Lebanon Ford Still at It, Offers 800 HP Mustang Hellion for a Tick Under 40K

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

We told you about the bargain performance coming out of Ohio’s Lebanon Ford back in 2016. At the time, the dealer offered a base Mustang GT manual fitted with a Roush supercharger, good for a (then) Challenger Hellcat-beating 727 horsepower. Drive it away for $39,995, Ford and Roush warranty in hand, the dealer said. And many did.

The fun hasn’t stopped at Lebanon Ford in the ensuing years. There’s still an available Roush package owners can drop into their existing GTs, and buyers can still tell the dealer to hand over a Roush-ified ‘Stang at new car time. Power now stands at 700 hp. If that’s not enough grunt, a recent addition to the LFP (Lebanon Ford Performance) family is the Hellion — a Mustang GT that eschews the supercharged lifestyle in favor of a twin-turbo setup capable of generating 800 hp at the crank.

Should owners feel like swapping out the wastegate spring, power levels in the four-figure range become possible. Price? Again, starting at $39,995.

The Hellion, detailed by Motor Authority, first appeared at Lebanon on a limited number of 2018 models. It’s back for 2019, and can be applied after the fact to Mustang GT manuals from either model year.

Like other LFP models, this package begins with a basic 5.0-liter GT. From that starting point, the dealer bolts on a Hellion Power Systems Street Sleeper Twin Turbo System, which uses the factory air box while hiding the turbos beneath the engine. Included in the Street Sweeper package are Turbosmart Comp-Gate 40 wastegates, Turbosmart VEE port bypass valves, a high-flow intercooler, upgraded fuel injectors, and an engine tune from Palm Beach Dyno.

Offering a broader power band than a Roush Mustang, the basic Hellion setup runs 7 pounds of boost. Again, that’s good for 800 hp at the crank. Should buyers choose to leave sanity further in the rear-view, the car’s 5-pound wastegate spring can be swapped for an available 7-pound spring that cranks boost up to 9 or 10 lbs, or close to 1,000 hp. Ominously, the Street Sweeper system is capable of providing 30 to 40 lbs of boost.

You’ll need to spend more money if the basic Hellion leaves you wanting more. Lebanon Ford says the Mustang will surely cry uncle at a higher power level, requiring additional upgrades for greater fuel flow. You’ll also need a beefier pair of half-shafts.

While the promise of 800 hp from a $40k vehicle seems tempting, nervous drivers (who are shopping at LFP, for some reason) should note that a failure originating from Lebanon’s performance add-ons could render your powertrain warranty null and void. If the thought of minimal coverage keeps you up at night, the dealer suggests giving its sales staff a call for further details.

[Image: Ford Motor Company]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 20 comments
  • Dr.Nick What about Infiniti? Some of those cars might be interesting, whereas not much at Nissan interest me other than the Z which is probably big bucks.
  • Dave Holzman My '08 Civic (stick, 159k on the clock) is my favorite car that I've ever owned. If I had to choose between the current Civic and Corolla, I'd test drive 'em (with stick), and see how they felt. But I'd be approaching this choice partial to the Civic. I would not want any sort of automatic transmission, or the turbo engine.
  • Merc190 I would say Civic Si all the way if it still revved to 8300 rpm with no turbo. But nowadays I would pick the Corolla because I think they have a more clear idea on their respective models identity and mission. I also believe Toyota has a higher standard for quality.
  • Dave Holzman I think we're mixing up a few things here. I won't swear to it, but I'd be damned surprised if they were putting fire retardant in the seats of any cars from the '50s, or even the '60s. I can't quite conjure up the new car smell of the '57 Chevy my parents bought on October 17th of that year... but I could do so--vividly--until the last five years or so. I loved that scent, and when I smelled it, I could see the snow on Hollis Street in Cambridge Mass, as one or the other parent got ready to drive me to nursery school, and I could remember staring up at the sky on Christmas Eve, 1957, wondering if I might see Santa Claus flying overhead in his sleigh. No, I don't think the fire retardant on the foam in the seats of 21st (and maybe late 20th) century cars has anything to do with new car smell. (That doesn't mean new car small lacked toxicity--it probably had some.)
  • ToolGuy Is this a website or a podcast with homework? You want me to answer the QOTD before I listen to the podcast? Last time I worked on one of our vehicles (2010 RAV4 2.5L L4) was this past week -- replaced the right front passenger window regulator (only problem turned out to be two loose screws, but went ahead and installed the new part), replaced a bulb in the dash, finally ordered new upper dash finishers (non-OEM) because I cracked one of them ~2 years ago.Looked at the mileage (157K) and scratched my head and proactively ordered plugs, coils, PCV valve, air filter and a spare oil filter, plus a new oil filter housing (for the weirdo cartridge-type filter). Those might go in tomorrow. Is this interesting to you? It ain't that interesting to me. 😉The more intriguing part to me, is I have noticed some 'blowby' (but is it) when the oil filler cap is removed which I don't think was there before. But of course I'm old and forgetful. Is it worth doing a compression test? Leakdown test? Perhaps if a guy were already replacing the plugs...
Next