I sure hope this doesn't become another Chicago Fakeout Debacle like last year. A lot of us have our hopes awfully high for this unveiling.

 

I just wish they would have the SVT mustang out this year. I keep on looking at 03 10th annv. IMO-the best one yet.

 

So is it official that the 07 Cobra will be reveiled on March 23rd? What Autoshow will it be at? And will it be a Shelby or SVT? I sure am confused... Please help ME!!! :scratch:

 

I've actually heard of times of 12.1 and 12.2.....
[/b][/quote]
Hey, stock street tire 04 cobra has run a best of 12.4 with a tire pressure adjustment in MM&FF

 

I wouldn't say official. Supposedly a very reliable high up in SVT told Brad that they were going to reveal it at NYIAS (New York). SVT info line will not confirm that. There have been other sources saying it will be revealed there as well. Brad's source says it will be the Cobra. MotorTrend recently announced a Shelby will be made. No official announcement has been made by Ford, SVT or Shelby.

 

I wouldn't say official. Supposedly a very reliable high up in SVT told Brad that they were going to reveal it at NYIAS (New York). SVT info line will not confirm that. There have been other sources saying it will be revealed there as well. Brad's source says it will be the Cobra. MotorTrend recently announced a Shelby will be made. No official announcement has been made by Ford, SVT or Shelby.
[/b][/quote]



Do you think they will make both a Shelby and an SVT? And if so which do you think will be better? I CANT WAIT TO SEE IT!

 

Do you think they will make both a Shelby and an SVT? And if so which do you think will be better? I CANT WAIT TO SEE IT!
[/b][/quote]
Strictly my opinion, but, based on rumors, hints and press releases:

Both SVT Cobra and Shelby. I think the Cobra will be a slightly improved, slightly more expensive version of the '03/'04. Supercharged 4.6 or 5.4 3 valve underrated at 430-470 hp/tq. Recent rumors have been solid axle, but, I doubt that. I think IRS will at least eventually be in the Cobra (as an option or in a couple of model years or both). I also think a Sequential Manual will be an option at some point.

I think the Shelby will be a Ford Sponsored "tuner" car. Ford GT engine - 550hp, dry sump oiling, the works. Race bred suspension, light weight, no rear seat (spare tire in its place like the GT350R and the Concept had), maybe even light weight materials like aluminum, carbon fiber, magnesium, etc. This car will be basically the Cobra R level car which will be ultra exclusive and very expensive (perhaps $60-75K). Probably more for the collectors and racers.

 

Strictly my opinion, but, based on rumors, hints and press releases:

Both SVT Cobra and Shelby. I think the Cobra will be a slightly improved, slightly more expensive version of the '03/'04. Supercharged 4.6 or 5.4 3 valve underrated at 430-470 hp/tq. Recent rumors have been solid axle, but, I doubt that. I think IRS will at least eventually be in the Cobra (as an option or in a couple of model years or both). I also think a Sequential Manual will be an option at some point.

I think the Shelby will be a Ford Sponsored "tuner" car. Ford GT engine - 550hp, dry sump oiling, the works. Race bred suspension, light weight, no rear seat (spare tire in its place like the GT350R and the Concept had), maybe even light weight materials like aluminum, carbon fiber, magnesium, etc. This car will be basically the Cobra R level car which will be ultra exclusive and very expensive (perhaps $60-75K). Probably more for the collectors and racers.
[/b][/quote]


In all honesty, I'm kind of sick of seeing everything with a Shelby name being too expensive. I hope they don't go this route.

 

In all honesty, I'm kind of sick of seeing everything with a Shelby name being too expensive. I hope they don't go this route.
[/b][/quote]
I hope not either. I think the Shelby belongs at SE (Mach 1, Bullitt) level. Those cars pay homage to the special cars of the 60s. I think Ford/Shelby will capitalize on the Shelby name, however, and do as I stated above. I hope I'm wrong.

 

2007 Shelby GT 500
110,000 Base Price
*RUMORS*

 

LOL

 

I've been patiently waiting for SVT to show the goods so I hope this unveiling will be representative of the production version. (at least looks wise) My 02 GT is looking to get updated.

The price is going to be very important to me so I hope they keep that in line. I have no problem paying more than a regular GT but not if it is $40K. I'm pretty comfortable that Ford will not make the mistake of setting the price too high but we'll see.

I am not looking for the world like some people. Just more aggressive looks, better/bigger tires and brakes, 400HP, 5.4L, 6 speed, $34K or so. If they could reduce the weight that would be nice too.

I'm really looking forward to this unveiling.

 

Figure on base just below 40,000 with options above 40,000. You have to pay to play with 450 hp.

 

I have to disagree and hope you're wrong, too. Not glorifying anyone but, Shelby belongs in their own class seperate from an SE. Not sure how this will work for the Ford/Shelby partnership. An SE, IMO, should be a complete in house project like the prev. generation Mach 1's and Bullitt's. I feel that they are economicly feasable for both Ford and the consumer. Shelby can afford to spend more in R&D, charge more for the product, and have the consumer willing to pay more. In this form, Ford could have that extra-level Mustang between the GT and SVT. They know that the market is there from the '03/'04 Mach 1. My guess is that Ford wasn't expecting this demand from one vehicle. They shot high, but no where near high enough. Once they re-evaluate the situation and things calm down. They'll give us something that'll be worth the wait.

 

Anyone who was dissappointed with Chicago last year has no-one but themselves to blame. Ford NEVER said they were introducing any Mustang SE in Chicago last year, it was all internet rumor and speculation.

The real story was the GTR that was shown in NYC last year, so the Chicago fake out was the result of someone getting the story wrong.

