Dan

Another piece of info we didn't mention:

- Mr. Thai-Tang said that there was a media embargo of information on the 05 (including test drives) till September.

So, I'd expect a whole bunch of reviews come Job 1. Probably in most mag's October issue.

mr-mstng

Awesome job guys!

The fact that they are looking at the M3 in comparison shows how well this car will handle.

Wombert

Sweet. I hope you'll come down to Munich and pick me up for a ride as soon as you get your Stang

What would really be nice, tho, was if you could tell me about your experiences with making the car meet German regulations, getting number plates that actually fit on the car, how much it all cost etc.

Strider

YOU GUYS ABSOLUTELY ROCK!!!!

I for one appreciate you saving this info. It came as quite the pleasant surprise. I can't wait for this Mustang. I have been waiting my whole life to own one, and I'm glad things worked out that I'll be getting the best ever (my opinion, of course).

Thanks again for what you and so many others are doing to get as much info to the masses as possible. You've made the wait for this car so much more bearable. Way to go, and keep up the outstanding work! :usa:

crazyhorse

The base price of M3 is $48,xxx. By the time you put ANY options on it, you are at $55. Trust me, I have shopped for them. My wife would prefer that choice over the Cobra. I have driven a few M3s and an M5. They are VERY nice cars. That 262 lb-ft is a real difference from the mach/cobra/roush though. The M3 is fast, but, it takes it a while to wind up to the 333hp. IT isn't the instant, throw you back in the seat, that say a Roush 380R or Cobra has.

tangs3

The base price of M3 is $48,xxx. By the time you put ANY options on it, you are at $55. Trust me, I have shopped for them. My wife would prefer that choice over the Cobra. I have driven a few M3s and an M5. They are VERY nice cars. That 262 lb-ft is a real difference from the mach/cobra/roush though. The M3 is fast, but, it takes it a while to wind up to the 333hp. IT isn't the instant, throw you back in the seat, that say a Roush 380R or Cobra has. [/b][/quote]
Great jobs guys, as for handling against M3 it would take very little modification to equal the M3 if that is the time difference, a good set of springs would probably do the trick and look you still save 20,000 or more dollars, springs are really a cheap modification the the results you get.

tangs3

Titanium rocks, hope the Cobra comes this color.

Greywolf

Hi Jason glad your here. My parents went to germany in the 80's beutiful country. The M3 would be a special editon so an upgraded 05 Mach maybe would be a better test. The idea of testing and aiming for a M3 in the base GT stang is awesome. B)

428CJ

NO...a boss....Mach 1s are for the stop lights, Boss's are for the twisties... B)

BlackRiderX

Keep in mind, the M3 is world class handling at twice the price of the 05. 0.5sec is not small, but it isn't 5 seconds.

I don't think any of us expected the new GT to take an M3 down on a road course.

The 05 GT would blow the doors off any other BMW other than the M5 on the same course IMO. [/b][/quote]
I'm wondering if this reference to the M3 is what Ford ment when they said the Cobra is being benchmarked against the M3? I just figured they were talking about the upcoming M models and not the current one. If the GT is .5 away the Cobra may be able to blow it out of the water and not cost too much.

Boomer

It was against the current M3 (333hp V6)
If you remember the pic from Mustang Enthus. Mag.

mkoesel has one...and absolutely loves it.
Speaking of which...haven't seen him around in ages...

FinlayZJ

Quoted from Car & Driver:

Cobra Aspires To Be M Fighter

Phil Martens has put his fingerprints all over the new Mustang. At the helm of Mazda until March 2002, when he became Ford’s group vice-president for product creation, Martens helped engineer the 2005 Mustang’s move from Ford’s assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan, to the Ford/Mazda plant in nearby Flat Rock. There, the Mustang takes advantage of Mazda technology for better body assembly and quality control.

Martens also has an idea of where the next SVT Cobra is headed: “We have to have a Cobra that is world-class level. The old Fox platform couldn’t deliver that; this one can.� Expect a bigger, broader separation between Mustang GTs and SVT Cobras, he says. BMW’s M cars are serving as inspiration; hence, the next Cobra will have to have an independent rear suspension, he says.

“It has to. The expectation in this category is for a much more refined product.� Also likely: supercharging and a substantial increase from the current Cobra’s 390 horsepower. Ford has set no firm price ceiling, Martens says. “The only restriction is that you have to build it on the [Mustang] line, and the quality has to be there.�



And two of my friends have M3's. One has an E36, and the other a brand new E46. There is an 1/8 strip not too far from where I live, so once my GT is broken in and rolling on 275's, we're off to the strip.

Greywolf

How much would the Mustang improve with just wider tires on the road course. 255's 275's? I need to start reading that Grassroots Racing mag.

Echo_XO

Brad, Dan, and Steve:
Thanks for the site and thanks for all the great information. I've been watching the site for a while and this is my first post. I'm currently stuck in Iraq and although I've already ordered a 05 GT through a military sales guy in germany, I've had very little to go on besides the order guide. You guys have really cleared up a lot of questions for me and I appreciate all the time and effort you've put in to keeping the rest of us informed. I would still in the dark on a lot of issues if it wasn't for this great site and all of those that have contributed to it. I'll see you all on the road in my new stang when I get back to the states.
S/F
Ryan

dragstar

if there is a .5 second difference on the track that means that power must be VERY similiar and that a tire swap will even things up. Remember that the M3 is going to have very sticky tires (ala Z06 or EVO) straight from the factory.

kevinb120

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]
Ive looked at it, and I have a LOT of experience with different levels of technology in cars(owned and restored everything from 67 firebirds to 76 260z's to 82 rx7's to 93 rx7 tts, to each version of the fox, etc etc etc) and I will NOT miss IRS one bit in this car. I wouldnt trade it for the positive power application on demand of a 31-spline non-binding 3 link live axle, smooth and instant, unlike wheelhop and other IRS issues with a lot of torque. It never would have reached the strength and sophistication needed for V8 power and stayed under $30k. I like how HTT put it: 3v 300hp or IRS, choose. Looks like the next SVT is a two seater.

pony_chief

That test they did against the M3 was in the wet. Look at the picture above. Wet track surface will equalize power advantage and highlight traction and tire compound differences. I'm not challenging the 0.5 sec delta but we should be careful about drawing any conclusions about HP.

kevinb120

It means it will dust the 350

kevinb120

.5 seconds is FANTASTIC are you kidding me??? .5 second stinks in the quarter mile between sub 10 sec cars, not around a road course. How long is a lap there for cars of the stangs level? 1:40?

Heres a little perspective, the autocrosses with the local mustang/vette clubs we do are around a 1/4 mile banked oval with cones, the times between the slowest stang and the fastest vette vary over 8 seconds total time for 3 laps each(.75 miles, running start, nothing gets over 100mph on the track). The SVTF runs with the fastest stangs, and there is no way in HE11 that it would come anywhere near an M3 on a road track like road atlanta. .5 second has me skeptical, thats amazing if true.

Purple Hayz

I could not agree more. 25K for a MUSTANG that laps a road course within half a second of the WORLD'S FASTEST BMW (recall the Z8 and M5 are out of commission for the time being, so I "think" the M3 is the fastest Bimmer currently available...can anyone confirm?)

Not to mention the zoom for the dollar aspect The M3 is, for all intents and purposes, twice the price of a GT ("base" BMW's of any model, particularly the M cars, are about as easy to find as Iraqi WMDs. My buddy dropped well into the mid 50's for one with the sequential manual trans)

I am so stoked, but the anticipation is paralyzing...could October get here any slower?! :bang: