A sneak peak at a future PHR feature car being shot in the studio.

We tend to shoot a lot of cars on location and out in natural light, but whenever we get the opportunity to slide one inside the moonscape of the PHR photo studio we never hesitate. There’s just something about the soft glow of the giant Chimera flash and the lack of shadows and reflections that allow you truly appreciate the paint and bodywork of a hot rod or muscle car.

Today, we had one of the most aggressive Mustangs on the planet; Xecution. Loyal readers may recognize this Mustang as the in-house development mule for CorteX Racing as well as our ride during the rally stage of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. Perhaps even more significantly, it's also the inspiration and prototype for the chassis and suspension on PHR’s own '67 Cougar XR7 project car known as Max Effort.

Like those flares? That’s what it takes to cover 18x12 wheels and 335-series tire front and rear on a ’66 Mustang. Does it need that much? Yes. With the right tire Xecution has shown cornering forces of 1.6G static and 2.2G jerk. With 650hp, a road race prepped 6-speed, and a cambered 9-inch housing, it’s basically an American Le Mans car wrapped in a vintage Mustang shell. And, man do we love driving it.

Best of all, it was all designed and built by a true hot rodder and racer in his spare time. Did we mention it was also his first car? We only wish our first car had evolved into something even remotely like this

Want to know more and see this extreme ’66 up close? Watch for it in an upcoming issue of PHR!