Wolfie351

Demographics is a very good point. The average vette buyer is in the older mid-life crisis crowd. If Ford wants to attract those people, they will have to add more than just horsepower. There would also have to be the creature comforts the older people like AND also and automatic

BlackRiderX

Demographics is a very good point. The average vette buyer is in the older mid-life crisis crowd. If Ford wants to attract those people, they will have to add more than just horsepower. There would also have to be the creature comforts the older people like AND also and automatic [/b][/quote]
The only thing we have read over and over again is that the Cobra is moving "upscale" and it's target is the BMW M3 (Either the old one or the upcoming one). If we are talking about the outgoing M3 then the Cobra will still fall a little short of the C6 performance wise. The new BMW sounds like a force to be reckoned with however. If Ford is going to target the BMW and not the Corvette then expect bigger quality changes over just performance. BMW is a different kind of "upscale" market from Corvette.

If Ford targets the base C6 they will have to bring more than just HP. The C6 has a good background because of the C5R race program. If Ford decides to compete with the Vette I think we'll see the "body in white" program sharing ideas/parts with the Cobra.

You bring up a really good point though which is why I qouted your post. 70% or so of Corvette owners buy autos. As it is now Ford would only compete for the remaining 30% because of the stick only thing. If they truely wanted Corvette sales they would add the auto IMO.

montreal ponies

The guy said : " a lot more power"...so to me that's gotta be closer to 500HP......which is good to hear....now we need to ear something about a SE....can't wait.....maybe at the Detroit auto show!

Mongoose

Demographics is a very good point. The average vette buyer is in the older mid-life crisis crowd. If Ford wants to attract those people, they will have to add more than just horsepower. There would also have to be the creature comforts the older people like AND also and automatic[/b][/quote]

I would like a sleeper that can blow off vetts and vipers in the 1/4 and not look like it was made in Japan or Europe. 100% American look.Late 60s Mustang look without the Cobra badge would be fine with me. To heck with LED tail lights and SKL 350 looks. I think the SVT guys are going to build on the crammer motor with a screw supercharger.

M-squared

Get away from the supercharger, if a vette can have 500 Horsepower without one, then ford needs to play catch up and find a way to get more power out of the 4.6 (or ditch the 4.6 and use the 5.4 as a standard motor in a GT and then get more power in the cobra form). Superchareger is too ricy. HID lamps would be nice. I think 18" is probably going to be the size, but I have been wrong before, once only I believe. Sunroof would look a bit stupid, but Ttops would rock, but I know we are probably never going to see T-tops in a mustang again. Especially with the number of convertible sales they have.

1 COBRA

Would that be the green one or the yellow one?

Shelby Roadster

Hold the phone. You are calling a power adder ricey, and in the same breath want the Cobra to have HID's and T tops? Ugh.

Back to the SMG haters. If it is an option, by all means don't get SMG. At the track when you are missing shifts and the SMG cars are laying the smackdown on you, you'll regret not upgrading. We are talking a true SMG, not a glorified automatic, ala Pontiac.

mustang_sallad

about the whole m3 thing, what i remember readings goes more like this: the svt mustang will be to the regular mustang as the m3 is to the 3 series. Not so much that the cobra will compete with the m3 (i still hope they call it the m4). Just comparing the relative performances of these cars.
I could be wrong though.

Deathdealer

1) 5.4 liter V8 with 4-valve heads, 450+ horsepower on the brochure, 500+ in real life, with or without supercharger. (That whine can be addicting)

2) Trim at least 2-300 lbs from the car. Racing seats, less sound baffling, more use of aluminum, carbon fiber hood, no AC, (unless it is more trouble to take out than leave in.)

3) IRS, although the current GT seems to be pretty sporty, lower the car by 1" front and back.

4) Manual transmission ONLY

5) Cobra badging, and Mach 1 size (not shape) hood scoop for to clear the supercharger, ducktail instead of a wing, 18" Lightweight wheels.

6) Quad exhausts where the duals are now, Otherwise let the performance tell the story. Price at $39,500, offer in all regular + one special color.

My humble opinion.

idobson

So go and buy one then add a turbo or a supercharger then, you'd be paying way more for an SVT cobra than an 05 with a power adder anyway.

dke

Hmmm.... I think that the Cobra can beat the M3 in performance -- both old and new. They need to be at the 450hp level, and really tune the heck out of the suspension, and add SVG type tranny, and shed some weight with lighter parts. (And figure out how to move the engine back to help weight distro).

I disagree with removing sound baffling, AC, etc. I'd never buy a regular driver that didn't have AC, or that was too loud. The M3 is lighter, and is quieter than a GT, and has nicer interior. (Which I'm hoping the SVT addresses).

If you want a race car, bring the boy-racer to a street legal version. I think most people want something that runs well, and is pleasant to drive.

I'd rather NA over super. If you get 400+ without supercharging, it will be easier to just bolt on another 100-150hp. If they get 450 with supercharging, it is going to be a lot harder/more expensive to start bumping that up.

Shelby Roadster

Not true. If the Cobra isn't built with a blower, most likely it won't get forged pistons, and you'll have another ticking time bomb on your hands when you add forced induction on a high-compression vehicle.

Plus, adding 100-125HP on the 2003-2004 Cobras was cheap! Chip, pulley change, some airbox and exhaust work, and you are done.

While NA sounds like a good option, another factory supercharged car with a twin-screw would be ideal and would be a better base for aftermarket modifiications.

M-squared

Hid and Ttops are not ricey. HID is more of a saftey procaution because of the added brightness, but yes we could do without it. T-tops are just a thing of the past on mustangs, and since this car is all about the past I think it would be a neat addition, but again we will probably be without ttops forever on a mustang.

