GTJOHN

iceman, you misread the article. They didn't say they were bringing back the Mach1 and Bullet nameplates. They said that they were going to create new SE's, similar to what they did in the past with the Mach1 & Bullet. I read the same article, it was "worded" funny.

iceman241

Sorry Paleoc i might have read it wrong but i thought it said they where going to bring the mach1 and bullet back and it said that in the new i think its called mustang and fast ford magazine on the front of the cover it has a car drag racing with its wheels in the air. And top right hand corner it has the shelby. Why dont everyone go check it out and tell me if i read it wrong and where i read it was where there talking about the shelby thats where i read it at.

Paleoc

pg 77: "He [HTT] explained that you don't necessarily top a car like the Cobra, but position models between it and the GT, cars similar to the Bullitt and Mach 1s of 2001 and 2003-04, respectively."

Note wording: SIMILAR TO

rhumb

Since the GT500 seems to be going in a much more of a "drag racer" direction, fitting perhaps given that focus in the original GT500s, I would love to see a more well rounded GT350 that balances steering, handling, braking and overall agility as much as simple straight line speed. Such a GT350 would better reflect the character of the original Shelby GT350s and even the Boss 302 and would make an excellent stable-mate to the GT500, IMHO (and would go far towards quelling the whines of us wanting a more well balanced performance envelope Stang, i.e., IRS'ers, rather than a simple, brutish, one-trick quarter horse).

I would love to see the GT500's supercharger exchanged for the on-ice IRS. I nice lightweight, high-winding, all AL DOHC 4.6 tuned up a touch to say 350-375+ hp backed up by a tight MTX six speed would be sweet. While price might end up close to the GT500, it would be more a distinct counterpart than lower level model and might actually make new inroads to previous buyers of foreign iron who, quite understandably, have had to forego previous Mustang's as viable broad spectrum performance machines.

I'm sure more than a few M3, S4, 350Z, etc. owners would love to buy an fully capable American option were it offered whereas the GT500 is much more an Nth degree iteration of the past big-motor approach to performance typifying many/most current Mustang buyers -- preaching to the choir with a louder voice in essence.

Whether Ford/SVT, now bunkering in a rather insular defensive mode financially and product-wise, would take a more offensive sales and development strategy remains to be seen. But I think Ford's current "safe" approach is merely staunching the financial blood loss rather than healing the open wounds causing them (mediocre to mundane overall product line, over reliance (thus dependance) on trucks and SUVs, etc.)

iceman241

So since there going to position models between the GT500 that basically means there not going to build a car that tops the GT500 right?

rhumb

I would be a bit suprised if they did a distinct model above the GT500. I could more easily see upgrading the GT500 over time, perhaps adding things like HIDs, SMG, perhaps even an IRS option to keep it fresh and competitive. But perhaps they might get the urge to go fully after the Vette Z06s, Vipers, M4s, etc. and offer a distinct top of the line model with all the aforementioned as standard. The GT500 is most of the way there now with a 10/10ths motor and drive train, an 8/10ths chassis, and perhaps a 7/10ths interior and features relative to the above rides.

If even at $50K, that would still undercut most of its competition in purely price terms. And Ford does have a huge performance car gap between the GT500 and the statospheric GT.

GTJOHN

The GT500 is the top Mustang. Ford Management voted down making a more expensive Stang. Who would buy a $50k Mustang??

Yes, the Ford GT, Shelby, Z06 & Viper are really nice cars, but 95% of America can't afford to buy them!

$25k for a 300hp Mustang GT is great! It makes sense to make an SE in the $30k - $32k range.

I might buy a Shelby, but if Ford produced a $30k SE Stang with 350-400hp, I would buy it in a heart beat.

holderca1

Yeah, what a crazy idea.

GTJOHN

holderca1, Ford Management voted down a more expensive Stang. They thought the Shelby was expensive enough. There isn't a market for a $50k Mustang. GM is only tooled to produce 45k C6 Corvette's a year. How many $50k Stangs do you think Ford would sell?? Remember, this is a Mustang. Its known for being affordable. Thats why its so popular. Best Styling and Performance for the money.

holderca1

If they only built 500 or so of them, they would sell them all, they had no problem selling the Cobra R's 5 years ago when the MSRP was $55k.

iceman241

Yeah but why build a car like the cobra R then 2 years later come out with the 03 cobra for less money and more power and that has a air conditioner doesnt make sense to me.

holderca1

What doesn't make sense? The Cobra R is a race car, only 300 were made. It doesn't have a lot of luxury items like air conditioning, power windows, cruise control ect to reduce weight. No one drives a Cobra R as a daily driver, its meant for the track. The Cobra on the other hand is fully capable of being a daily driver. They are two completely different cars. When the car went on sale, there wasn't a '03 Cobra for less money. The Cobra at that time only had 320 hp, so the 385 of the Cobra R was a significant amount over a regular Cobra.

1999 Black 35th GT

The R was a pure bred race car. The idea was that you could buy the R and have a race car right out of the box. If you took the R against the 03-04 cobras around a track the R would probably win. The suspension mods and weight modifications are out of this world!

iceman241

Ok why pay that much for a cobra when you can get a used viper GTS with more hp and better everything for cheaper dosnet make no sense at all.

V10

Ford already has an >$50K 05 Mustang race car that will run circles around the Cobra R. It's called the "Boy Racer" and it comes with a 400HP Cammer.

It's the car that Ford is racing in the Grand-Am Cup.
If you want one, you can have one too, it's in the FRPP catalog. All it takes is $$ and a racing licence.

holderca1

Primarily exclusivity, they only made 300. We are not talking about a mass produced car. Anytime you produce a small quantity of a desirable commodity, it drives up the value.

RaGsHoCkEy88

sorry, but thats not happening...especially for a price like that.

bar

Who responds to an (almost) two year old thread?

(upping your post count, eh?)

freebass55

I don't think a guy with almost 3000 post has to worry about that.