2012 Roush Stage 3 Unveiled: 540hp

With a new tagline, Detroit Muscle Redefined, Roush finally lifts the veil on their new 2012 Stage 3 Mustang. The top dog ROUSHcharged Mustang took a short hiatus for the 2011 model year as the engineers at Roush took extra care to engineer their halo model.

For 2012, Roush offers their supercharged and intercooled Stage3 Mustang based on the new 5.0 liter V8. The 540 horsepower engine now features the larger and more efficient R2300 TVS Eaton/Roush supercharger that stuffs some 12 psi of boost into the 5.0 engine.

And while the Stage 3 was on vacation it got some new finishing touches that answered some criticisms the Roush line had gotten in recent years. All new two-tone graphics in a palette of custom colors, new emblems and badges, and new featured trims raise the bar for the Roush Mustang line including the new Stage 3.

The RS3 as Roush now terms the Stage 3, features 8 choices for the base vehicle color, 6 stripe colors, and 6 stripe accent colors. Roush says that these options offer a total of 288 unique color combinations. “In addition to the powerful ROUSH power train and tuned suspension, we’re really excited about the new graphics and design options,” says Gary Jurick, VP/GM of ROUSH Performance. “The ‘Redefined’ graphics introduce new metallic colors utilizing automotive paint-grade materials. The result is a breathtakingly deep tone to the RS3’s graphics. We’re now providing our ROUSH consumers a very broad spectrum of graphics and color combinations to consider for their 2012 RS3 Mustang.”

Additionally, a customer can specify the paint color of their brake calipers to better work with the color combination of the car. Roush also designed a mean looking new set of 20” Hyper-Black Wheels to be chosen along side their trademark 20” Chrome Wheels. Because of the many variations and custom combinations available for the Roush Stage 3, the company has for the first time created an online configurator that allows you to completely check out each and every possibility.

Because of Roush’s partnership with Cooper Tires, the RS3 comes exclusively with Cooper RS3 tires. Fancy that coincidence of name huh? A top of the line performance suspension comes standard on the RS3 including unique ROUSH front struts, rear shocks, front and rear springs, front stabilizer bars and jounce bumpers. The company tuned all the components to work in perfect harmony with the big brakes and sticky Cooper RS3 tires. Welcome news is that the RS3 will come with an anti-wheel hop kit standard as well.

If you want more however you can opt for the Competition Brake Upgrade to 6-piston calipers and even a competition grade suspension with double adjustable coil-over struts inspired from the Roush Track-Pak Mustangs of the past.

One thing you can always count on with the RS3 is that it comes fully-loaded. Exterior appearance includes a full Roush body package with front fascia with driving lights, chin spoiler, side rocker splitters, rear valance, rear deck-lid spoiler, and newly designed square exhaust tips that fit elegantly into the ROUSH rear valance cutouts. The latter was a bone to throw to the rank-in rile Roush owners and enthusiasts who had complained about the stock looking round exhaust of the 2010 models.

Inside you will find some very nice custom Roush leathers custom tailored to the exterior color combinations. Also there are all the fun touches like a set of four-piece performance pedals, Roush illuminated sill plates and console badging. A newly designed shifter ball with the Roush “R” in the Reverse position can be had in either black or white. And if you want an automatic, sorry the RS3 is only available with the six speed manual.

The 2012 RS3 Roush Mustang is not yet available for sale in California and other states requiring CARB emissions standards. If that wrinkles your nose, call your local legislators and tell them to stop being such namby pambies. You will just have to wait a little longer for Roush to work through the system to achieve full approvals.

The estimated retail price for the typically equipped 2012 Roush Stage 3 Mustang will be about $59,945. That’s right about where it has always been for almost a decade. Pretty good huh? Actual final retail pricing will vary based on options selected. Like all the Roush Mustangs, the RS3 is backed by a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty.

The new 2012 Roush Stage 3 shows up at dealerships within the next few weeks. So get with them now and order yours if you have one of those wild new color combinations in mind.

I like this, but I think I'll still have to get the new GT500 before this. The promise of 600+ hp is a bit more enticing. But I still want this one too.

Nice car but why not just get the Boss 302 or the GT500, seems to me Saleen as a company is gone and I am not sure how Roush is hanging in there.

Well since the Boss 302's are all spoken for and the car comes with a factory warranty, the Roush gives others out there another option. I would also have to think the suspension and brake package would also be better than the GT500 (Roush doesn't mess around there), but at $59,945 I would have to wait to see some actual track times.