 

I talked to a guy today at Apple Valley Ford in Minnesota to find out if there's going to be a waiting list I can sign up on. He told me the revealing next month will be a concept. I sure hope not. I want to see the real thing. Anyone else know if this will be a production line car or a concept car? As far as the list goes, he said no list. Customers that had the special lease program with the last cobra will have first dibs. THat's what we know already. He thought come May of 06 is when a we can start placing orders. :bang: I don't want to wait that long. Come on Ford, give us an 06 model.

 

Anyone who was dissappointed with Chicago last year has no-one but themselves to blame. Ford NEVER said they were introducing any Mustang SE in Chicago last year, it was all internet rumor and speculation.

The real story was the GTR that was shown in NYC last year, so the Chicago fake out was the result of someone getting the story wrong.
[/b][/quote]
It sure had a bunch of us glued to the site, waiting for a car to be revealed. I don't remember how it started.

I haven't seen anything official on the NYIAS unveiling yet. Brad's source tells him so, MT and Autoweek say so, but, SVT doesn't. I called them about 2 weeks ago, they have no official announcement on the car. Their response was "we will be making an announcement, we don't know if we will have anything to show."

 

Ahh... Chicago. Sweet memories. Painful, yes... painful... but sweet in retrospect.

I can't remember how that crap was started in the first place, either, but a good majority of the members here and abroad sure felt naked after the great "Chicago Letdown" of '04.

 

For those of you who do not receive AutoWeek, this article was posted in the February 14th 2005 Issue.


Betting on SVT Futures: Ford's new hands have big plans for in-house tuner brand

Article written by BOB GRITZINGER

Maybe all the fretting, all the online chatter, all the enthusiast gnashing of teeth about the future of Ford’s Special Vehicle Team is unwarranted. Maybe we are just seeing a lull in production at that granddaddy of domestic in-house performance tuners.

“I hope so, or else I’m out of a job,” says Ford engineer Hau Thai-Tang, the newly named director of SVT, replacing SVT icon John Coletti who retired at the end of 2004.

Something tells us Thai-Tang, the Vietnamese native who recently completed his self-described dream job—as chief engineer on the 2005 Mustang development team—won’t hurt for work anytime soon. But whether that work focuses on future SVT vehicles, and what form those products might take, remains to be seen.

Rest assured, though, Thai-Tang and his boss, Ford product creation vice president Phil Martens (himself a relative newbie, having just taken control of the product leadership position at Ford after the Dec. 1 retirement of engineering whiz Chris Theodore), are saying the right things.

Martens will admit he was getting upward of 15 letters a day from alarmed SVT faithful after Coletti’s retirement announcement. But his answers to them:

“SVT is actually bigger, staff-wise, than ever before.”
“We see SVT growing to about five products.”
“SVT is, and will remain, a Ford-branded product.”
“The core of every SVT program is its powertrain; second is chassis dynamics.”
“The next-generation Cobra will be the best one ever.”
Martens, who approved the next SVT Cobra a day before we interviewed him in January, pointed to the Mustang as an example of a product engineer*ed from the outset with an SVT version in mind.

SVT products need to be created as part of a model plan, instead of being develop*ed after the main product line has left the drawing board, he says. That way it will prevent embarrassing program delays (see SVT Lightning) or cancellations, and allow Ford to use SVT as a launching pad for new performance technologies, says Martens.

That’s fine when it comes to finances and product planning, but doesn’t a large portion of SVT’s success lie in its indepen*- dence from the mother ship? Or are they starting to learn lessons about integration from upstarts at Chrysler Street and Racing Technology and GM Performance Division?

Martens says SVT will remain a stand-alone operation, at least physically, but the team will now enjoy a direct line of communication to the product development office. “We really need to bring SVT back to its roots, into the mainstream of product development, if we’re going to take SVT to the next level. SVT needs to be an integral part of product development.”

So what can fans expect? Martens says SVT will maintain its core of high-performance V8-powered rear-wheel-drive vehicles. It will expand into inline four-cylinder cars as well. And it will break ground venturing into all-wheel-drive performance models. Turbo- and superchargers also figure prominently. And SVT will draw heavily on lessons learned developing the Ford GT, from its racing experience, and with engineers who bring cross-systems expertise.

Thai-Tang says under his stewardship he aims to make sure SVT core values of performance, exclusivity, substance and value remain intact. “It’s easy to build a strong-performing $100,000 car,” he says. “It’s a lot harder to do a strong-performing $20,000 car. You have to be a lot more creative.”

Martens admits even when you put all the pieces in place, you still must have “the moxie to develop the products—you have to have people with cars at the core of their essence.”

One of those guys, SVT papa Coletti, wishes his successors the best: “We’ve laid down a lot of rubber, and I hope the company will continue to do that.”

Lookin’ Live

When Ford rolls out the SVT Cobra version of its all-new Mustang at the New York auto show in March, take a peek underneath. If our sources are right, your prying eyes will spy a live rear axle—not an independent rear suspension, the setup that would be in keeping with the suspension on the outgoing model, and is therefore anticipated by the SVT Cobra faithful.

Ford execs are officially mum, including product chief Phil Martens, who said as recently as the Detroit auto show that no decision had been made on the Cobra’s suspension. Hau Thai-Tang, chief engineer on the 2005 Mustang and now SVT chief, did hint we can expect the next Cobra to surpass 400 hp (we hear 450 hp) and hit a price of about $40,000. The SVT Cobra goes on sale in 2006 as an ’07 model.

AutoWeek SPY PICTURE 2007 COBRA TEST MULE -- You can follow this link to view the lastest spy picture

 

Great info, thanks. I believe that this will add fuel to the fire in the IRS vs. live axle debate.