TheReaper

They both had stock springs.

shaneyusa

Nice info in the chart! I always thought the newer ones looks so much bigger. Guess they really are not that far apart.

m05fastbackGT

So out of curiosity, if the rear trunk section of your 2011 was lower in height over your 2007 ? it could also be interpreted as being lower in height or about the same as the current S550 as well

m05fastbackGT

The roof height on the S550 is 1/8-1/4 inch shorter over the S197.. So there's not actually that much of a difference in roof height.. There is however a substantial difference in rear trunk height, as the rear/trunk section of the S550 is approx 4 inches lower than the 2011-14 S197..

TheReaper

I didn't notice any height difference, but my 07 had a GT500 spoiler when I traded it for the 2011 in the picture. The 2011 does look higher.

m05fastbackGT

The 2015-18 (S550) models are all the same height.. Apparently the 2005-09 (S197's) were lower than the re-freshed (S197) 2010-14 models..

It would also appear from the pics you posted, the 2010-14's are in fact higher in the rear than both the current 2015-18 (S550) and 2005-09 (S197) models.. Maybe it's just me, but it also appears as though the current S550 does look lower in the rear over the 2005-09 S197

It would appear so.. As pictures tell no lies lol.

14BlackGT

It is now February 2017 and I still haven't gotten used to the design.

When I saw a 2015, I rushed out to get my 2014. Don't really like the 2018(?) either. The front bottom corners look Toyota Camry by some stretch.

TripleBlack14

The S550 has very much grown on me, especially the 2018 refresh. But two things hold me back so I'm not 100% sold on giving up my S197.

First, Ford, like Chevy and Chrysler have incorporated their respective corporate languages to practically all their models. Not trying to rehash the tired old Fusion/Mustang debate, but there's no denying similar styling queues among the Mustang, Fusion and Focus in the front end department. That's not necessarily a bad thing...the 2015/16/17/18 Mustangs are very good looking Mustangs. But the S197 is unique in that regard as it resembles nothing in the pre-2015 lineup. There's no mistaking a 2005-2014 coming at you, even to the untrained eye.

Secondly, I'm just not ready to give up my '14 GT ragtop. It still turns heads and makes me smile just looking at it.

That said, if I had a fatter wallet, a GT350 is the only Mustang that would compel me to give up my convertible.

m05fastbackGT

Not that I'm defending Ford's corporate languages, especially when it concerns the current S550 Mustang.. However when it comes to incorporating these corporate design themes, it's definitely nothing new to say the very least..

Ford used them for the Mustang from the very beginning when it was based off the Falcon platform, then on the Mustang II (Pinto) platform, followed by the Fox era cars ( T-Bird, Cougar, Escort, Fairmont, Zephyr and Lincoln mark VIII) and once again during the Fox-4 platform era (1994-2004)

Despite the S197 having it's own D2C platform, it never the less was derived from the DEW-98 lite platform which included 2002-2005 T-Bird, 2000-2006 Lincoln-LS and 2000-2009 Jaguar S-Type..

There is however no denying the fact that for the first time in the Mustang's 50+year history that Ford did not incorporate it's corporate design language for the S197 but instead gave it it's own unique styling and also brought the Mustang back to it's original 1st generation pony car roots

metroplex

Rocky, I'm actually looking at possibly getting a 2017 or 2018 Mustang GT. Like you, I'm not 100% sold on S550. In fact, I'm not that sold on the Coyote either. I know it is a more powerful and better engine than the obsolete 3V, but I tried buying a 2012 GT when they were new and the 5.0 did not sell me during the test drive. It didn't sound or feel as nice as the 3V. The fake interior sound tube didn't help either.

The Shelby GT350/R is also purely designed for the track, as it is about the same speed as a Camaro SS in the straight line and my tuned EcoBoost SHO. Someone above said Ford keeps bringing a knife to the HP gun fight and it seems to be very true. Even if the direct injection and port fuel injection in the 2018 5.0 produces 455-470 hp, it still lacks a lot of the torque and overall power from the 6.2/6.4L OHV V8s in the competition.

berzerk_1980

Wow man. Why are you even looking at them?

metroplex

because everyone and their brother is driving a Charger or Challenger or maybe a Camaro.

m05fastbackGT

I have nothing against the current S550 body style, however as I've mentioned in these threads in the past, I just prefer the classic/retro styling of the 2005-09 S197 over the S550 more.. If necessary, I'll just continue modding to keep pace with the Challengers, Crapmaros and Chargers or even better yet, find a 5.2L flat plane crank motor from a wrecked GT350 or whenever they become available as a crate motor from Ford performance

metroplex

this month's hot rod magazine featured a twin turbo GT350. It made 748 rwhp but has even less power and torque than stock below 4k RPM.

V6 Driver

Since we are up to the "refresh", I am guessing a full redesign is coming in 2020, so I am hopeful they will add a bit more retro back into it.

m05fastbackGT

This ^^^^^^^^^

SpectreH

From what I've read, we do get a redesign in 2020, moved up from 2022. Personally, I think Ford needs to put the car on a diet to compete with the new Camaro. Unfortunately, Ford does not have a halo car to steal R&D from like GM does with the Camaro from the Corvette.

m05fastbackGT

Ford most definitely needs to put the Mustang on a diet.. Therefore if GM can do it with the Camaro, then Ford can also do the same with the Mustang as well.. They should also offer a TT option for the current Coyote or a de-tuned version of the GT350's 5.2 flat plane crank engine to close the gap between the Challenger 392 Scat Pack and Camaro SS..

TripleBlack14

I wish it were so too, but I think the genie is out of the bottle with the S550 competing successfully in the global market, particularly in Europe.

Although I eventually warmed up to the S550, even up to a couple of months ago I was still not ready to consider a swap from my S197. That's changed now that I've seen the refresh pics and read about some new options and colors. I'm planning on ordering a GT 'vert at the end of the year for delivery next Spring.

I'm very anxious to see Royal Crimson in person.....

metroplex

It's not the weight that is the problem. It's the lack of power from the engines. Hot rod featured a twin turbo GT350 and the dyno curve wasn't impressive below 4k RPM. You still had to rev the cap out of that engine, so it'd be great on a road course but would get walked by a Hellcat or ZL1 on the street or quarter mile.

That's why a Camaro SS or Scat Pack Charger would match the GT350 in the quarter mile. The ZL1 and Hellcats are more like competitors to a GT500 if one existed. There are Hellcats running low 10s with just a tune. The 2018 GT would be impressive if it could run low 12s stock. Otherwise, Ford still missed the market.

S650 is supposed to come out in 2021, so the 2018 restyle looks to be good for 18 through 20.