Sorry if any of this information is old news or boring

Ford's tour with the GT500 made a stop in Tampa yesterday and today at Legends Field. I went for a ride in the GT500 Man that car is nothing but amazing. It feels like a freight train. The instant we pulled out on to Dale Mabry, he nailed it and took 1st and 2nd to redline. Not too long after the 2-3 shift, we hit 100MPH And that intoxicating blower whine when the loud pedal is mashed to the floor ...WOW. I got to take a good long look under the hood, under the car in general and at the various body pieces that a lot of non-GT500 folks want to put on their cars. The rear bumper/diffuser is real nice - the lower black part is textured like the rocker panels (which are the same ones used on the V6 models). That engine was dang near on fire (no not literally) when the hood was popped - I mean the heat coming off the thing was unreal.The exhaust manifolds are not at all like what's on the S197GT from the factory - these look like logs. It should be interesting to see how the car will respond to long tubes. I also noticed 2 extra braces in the rear of the car, not sure if they're exclusive to the 'vert (no coupe was there - it was needed for a photo shoot somewhere in Canada). If I had the means, believe me I'd get one as soon as possible. Nearly 2 ton curb weight? WHO CARES? The thing hauls ****, looks menacing and seems as easy to drive as the S197 GT.

Also on hand, and it wasn't planned, was the GT-H. I spent most of my time there today talking to Will from the company that does Ford Marketing. Very nice guy and a true gear head as well. He said when he went to rent a car at Hertz, he saw 12 of the GT-H's sitting there and phoned his boss and got the OK to get it. Nice car, and man I was really impressed by the exhaust note! They're the FRPP mufflers that look like the stock ones (not the round Borlas) and had a great sound.

Here are a few pics and videos. The video of the GT500 is when we first pulled out on to Dale Mabry






Thanks for reading!

 

****, I miss all the fun. I was just down there last weekend. That had to be awesome.
Any word if they're planning a GT350 for public sale?

 

Nice pictures and vids.

 

sweeet thanks for the pics and vids

 

Nice pics dude - thanks for the write-up!

 

Nice pix, guess you had a great time. Anyway I would not want that car that some sales dude redlined 1st and 2nd right out of the box. If I'm paying those big bucks I'm waiting at the dealership when the delivery truck comes in.

 

Yeah this particular car had around 700 miles on the clock. The day before, Friday, they took it to MacDill AFB and let a few select ranking officials there take it for a drive on a part of the air strip. The residing 4-Star General took the thing to 150MPH And that same day, an editor from either MMFF or 5.0 (they both have offices in Tampa) left 2, 75' long black marks in the parking lot at Legends Field

 

I wonder if Ford will use that phrase in their marketing?



I'm thinking probably not.

 

Some car guys insist that is the way to break 'em in. Run it hard right out of the box. Apparently is seats the rings better. The synthetic oil may damper that effect.

 

Seriously? That flies in the face of everything I've been taught - not to mention what my instincts tell me.

 

It's actually pretty technical but believed by a lot of motorheads. I'll try to find an article on it to post.

 

Here you go:

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

The morning after I picked up my 05, I took her to redline more in 4hrs than I did my 96GT in 4 years