Zan186

Is this a joke? Seriously? GT500 vs Boss? There is no comparrison other than how much they cost. The GT500 is the top of the line Mustang. Even comparing the Boss 302 vs the 2007 GT500 is a no brainer. As for outperforming in the handeling department, a fairly simple suspension upgrade on the GT500 changes the car dramatically. The Boss 302 is going to be the new Mustang GT, just like the Saleen and Roush. The big difference is the Boss is going to have a 5.0 Liter Aluminum block vs the 4.6 Liter. It will increase HP a bit, but it is still gonna be a lot less than the 5.4Liter in the GT500. The 2011 GT500 is going to an Aluminum block so a 100+ lbs of weight reduction. If money is not the issue their is no debate on which car is better. That is like comparing a Viper to a Challenger, or a Corvette to a Camero.

Boomer

You've seen the performance #s for the BOSS I assume....

While history shows that the GTs eventually get to the SEs/Cobra's stock performance #s
(see 2005 Mustang/01Cobra, 2011GT/03Cobra)
Modding is obviously a different issue completely with the Cobra's and GT500s

I'm not saying the 500 is bad by any means, but there is something to say for a lighter/more balanced vehicle.

I'd take the BOSS myself :P
for now....

Whammer

I'm a little late to this party but I'll give you my thoughts...

I can fully understand your confusion and I'm going through the same thing but my choice is a bit different than yours.
I have an 08 GT500 and I LOVE IT! Having a SC car for a DD is not a problem at all. It drives great and handles very well. Is it the ultimate track car? No, it needs some mods to handle well on the track. But around town I've never had a single issue with the handling of this car.

I too am interested in the Boss 302. It sounds, thus far, like a great handling (and powerful) car. I'm #1 on my dealer's waiting list for this car. To get a rough comparison I took a 2011 GT out for a test drive and was very impressed with all aspects of the car. I also took a 2011 GT500 out for a test drive and was impressed with it too. I could feel the difference the weight reduction had made in the car. After my test drives I go home and climb into my GT500 and take it for a ride to see if I can notice a difference. I honestly couldn't see much of a difference except my car had more power. I should elaborate on that a bit, my car felt and sounded much more like a muscle car than the 011 GT and GT500, I would say their ride felt more refined.

I have a few modest mods. Lower control arms to get rid of the wheel hop, an SCT tune to just perk up throttle response, KR exhaust and H pipe for improved exhaust note, and 3.73 gears for acceleration. I'm sure if we took all 3 cars to the track to compare, my car would be quicker and faster but would suffer in the handling and ride dept. But in DD I don't think differences would be something that would stand out like track numbers do.

I think the 2011 GT500's are great and I have no doubt that you would love the car if you got it. But I think you should wait on the 2012's.
The Boss is going to be awesome, but I've also got a feeling that something is going to happen with the GT500's. They can't charge top dollar for that car if the Boss outperforms it AND the Camaro Z28 is suppose to be showing up. Ford doesn't want to lose it's pony car crown.
I know the wait is hard, hell I've GOT a GT500 and the wait for the Boss is killing me!!!

Of course this is exactly what Ford wants! This shows just how successful they have been in building great cars. Each new model SHOULD be better than the last and make you want IT!

todd03blown

Is your post a joke?
You are saying a 2007 GT500 is better than the new 2012 Boss 302? hahahahahaha nothing else to say....except read up on what the new Boss REALLY is about.

2011 GT500 and the 2012 Boss 302 are both great cars built to appeal to different buyers really. At least I think so. You really cannot go wrong with both, you just have to decide which one meets your needs the most. Especially since we really don't know what options can be ordered on the non LS 302. We are all assuming it won't have all the bells and whistles but no one knows for sure yet, at least I don't.

