os121

Dan & Steve - Thanks So Much !!!! You guys must have been floored when you found out you were going to meet HTT. What a honor. After reading your post I feel so good (and proud) to have ordered a 2005. Nice work, and thanks again. :worship:

Amy V6

Awesome job fellas
Legend Lime GT is sooooooooo mine.. minus the tan interior

BlackRiderX

Awesome!! 2 things I have to note on.

1. No more bull from Ford about the lack of IRS. I was sick of hearing "99% of Mustang owners are hardcore drag racers. Nice to hear them confirm what we knew all along. It came down to cost.

2. The Titanium color becoming available in 06 will keep me from buying any Mustangs in 05.

Dan

Sorry Kahdir, it didn't come up. But you can be sure that it was nixed to keep costs down. That doesn't mean it won't appear in a spring upgrade package or in 06 (option). Who knows? I'm sure you'll be able to get it through the aftermarket or Ford Racing.

Galaxie

honestly, it totally slipped my mind,

I figure the answer would be the same as on the boards, it comes down to cost and it will be available in the aftermarket

Dan

V10, you have no idea.

Galaxie

V10, you have no idea. [/b][/quote]
We both got a chance to see the car before.

I saw it at NAIAS, and I must tell you, for anyone that is going to wait till 2006, titanium is a gorgeous color

Dan saw it in TO...

The thing is, here we got to interact with real Ford people rather than reps just giving out common facts.

Dan

Its not so much that it was bull, but that it was only PART of the whole story. Of course, the durability of a live axle setup is unmatched and hard core enthusiasts need that strength, but it was also a cost and feasibility decision.

- the fact of the matter is (from what we were told), IRS could not be shoehorned in without sacrificing the rear seat room.
- the available Lincoln LS IRS was not strong enough to handle the torque put out by the mustang

But the most important thing that Mr. Thai-Tang wanted us to get across to you guys is:

WAIT TILL YOU DRIVE IT

He is completely confident that the 3-link live axle setup that has been put into the 05 will exceed everyone's expectations. Listening to his presentation, you'd be convinced of this as well.

I mean, Mr. Thai-Tang mentioned that the 05 ran a road course back to back with the BMW M3 and lap times differed by only 0.5 seconds!!

Lets wait to judge this car. I for one am excited to see what she can do.

crazyhorse

sacrifice rear seat room for IRS? Could this be the end of the rear seat for the SVT. I hope not. I really kinda need a rear seat for the occasion that I have to pick up my kids from school.

Boomer

Yeah, until any of us drive it, we really can't say HOW it will handle and what not. I agree.

We can gripe about the IRS, but if the 3link and Panhard is kickbutt, I'm all for it.
What I'd get ticked over is if it didn't handle well and found out it was because of cutting costs.

The term "Don't knock it till you try it" comes to mind.

If it were up to us, we'd all be driving $15,000 mustang cobra's with 550hp
Not going to happen.

While I'm sure we'll never know the WHOLE story...just as any project there are ups/downs and everything in between...whatever it is...is the bottom line.

Does it handle better, accelerate better, look better, feel better, better better?
Hau says yes...I believe it....
but only enough that I may have to solidify it with a test drive, renting it, or having one in my driveway....

Galaxie

There is no doubt in my mind that 3-link will be leaps and bounds better than the 4-link that is on the FOX,

that alone should make it much better, it looks like a well-thought out setup.

FrankBullitt05

Allright! Great interview guys!

Hearing from HTT just makes this wait even harder now, though...two more months to go til it gets to my driveway...

Treadhead

Great job guy's! Thanks for the surprise. Glad to get some definitive answers. I must admit that I'm a little jealous(as I'm sure all of us are)but I'm really glad y'all shared it with us. I don't wanna hear any "y'all" comments either. It's a word down here!

428CJ

Its not so much that it was bull, but that it was only PART of the whole story. Of course, the durability of a live axle setup is unmatched and hard core enthusiasts need that strength, but it was also a cost and feasibility decision.

- the fact of the matter is (from what we were told), IRS could not be shoehorned in without sacrificing the rear seat room.
- the available Lincoln LS IRS was not strong enough to handle the torque put out by the mustang

But the most important thing that Mr. Thai-Tang wanted us to get across to you guys is:

WAIT TILL YOU DRIVE IT

He is completely confident that the 3-link live axle setup that has been put into the 05 will exceed everyone's expectations. Listening to his presentation, you'd be convinced of this as well.

I mean, Mr. Thai-Tang mentioned that the 05 ran a road course back to back with the BMW M3 and lap times differed by only 0.5 seconds!!

Lets wait to judge this car. I for one am excited to see what she can do. [/b][/quote]
This is good to hear, but .5 seconds is a long time..and, if you consider, that the 05 GT probably has more power, and identical weight, that means every bit of that .5 second lead was because of handling and breaking...

The M3 is a 45k car and it better handle better! Especially since it has IRS..So this really is good news...

BMW M3: 333HP, 262 ft-lb

Curb weight, 3460lbs..Incredibly enough, it seems like that is the exact weight of the GT..Fast-autos.net says the Mach 1 weighs 3420lbs, so of course add the 40lbs, and you have the GT weight.

Here are more times given by fast-autos.net...Can we expect the same times from the GT?

0-60 mph: 4.7 sec
0-100 mph: 11.6 sec
Quarter Mile: 13.2 sec @ 109 mph
Skidpad: .91g
Top Speed: 155 mph (limited)
Braking, 60-0 mph: 112 ft
Slalom Speed: 65.1 mph

USA-Adam

428CJ: You think the new Mustang GT has 333 hp +? That's a bit optimistic I think. Expect 300, if it has more ... great.

gw186

Great job, I love seeing how much people are into this car.

TampaBear67

Wow! Great Interview, and that Legend Lime GT Rocks! I love how the Hood Lines really stand out on this color.

TampaBear67

Look how Great the Lines on the Hood Look in this pic'!

order#1

You two are awesome, that had to be the highlight of the year to talk to HTT!!!!!!!!
Thankyou for the info/pic's :w00t: :moose: :usa:

Longhorn-gal

Right on! B)