic adornments that befit the car's rarity and increased power.
Being a European thing, this 600 RE lives overseas and will be offered for sale at the London auction in late October. Originally, the 600 RE carried a roughly $26,000 premium over a regular GT. It'll be interesting to see how this rare tuner version fares at auction.