Hell you can get the GT 5.0 for 29000, just put on your own blower and suspension stuff and you have the same thing. for about 40000.
I think in the coming year you will be able to get a Boss 302.

I will admit that the Rousch Mustangs do usually out handle the Shelby Mustangs. But I also know that I can go down to a local Ford Dealership and pick up a fully loaded GT500 for 62000. This Rousch is selling for the same price. And if you can afford some thing like that then you can afford a few thousand more to make the appropriate upgrades to the suspension and brakes on the Shelby.

The Roush Mustangs are not holding value as well. Look at how much an 01-04 Roush is going for, really no match against a Cobra Mustang or Shelby. That is the real problem with the Roush product, they are kind of lost in the mix and even more so now that Shelby is back in the game.

For some one like me, a car that holds it's value does not matter much to me. The true value to me is how much fun it is to drive. When I got my 2004 Mustang back in April of '07 it had just under 30,000 miles on it. It now has just over 102,000 miles on it. I love to drive. So mater what cars I own I'm going to drive them alot. A Shelby will not hold it's value with me as it's owner...

Maybe so. One of the mistakes I made when I purchased my 2001 was that I did not buy a Roush or Cobra. I thought I was going to use mine as a daily driver, it turned out that I did not need the car for a daily driver so it became a garage queen. If I would have known my Dad would pass away early and my Mom would give me a nice car I would have purchased a more collectable Mustang but I did not know and we can never know the future. After buying my Yellow little GT and adding a blower I could not get myself to sell it, so here I am collecting a GT Mustang and I love it. I save driving it for special times. I also have a nice Civic 2 door that is a blast to drive so I drive a lot and I drive a lot of rental cars for my job so I have plenty of seat time in cars. In fact I have driven a lot of new cars and could right reviews for them if I felt like that. Thats the wonderful thing about cars we all have our reasons for loving them.

Frank Riley wrote:The Roush Mustangs are not holding value as well. Look at how much an 01-04 Roush is going for, really no match against a Cobra Mustang or Shelby. That is the real problem with the Roush product, they are kind of lost in the mix and even more so now that Shelby is back in the game.

What is this guy talking about?

I don't know?
Your's is cool as Hell Richard! All I am saying is Roush is not getting the respect the car and company has well earned! Shelby jumped back into the Ford game and that seems to be all everyone is talking about, truth is Roush wins races, Shelby has not won a race in 40 years. And I talked with Shelby many years ago and he told me he did not like making Mustangs and that to many people were already doing that. Now of course he wants to cash in. Shelby is just an old smart ass trying to sell his name. But the fact is right now that Shelby Mustangs are the biggest rage and the Roush product is kind of slipping away in the media. When Shelby was not with Ford, Saleen and Roush was the talk of the town, now there are so many people making Mustangs its crazy.

Why purchase some thing based off of how collectable it is? Get what you like and what you can afford. If I had the money to get a Cobra when I got my GT I would have done it. And it would have been my daily driver just like my GT is now.

Your very right!

Lets just say this Roush makes bad ass cars and that is the facts. I am just wondering with Saleen, Roush, Steeda and many others jumping into this game along with the King Shelby how many makes of the Mustang can we have. With that said Roush is a race car maker and that is what I see the most, Roush cars come from Race efforts and Roush flies P-51 Mustangs, so overall I give more value to Roush as a brand based on what he has done for motorsports recently, something Shelby has not done. Don't get me wrong what I am saying here is Roush and Saleen are getting less noticed and that I do not feel is right. If you ask me Saleen makes the best looking Mustangs around and Roush has the best racing history of any Mustang maker period!
I am just saying Shelby is glory hogging and its not right!

Rousch, Steeda, and Saleen, are all after market tuners. Ya so is Shelby, but they have a lot more history with Ford than the other three. Not to mention the different schools of thought here. Shelby is about performance but also wants to keep the car civil enough to be a daily driver. Rousch cares more about track numbers and a little less about comfort. Saleen I the only one that seems to be more well rounded about, appearance, performance, and how civil the car is. That is one reason why I'm tired of seeing these comparisons of Hennesy, SLP, etc... All against the Shelby GT500. Why dont they take their stuff and pit them against a loaded up Rousch or Saleen?

Ya the latest rags on the mag shelves have the new Boss 302 against a supercharged Vette motored Camero, why is it that Chevy always has to have a bigger motor and a blower to even hang with the Mustang.

Why do the Mags allow this type of comparison??? Chevy is supposed to be building a race ready version of the Camaro. Why not compare that to the new BOSS 302 or 302S???