Many cheers and celebrations were had in 2010, when Ford announced that the Ford Mustang would be getting a new 5.0 liter V8 engine with 412 horsepower. Just as awesome was the new 3.7 liter V-6 engine, which upped the ante with 305 horsepower, finally giving the base Mustang some real cajones.

This sturdy V6 is just beginning to be explored as a potential performance engine, and race car designers Radical Sports Cars have picked the Mustang’s motor as the powerplant for their RXC track car. We think it’s a good fit, even if the RXC is British.

The product of three and a half years of development, the Radical RXC is a road-legal racing car that was custom designed from the ground, up. This includes the seven-speed manual transmission, the Intrax racing suspension system with inboard pushrods, and the fully-floating disc brakes.

But at the heart of this racer is the Mustang’s V-6 engine, tuned and tweaked by RXC to deliver 380 hp, in this lightweight chassis. Those two critical design elements combined, the RXC can deliver zero to 60 times of 2.8 seconds, on it’s way to a top speed of 175 MPH, not too shabby for a tuned base model V-6 engine.

It’s incredible to think that just a few years ago, the Mustang V6 motor was still being treated with disdain and disrespect (and rightly so). Today though, the Mustang’s base motor is being treated to the race track. How is that for a turnaround?