Of all the things you could call the Ford Granada Mark II, “fast” isn’t a word that comes to mind first. When the hot button is a 160hp V6, things aren’t looking good. When it’s in a car that looks like a widened U.S. Escort up front and a boring, basic U.K. sedan out back, it’s even worse. So far, the only thing going for it is that it’s rear-wheel drive and has the capability for a manual transmission.

That proved to be more than enough reason for two Norwegians, Joel Olsen and Ingar Byam, to modify the living hell out of one particular Granada. In this car’s first life, it sported a Cosworth four-banger that was shoving 600hp at the wheels. Apparently that wasn’t enough, so after considering the purchase of an Nissan Skyline R32, out came the Cosworth and preparations were made to stuff the 1,700hp Ford 4.7L V8 from a Koenigsegg CCX into the Granada. That’s one hell of a “next step”.

Image: SpeedHunters

To say that modifications were made is the same as saying that water is wet. Shoving a wide-block Modular motor where it was never intended to go, and the two giant hairdryers that feed it, required major cutting and crafting to get right. The rear suspension from a Terminator Cobra Mustang was put under to try to wrangle the power, and brakes from a Porsche keep this Granada from stuffing itself into a wall. A roll cage, more chassis tweaks that I can comprehend and an intercooler as big as the entire front end are just tips of a gigantic iceberg of modifications. But it’s done, and from most angles, it only appears to be a mildly customized Granada. Woe be to anyone that misjudges this car.

Image: Thomas Holm

Thanks to Tedly for the tip!