When the fifth generation Mustang was introduced, the retro-styling and performance heritage made this car an instant success with not only the Ford crowd, but many others as well. Almost immediately, the performance enhancers were popping up all over, as well as shops that focused on tuning modern muscle cars like the Mustang.

At almost any racetrack, be it drag racing or road racing, the Mustang is always at the front of the pack and makes its presence known. From sport springs to sway bars, intake kits to superchargers and turbos, modifying the S197 Mustang to perform better has been on many to-do lists for years.

Whiteline USA was at SEMA to show us a few of their products, specifically their Watts Linkage for the S197, a Global Media Award winner at SEMA 2012. The kit looks like it was built with strength in mind, For anyone who has the latest Mustang and has modified the suspension, you’re probably aware that real estate underneath the rear of the car is at a premium.

We spoke to account executive Jared Chavez about the release of the Watts Linkage, and asked about fitment problems that people may experience with aftermarket parts. He told us that their Watts Link was designed with that in mind, while keeping it a 100% bolt-in component.

“We never really considered that anyone installing this product would have a completely stock Mustang,” Chavez said, “We figured that most people who want this will already have some of our products installed, or they’ve modified their suspension with someone else’s sport springs and sway bars.”

We took a look at the Mustang they had on display and it was clear that this product was designed with performance in mind. The replacement differential cover is all aluminum, and has two provisions built in for rear differential cooling, as well as bearing pre-load bolts.

The center pivot-bracket, which Chavez said was welded on both sides for additional strength, sees six mounting bolts to spread out the load evenly on the cover. Their synthetic elastomer bushings provide great performance while eliminating bushing squeak. The chromoly steel construction assures the strength necessary to support the demands on the track.

If getting your S197 to handle better at the track is on your to-do list, head on over to Whiteline’s web site and check out their product line. Their coverage is quite extensive for almost any vehicle, and includes sway bars, strut braces and chassis control bushing kits, to name a few.