According to the June 2005 issue of Hot Rod magazine:

"The hand-laid stripes of the concept will be substituted for urethane and vinyl decals from the factory, and the show car's 19-inch wheels will be downsized to 18X9.5s in production. There will also be a few differences in the shape of the front splitter to accommodate breakover and approach angle requirements. The biggest appearance change will be to the hood, where the inset functional extractor grilles will be nonfunctional and raised proud on the surface."

I don't like the sound of nonfunctional grilles at all, but I will have to wait and see for my personal final judgement.

 

I don't like the sound of nonfunctional scoops either. I thought HHT said that there wouldn't be any of the goomba fake scoops on the Mustang. I thought it was smooth surfaces unless it was necessary. I like the GTRs hood with the little bump in the hood. Maybe they should do something like that. Or, make the vents operational.

I also hope the aggresiveness of the front end is not lost. That is one thing I don't like about the GT, it's not angular enough for me.

 

I just read that in Hot Rod the other day too. I'm a little disappointed ford isn't going to offer the hood as shown. It sounds to me like it may be a regular raised hoodscoop or dual scoops. I'm sure it will be nice anyway, but I just don't understand why they can't leave well enough alone.

 

That's doesn't make sense at all.

Ford reps have stated the vents are required to prevent trapped air causing vibrations at high speeds. The '67 Mustang Shelby had that problem, hence the '68 hood. Why would Ford go through the same embarrassment all over again, specially when the have the proper design in place?

Another point is Ford refrained from putting side scoops because they were not functional. It seems Ford is trying to stay away from fake anything, unless they've have all the sudden changed their minds and HOT ROD is the only source they have confided this to.

 

that hood sounds like a disappointment in the making

 

Why do you people take this stuff at face value?

 

If these do prove to be true, I would be disappointed in to see 18" wheels versus the 19's as well as the change in hood design, I think the concept design is great, why mess with it? I also agree the Ford should not alter the design of the front except maybe to tweak the splitter. The front looks agressive and very closely mirrors the original concept, Ford needs to keep that look, period. Just my $.02

 

I don't get the part about the stripes??? :scratch: Does that mean they will be using "factory stick-ons" as opposed to painted stripes?? Makes sense for them because it is another cost cutting move. Whats up with that?? Am I right in what I said?? Also the hood and the splitter changes don't sound too good :notnice: Those changes along with the 18" wheels seem to exceed 5% to me. I wish they would smooth out the 1-2 shift and shorten the throws even more then the GT(notchy and throws are still too long) Something like a Steeda Tri-Ax minus the noise would be great

 

I want to see wider tires! Painted mirrors would be nice too! I hope it has a coat of clear coat, My parent's 2005 Acura has 2 coats of clear and it make all the diference. (The paint job will also hold up longer)

In the end I think Ford will do a nice job and give us a beautiful car. Yum... A Shelby GT500 Cobra. What more could you ask for?