In a bid to draw attention to its driver training programmes, Ford will be showing a one-off, modified example of the Explorer ST at the 26th annual running of the Woodward Dream Cruise, a one-day celebration of American classic car culture which takes place this year on August 21 in Oakland County, Michigan.
The build of this modified Explorer ST is aimed at creating publicity for the Ford Performance Racing School that is offered to owners of Ford performance vehicles, and which is run as one-day or two-day programmes.
The star car here gets a raft of track use modifications, such as a custom-fabricated, MIG-welded full safety cage for a four-door, four-seater configuration, featuring 1.75-inch (44.5 mm) overall diameter drawn-over-mandrel tubing. Inside are a quartet of Recaro Cross Sportster CS seats with custom Ford Performance Racing School trim and Safecraft four-point harnesses, plus racing window nets for each of the four windows.
Stopping power for this one-off Explorer ST comes courtesy of Brembo six-piston monobloc aluminium front calipers on 420 mm-diameter vented discs from the Shelby Mustang GT500. Rolling stock is a set of Signature Wheels SV503 Track Series wheels, shod in 315/30ZR21 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
It appears that this modified Explorer will be tasked with more than just static exhibitions, as it has been “scheduled to see plenty of track time starting shortly after the Woodward Dream Cruise,” said Ford Performance Racing School president Dan McKeever. “This is a work in progress. The vehicle will undergo more performance tuning as we learn its full potential,” McKeever added.
First organised as a fundraiser for a football field in 1995, the Woodward Dream Cruise is so named for the annual event’s running on Woodward Avenue, America’s first highway, passing through municipalities within Oakload County including Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, Pontiac, Birmingham, Berkley and Ferndale.
The event has grown to become the world’s largest one-day automotive event, where it attracts 1.5 million attendees and 40,000 classic cars from around the world, according to its organisers.
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