Scothew

Mr. Coletti,

First off good morning and thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Brad, TheMustangSource.com members, and myself are extremely excited about sharing our questions with you. It is a rare opportunity for an enthusiast to get a chance to sit down with one of the true pioneers in current generation Mustangs.

The Mustang Source: What was your path through Ford?

John Coletti: I started with Ford in January, 1972. I was hired into the General Products Division as a product design engineer and was assigned to the Autolite Spark Plug division. This was a great opportunity since one of my primary responsibilities was to support the Autolite racing program. Not only did it mean I had to attend the USAC races, but I worked with A.J. Foyt and got to meet all the Indy greats of the time…Mark Donahue, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Al Unser…everyone.

TMS: Where were you before?

JC: I joined Ford right out school. I attended Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan where I earned a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME). I never worked anywhere else as an engineer.

TMS: What positions did you hold until you retired?

JC: I held a variety of engineering and management positions during my first 15 years with the company. Upon completing my MBA from Michigan State University in 1987 (By the way – I am a big supporter of continuing education). I got my big break and was transferred to the Ford Vehicle Office. It was here that I got the opportunity to lead the “skunkworks” team that saved the Mustang from being cancelled and resulted in the introduction of all-new 1994 model which we called the “SN95.” After that program, I became the Director of the Special Vehicle Team in 1994 until I retired in 2005. While we had a ton of wonderful successes in building all those great SVT vehicles I was particularly pleased to see that Ford let us build one of the strongest customer relationship programs in the industry. And finally, when we were given the chance to design, develop and build the Ford GT…that was the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned.


TMS: What is your favorite Mustang of all time?

JC: Without question, my favorite Mustang of all time was the 1969 Boss 429. Of all the vehicles that I had a chance to do, my favorite Mustang was the BOSS 10.0L. I was so proud when this car beat the hell out of the 572cid Camaro ZR-1 car.


TMS: Favorite SVT Mustang?

JC: My favorite SVT Mustang was the 2003 Cobra. The “Terminator” was a car that I thought would never see the light of day, but our team hunkered down and pulled off a great one. Who would have ever thought that you would see a supercharged DOHC V8 under the hood of a Mustang? It’s a good thing that GM cancelled the Camaro/Firebird in 2002, because this Cobra was armed to terminate the war once and for all. That’s why we called it the “Terminator.”


TMS: Favorite SVT vehicle?

JC: While I have a special place in my heart for all the SVT models that we put on the road, I think the 1999 F-150 Lightning was a benchmark in the evolution of the SVT group. But I have to say that the three Cobra R models, the SVT Contour, the SVT Focus, and all the Mustangs, each made a unique performance statement in the marketplace. I am proud of them all.


TMS: The story is that your team designed the 1993 Mustang Mach III Concept Car on a tight timetable based on some moves the competition had made. Could you give us some insight into that car's development and back story?

JC: The primary reason for doing the Mach III concept vehicle was to blunt the introduction of the all-new 1993 Camaro at the Detroit Auto Show, and the second reason was to signal to everyone that a new Mustang was on its way. So why did we do a two-seater sports car? Well if you have any gasoline running through your veins and you get a chance to do an all-new ground up car, I think 99% of the enthusiast that I know would opt for two-seater sport cars. It represents the ultimate expression of performance, excitement and fun. The development of the car was very straight-forward once I made the decision to build a two-seater with a supercharged V8. Isn’t it amazing how many times I stuffed a supercharged V8 in a prototype during my years at Ford? I guess I just a fan of the blower.


TMS: The first photos we saw of what would be the 1994 Mustang showed a Ford oval in the grille, not the running pony. Was it the original plan to use the Ford oval there? What were the responses when the return of the pony was proposed?

JC: Our team proposed using the “running pony” right from the get–go. I don’t remember us ever building a car with a Ford oval. There was never any controversy about putting the running pony back in the grille. This was one of the design commandments that you must do when you’re doing a new Mustang. I think if you look close [at the magazine cover below], you'll see that it was the artist rendition of what they thought the car would look like. I don't believe it was an official photo from Ford.


TMS: Can you give us any information regarding future Ford engine programs (i.e. Hurricane)?

JC: Unfortunately, I have no insight to the future engine programs like the Hurricane. Since we always had our unique performance objectives in SVT, we always found ourselves developing our own engines.

TMS: On what automotive projects are you currently working or are you fully taking advantage of retirement?

JC: The answer is none. Since I had a great deal of fun during my 33 years with Ford working in the automotive industry, I’ve decided to try a career change and go into the business world. By the way – I was retired for six months when I concluded this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.

TMS: Given the state of gas prices, how feasible is an engine like the one shown on the Super Stallion prototype?

JC: I think the feasibility is quite high. Don’t you see a similarity between the Stallion’s engine and the engine in the Ford GT? The beautiful thing about supercharged V8 engines is that not only do they put out a great deal of power and torque, but they do it very efficiently. Just ask someone with a Ford GT or a Mustang Terminator what fuel economy they get on the highway and don’t be surprised when they tell you in the mid to high 20’s. Isn’t it wonderful that our engineers were able to create performance vehicle that could run twelve’s in the quarter mile and still not be classified as a gas guzzler. I was particularly proud of this achievement on the 2004 Cobra. Yes performance is important, but performance without efficiency just won’t cut it in today’s world. God Bless those SVT engineers.


Regarding the Shelby GT500:

TMS: What was your role in developing the 2007 Shelby GT500?