As far as a poweradder, its a bolt on, need I say more?

It is a cheap way to get power, but its a stupid way on a V8 american muscle car, because there isn't anything american about a supercharged V8

crispy23c

Sorry to bust your bubble, but Superchargers were originally considered for options on the AC Cobra (did not happen) and the original Shelby Mustangs (it happened). Superchargers saw their first widespread use during WWII by the AMERICANS and ENGLISH. Additionally, the V8 was invented by Americans. Not Rice. Historic. Proven. Technological. Potent.

M-squared

Your trans am (if equiped with Ram Air package) doesn't need a supercharger to be fast, why should your mustang Cobra?

I dont care about the supercharger being used back in the day. This is the present, we see a huge trend of motors with more horsepower from a small size, why must we bolt on a S/C to get an extra 100-150 hsp? Certain vehicles are ok with s/c's, but an all american mustang with a s/c is just a slap in the face to the people who are true to the mustang, like it or not.

There is just no pride in beating a vette just because you have a S/C under the hood, just think if the vette had one or was turbocharged???

It's like we are playing the keep up game with GM, but doing it in a stranger way. They get all their power naturally, and we have to add a S/C. It just seems to me that they get the last laugh in at the end of the day/drag.

rhumb

My guesstimate:

The Cobra will be targeted a bit upscale of the current one and probably pretty close to the M3 in terms of target audience, though with a lot of Vette, Viper and whatever other $40K+ cars they can appeal to. Like the current Cobra, it will NOT be a brutish, one-trick muscle car (more a role for the probable Mach I) but rather, a refined and well rounded, albeit quite powerful, Grand Tourismo car, ala the M3 or even M6.

As for specs, my hunches:

Motor: Somewhat detuned Ford GT motor at around 500hp. This will put advertised power safely below the Top Dog Ford GT, though actual output will probably be little different (wink, wink, nod, nod). I for one have absolutely no issue with superchargers - so what if they're bolt on power adders, as are headers, cat backs, CAIs, etc. As long as they're well done and well tuned, slap 'em on. As for being "ricey," it's the German's at Mercedes who are making devastatingly fast SC'ed cars these days.

Tranny: Six speed MTX standard with an SMG type tranny coming on board at some time - .15 second shifts are something to covet indeed.

Suspension: IRS for sure, you can't play in this league with a buggy axle, even a pretty good one. Tuning will certainly be sportier than the Stang GT, perhaps with some degree of adaptive shocks along with electronic traction and stability controls (both switch defeatable for track work).

Brakes: Big Brembos here, cross-drilled and all that stuff.

Wheels: Big 19 inchers to fit the big Brembos.

Body: Closer to the Stang Concept. Like the current Cobra, rather clean and refined rather than trailer-trash glitzy (i.e., speckled with all manner of overwraught spoilers, scoops, stripes and other manner of adolescent performance cliches). Wheel flares might be flared a bit more, ala M3, though the current wheel wells seem to have a lot of room for big meats already. HIDs will certainly standard.

Interior: Upgraded seats, trim and material, as might be expected. Probably a more functional and modern instrument fonts and layout. GPS system too perhaps.

Weight: Probably similar to the GT. What might be lost due to high tech materials will be gained by more content.

Performance:
0-60: <4.5 seconds
1/4: 12 @ 120
G's: 1.0

Price:
$40-45K

mustang_sallad

LOL, HID on a car that already has four huge lights on the front are by no means a safety precaution. They are the opposite! They look really cool, but they're bloody dangerous. Who here can actually say they've never been blinded while driving by some bimmer or something with lights that hurt your eyes?
I think the main cool thing about the lights is that they have a blue tint instead of yellowish like regular lights. Can't they make em slightly blue without making em as bright as they do?

rhumb

The blue tint of HIDs are a reflection of their high temperature spectrum. Low temp incandescent bulbs can be made bluish by filtering out colors at the lower end of the spectrum, but that only makes them dimmer, which seems the opposite of what one would want out of good lights.

But beyond simple brightness, another equally important consideration for lighting performance is opticsal quality and how well the available light is aimed and focused. Nuclear bright lights in poor optical quality units is like a mega-power motor in an ill-handling chassis.

Presumably/hopefully, any Cobra HIDs would be with similarly high quality optics to best utilize the light and prevent glare and other issues associated with poor optics.

HairyCanary

I wouldn't mind HID's. I put a retrofit kit on my 03, and it's a night and day difference from halogens. I couldn't care less about whether they're blue or not (and mine are not -- I got 4700K bulbs, which are just slightly yellower than sunlight.

Dave

crispy23c

Okay, M, I will address your points one sat a time:
Yes my T/A is N/A and is fast, but I have had s/c'd cars in the past and LOVE them.

In the next line, you say "I dont care about the supercharger being used back in the day. This is the present, we see a huge trend of motors with more horsepower from a small size, why must we bolt on a S/C to get an extra 100-150 hsp?

Then you contradict yourself and say "Certain vehicles are ok with s/c's, but an all american mustang with a s/c is just a slap in the face to the people who are true to the mustang, like it or not."

Didn't you just mention s/c's used "back in the day"??? Is a 1966 s/c GT350 not a true Mustang?

Why is there no pride in biatch slappin' a vette with an s/c? What about .411 gears? Or 40 series tires? Those aren't even stock on a Mustang, but I bet you think that's allright?

Hey, was it OK for the Shelbys to use fiberglass & aluminum "back in the day" or is that an insult to your "original" pony cars. What cars are OK with a S/C? Why do they get the last laugh?
I want some of the drugs you are on...
Yes, I am having the last laugh........at you