Whammer

One other comment...If you want a few options on your car then the Boss is not going to be for you. It seems like the base radio is all you can get. I've got a Shaker 1000 and it sounds great, I've also got lifetime Sirius radio. In all honesty I don't listen to the radio all that much, I really just enjoying listening to my car's exhaust note. Options wise the Boss SEEMS like it's going to be pretty bare bones.

Bottomline...WAIT. There are too many unknowns right now to make an informed consumer choice. Give it a few months...also by that time the 011 GT500's will be at an even better price, if that's how you choose to go.

eric n

For my money I would go with the Shelby. The Boss sounds amazing, but also if I understand, getting the weight down with decontenting is part of the plan. That's an excellent plan for a racer which the boss is intended to be. But, I enjoy all of the luxuries of my 5.0. As a daily driver, I am happily spoiled by them. The 2011 gt500 is suppose to handle way better than previous iterations. All reviewers I've read are very impressed with the improvements.

Either way you'll have a cooler car than mine... and I like mine a lot!

coffeejolts

Get the GT500 now. It will hold its value well enough so that you can trade it on the BOSS 302 if you want without taking a huge hit.

Whammer

Think again.
It's ONLY US who think a car holds it's value. To a dealer is just a USED car and you'll get hammered when you go to trade it in.
In a couple of months the pricing and options on the Boss will be known and he can make a much better decision.

Automagically

Has anyone really asked the OP what they want the car for? What they expect the car to be? No, daily driver isn't the right answer. But knowing what you want out of the car is what can decide for you. Personally I think the GT500 is more of a bling thing. Hate on me if you want but just my opinion. A status symbol as much as any other status car is. The only GT500 I would go for is the 2011 GT500 SVTPP. The look and sound make a grown man cry. I feel like this is an actual enthusiasts GT500 rather than another car on the road with a ton of horsepower and goes fast. Many companies have proven that you can shove a lot of power into a car to make it go fast and yet the Mazda Miata is still one of, if not the best selling sports car to date. Catch my drift? If not then I wouldn't recommend the BOSS at all. Nor the GT500 SVTPP.

I have been going back and forth on the GT vs. BOSS idea, the GT500 will probably always be out of my budget and if it is then my wife will want a new BMW that will take up that gap. There are many things I like about the GT as far as creature features but the kid inside me wants the BOSS. I keep telling myself the BOSS is what I will get when I know the GT is what I will probably end up with. So I can kind of understand your dillemma. But yours seems to be much different in the money aspect so I would say you will enjoy both. Something to think about, the GT500 will start using the Recaro seats in the near-ish future, an even cooler aspect to the GT500.

Whammer

You're just jealous because you don't have a GT500. It's not a bling thing- that car looks BEAUTIFUL! You can try as hard as you want to convince yourself otherwise but your jealous of those with the GT500.
I'm pretty sure an 011 GT will handle better than my 08 GT500. But you know what? There are GT's all over my city but not many GT500's. My car always has people staring at it and giving me the thumbs up. If I put a handling pack on it, better tires (and the better tires are one of the main reasons the 011 GT's and GT500 handle so well) and a smaller pulley on my SC (which would take it to over 600hp) the GT or Boss is not going to be able to hang with it.

Automagically

You're so right!! I'm also jealous of the guys with the Aston Martin DBS across the street or the Porsche GT3, Maserati GT, Mercedes Benz SLS, this list goes on and on. Of course I'm jealous of anyone with a GT500, I drive an F-ing Honda!! It has a whopping 198Hp, a 6 speed manual and sports suspension, holy cow! You know what, I like my car a lot, I am fortunate enough to have something just a tad bit different than the norm. I actually feel lucky! Do I care? Not really. I've driven million dollar vehicles for the military, and had a few destroyed the day after receiving them. Thanks insurgents, I appreciate it, so do the millions of American paying tax dollars for all of those vehicles. Sure, maybe I'm jealous, but last time I checked, I didn't see anyone going all James Bond in their Aston Martin.