JC: My two contributions to this program are as follows:

1. Bringing Carroll Shelby back into the Ford corral had been a personal objective of mine for the last ten years I worked at the company. Carroll and I developed a strong and wonderful relationship and when the opportunity presented itself on the Ford GT, we brought him back.
2. Obviously with the new 2005 Mustang coming, we were working on prototypes for the new SVT Cobra. The new Shelby launched off of these early prototypes. But once again, my hat is off to the SVT engineers. Based on everything I read it looks like they did a hell-of-a-job.

TMS: How would it have been different if you were still at SVT?

JC: Who knows? And more importantly what difference does it make? It really doesn’t matter.

TMS: What are you favorite and least favorite features of the car?

JC: I love the power, and the styling. It’s absolutely awesome! I don’t have any least favorite features, since I think it represents a great next step of the Mustang carline evolution.

TMS: What are your thoughts on the name Shelby GT500 vs. SVT Cobra?

JC: Given the fact that I worked so hard to get Carroll back into the fold at Ford, either name is fine with me. Remember “The Car is the Star.”

Current and Future SVT:

TMS: What were the reactions from above when you proposed building the Cobra Rs and supercharging the 2003 Cobra?

JC: Naturally a lot of people thought we were nuts. But what matters is that we did it, and that the Mustang enthusiasts loved the cars.


TMS: What vehicle would you have liked to have given the SVT treatment?

JC: This is a hard question to answer since we pretty much always got to do the vehicles we wanted to do. The only disappointment I had during my tenure at SVT was that we couldn’t do the supercharged 1998 Thunderbird as an SVT model. But given the fact that the Thunderbird carline was cancelled by the company, it was understandable.

TMS: Was an SVT Thunderbird ever considered?

JC: As I mentioned above, we definitely wanted to do an SVT version of the old MN12 Thunderbird. We never gave the new two-seater Thunderbird any real consideration.

TMS: Would you have pushed for the SVT Adrenalin?

JC: I don’t think it is fair for me to comment, since I’m not familiar with the program.

TMS: Describe what the features might be on a John Coletti S197 Cobra R.

JC: Powerful, fast and dominant!

TMS: What are your thoughts on the current state of SVT?

JC: All I know is what I read, and I read that Ford is fully committed to SVT.

This is a question from one our members, which ties into the previous question:

TMS: As you are aware, product loyalty is an integral part for the success of automobiles with tradition. There is a feeling among the SVT faithful that Ford has taken quite a few steps to slowly and diplomatically distance it from those who have been associated with and/or purchased SVT products.

There is also a feeling you are no longer associated with SVT because of your resistance to those changes and your close ties with SVT owners.

What logical reasons could Ford have for this actions and change of direction?

JC: While these are all very interesting questions, I don’t believe that serves any purposes for me to speculate on the answers. I can only thank Ford from the deepest part of my heart for the 33 years of wonderful opportunities that they afforded me and my family. Ford gave me the opportunity to accomplish more than I could ever have hoped for, and for that I am extremely grateful. But in everyone’s life there comes a time when you’ve got move on. In January 2005, it was my time to move on and I did.

JC: In closing, I would like to thank each and everyone in the Mustang hobby for all the support that they have given me during my tenure at Ford. I would like to extend my best wishes to all Mustangers for their continued success of the hobby.

You guys were the greatest, and it was my pleasure to work on your behalf.

Evil_Capri

Fantastic interview!

Thank you Mr. Coletti and TMS!

freebass55

Good interview. I thought he would dodge George's question.

Knight Rider

It had to be George

1 COBRA

Hey, I tried.



I did not expect an answer either but was hoping for a reaction, and I got it. Sometimes it is not important what is said but how it is said. I am as attentive to body language as much as listening to words during exchanges. Too bad there is not a video, because I am sure I would have picked up quite a bit, specially if the interview is unrehearsed.

Read it carefully. That quote has a lot behind it. He might not have provided a direct answer to my question but by stating "on your behalf" it tells me we were included in his priorities. He is a car guy and a very balanced one.

JETSOLVER

That man is a HERO and losing him is a serious blow to REAL high performance at FORD. The guy understands why I go out to the garage at 2 AM when I can't sleep, why I go through day to day worklife just to get to the weekend when I can go on a long drive to nowhere just for the pure joy of driving. I have serious doubts about the direction of FORD performance and although he didn't say any thing against Ford, I can't help but wonder how things would be differant.

Thanks Brad. I needed that. Its like a ulogy for me.

unnoticedtrails

awesome interview!

jacostang

John is truly Mustang God status!

68 fastback

.

I just saw this great inteview with John Coletti.

John is the man of modern Ford performance vehicles and is a genuine car enthusiast who understands the mind of enthusiasts and what it takes to excell.

Unfortunately him being able to remember the lessons of 60s firsthand also puts him at an age to now retire and rightfully enjohy his family and all he's worked so hard for. But, somehow, I know that's merely a change in his daytime venue, because he's a 24/7/365/lifetime car guy and I will miss his steady, insightful and demanding leadership influence that brought us the pinicle of value in performance toys from greatest car compay the that the automotive industry has ever known.

Than you, John. Be safe. Enjoy what you've earned. And don't be quiet.

.

GottaHaveIt

Very nice Thank-You TMS and Mr. Coletti.

GottaHaveIt

Just seen an add for the next BOND movie looks rather smashing I'd say.