Orlando Sentinel's view

Even the most casual motor-sports fan likely knows who Jack Roush is – after all, he owns eight NASCAR teams, including the Winston Cup cars driven by Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton.

You may also recall Roush as the pilot who last year flew an experimental light plane into some electric lines and plunged into an Alabama lake. He was rescued by a man who lives on the lake, who just happened to be ex-military and trained in underwater rescue.

What you may not know is that Jack Roush’s Michigan-based business, Roush Industries, employs more than 1,800 people in the United States, Mexico and Great Britain, and is one of the leading private engineering and technology suppliers and consultants for the major car companies. Bits and pieces designed and tested by Roush and his crew show up on production vehicles of all kinds, but Roush and company operate behind the scenes.

Roush is up front, though, with his own line of high-performance Ford Mustangs, such as the 2003 Ford Mustang Roush 380R test car. Like a handful of other Mustang customizers such as Saleen, Roush essentially takes a Mustang GT – a convertible in this case – and adds a massive array of performance and appearance goodies. Things as major as a set of huge Alcon disc brakes ($5,400) and as minor as a vintage gear-shift lever with a custom knob and boot ($224).

By the time Roush got through with the test car, the price of the stock Mustang had nearly doubled, to $55,824. The result was a high-performance, collectible car that should be almost as dependable as a stock Mustang.

The basic 380R package, which sells for $16,800, adds a supercharger to the 4.6-liter V-8 engine, plus a custom fuel-delivery system, an aluminum flywheel, a custom hood and rear wing, and a half-dozen other enhancements. The test car also got the aforementioned brake upgrade, the new shifter lever, a stiffer suspension, and, for $1,890, custom leather seats. Those seats were the biggest surprise: Though soft and amazingly plush, they were nonetheless supportive, a genuine improvement over any Mustang seats offered by Ford.

The biggest disappointment: A $340 short-throw shifter for the five-speed manual transmission. As advertised, the distance between, say, first and second gears was about half the normal distance, but gears were hard to find and stiff to shift into. Forget this option.

Otherwise, the 380R was a blast to drive, much more livable than Roush’s first attempt at custom Mustang-building three years ago. Aside from the balky shifter, everything worked as it was supposed to.

The problem is that Ford does what Roush does to its own Mustangs, and does it more inexpensively. The Ford Special Vehicle Team builds the Cobra Mustang, as well as the Ford Lightning pickup and SVT Focus.

The SVT Mustang Cobra convertible also has a supercharged 4.6-liter V-8, with 390 horsepower, 11 more ho rsepower than the Roush. It has a six-speed manual transmission, and independent rear suspension. The suggested retail price is $38,405, about $18,000 less than our loaded test car.

Of course, it isn’t a Roush Mustang. His customers are willing to pay more for the name and the exclusivity. In terms of sheer performance, the Roush 380R may not be a bargain, but as a toy, it’s a lot of fun to play with.

To locate a Roush dealer – his cars are sold through Ford dealerships – check out www.roushperf.com. The site lists 14 Florida dealers, including Tropical Ford and Central Florida Lincoln-Mercury in Orlando.