Now, you also just described what I am talking about. The GT500 is still the more attention grabbing, posh Mustang. Everything about it is upgraded. Not once did I say that it wasn't an incredible car. It's incredible. I want one, I do. I am not as fond of the snout but it's ok. Overall the car looks great. I'm just saying that just like an Aston or Lamborghini, I only see them driven by status mongers. They turn into boulevard cruisers. Why? Because a crap ton of horsepower amounts to not much. It's useful in its own way but horsepower doesn't solve every issue. Actually, sometimes power can create a new issue. Look at BMW's thinking, they basically stated that the M3 shouldn't gain any more power, but if we shave the weight and give it balance, the performance will come. Look at the Ariel Atom.

Anyway, OP, I am not knocking any decision for future purchase of the GT500, it's a sweet ride. Just so you know, I'll be jealous. Personally, I like nimble and tight. Thus I think the GT500 SVTPP is king.

06GT

Buy the Shelby, one less person in line between me and The BOSS!

fdjizm

Waiting for the 50th anything here, that will be a special car to have

50 years!!!!

Whammer

My brother in law has a new Porsche GT3, I guess it's an amazing handling/performing car, but they don't do I thing for me. I would never trade my GT500 for one.

The GT500 is not "blingy" in the flashing sense, it's an attention getter because it looks so good. I prefer the looks of the 07-09's over the current design.

Do any of us need this powerful a car? Not really. Your honda is able to do the posted speed limit so in that sense it performs as well as my car. They both get us from A to B and obeying traffic laws they will get us there in the same amount of time. The only thing setting us apart is the SMILE on my face!
What we NEED and what we WANT are 2 very different things. The auto business is built upon creating dreams and selling "want".

Automagically

Maybe "blingy" wasn't the right terminology. I like all of the GT500 models. Though the only one I would purchase is the newest. The GT500 has had a bad reputation of being all muscle and no footwork. Thus it hasn't been the benchmark for much of anything. Just like Lamborghini, just because it's fast, loud and fun doesn't mean it's a reference to measure others by. The M3 has been so popular for decades because of its consistent performance, incredible balance and how suited it feels to almost any decent driver. This is what I feel the GT500 should be. This day in age anyway.

All of this is really irrelevant to the topic at hand but either way, it's all about what you enjoy in driving. I would love to have a muscle car or pony car. Someday...

I wouldn't say that the auto business is built on creating dreams and selling "want". It's built on creating dreams and selling Foci (Insert other economy car here, Camry, Fiesta, Corolla, Civic, Fusion, etc.) At least that's where all the money comes from to develop the Ford GT's and GT500's. In Ford's case, the popularity of the Mustang is an interesting study.

Either way, very little of what I have said is on point any more.

Spectre_7

I say wait for the 2012 Shelby GT500. I plan on buying it, hopefully. But you can't go wrong with the BOSS either. That thing is a BEAST!!!

GRAYPNY

Buy the GT500! It will cost the same and personally I think it is a much better looking car.

Whammer

The auto business is built on selling "want". You WANT cars you can't afford and you settle for what you can. Your still a young guy and one day you may be in a position to afford those cars you want and you know what? You'll buy them. It wasn't till I was 50 that I was in a position to get what I wanted. When I was younger I didn't want a mini-van but it filled a need I had.

As for earlier GT500's.....unless you've spent quality time behind the wheel of one you really aren't in a position to judge the car. TIRES are the 1st step to getting good handling. The tires on earlier GT500's couldn't handle the power. All the reviews on the current GT and GT500 point to the rubber that's shoeing these horses and how much of a difference it makes.
If you got a ride in my GT500 you wouldn't be making the statements about the car that you're making. You'd be laughing like a kid at the ride you would be getting.

Do they handle like current model's? No, but that doesn't mean they handle poorly. You can read all the reviews you want or listen to "experts" opinions, but there is no substitute for experience.

Dr Evil

lol....please go away.

06GT