I think this just sh@ts all over the Boss in a big way, and I can see a lot of Boss's getting traded in for a "real" upgrade, as thats what this car is.

oh.. and I wounder if those wheels could fit on a S197 without sticking out, or being too deep, kind of want, and will look into take offs

 

You may not know the GT-350 was benchmarked against some really serious competition, (4 cars) 911 Carrera S (main benchmark) Ferrari California (since it is front engine) the C7 and Z28. This most definitely places it in position to be a serious contender in real life racing/track conditions, and not just the BS magazine tests with the same driver and biased opinions and results with just fractional differences. My opinion is not only is the Z car been exceeded but now the C7 is competition. As the saying goes, "the proof is not in the pudding, but rather in the eating" and real world examples will tell the real story. Everyone has a right to voice his or her own opinion, and I respect that, but it seems anymore that a bunch of Camaro5 guys are in here to put doubt in the minds of people who don't know any better.

 

You are right about the benchmarks. The thing is, the Z28 is faster around LS than
C7 Z51 by 0.5s,
faster than 911 Carrera S by 1,2s,
I don't have the lap time for California in front of me, but faster than a 2006 Z06 by 3s,
and faster than a 2012 Boss LS by 3.3s.

It would he hard to 'exceed the Z and aim for the Vette' as you claim if the Z is actually faster around the same track, no?

And yet, somehow you expect a car in a $50k class to punch out a car in a $75k class? How? Based on what? Where do you think that $20k goes? The interior of the Camaro is crap, so clearly it goes into SPEED.

Underestimating the enemy is a sure way to lose wars. I'm an engineer working in the auto industry in Detroit, plus I track my own MUSTANG. Not sure how that makes me a Camaro5 guy. But if calling me that makes you sleep better at night than go ahead. I'll just lough when the test numbers come out, and you and your kin can tell me how 'unfair' the test was.

And proof is not in the pudding or the eating. It is in lap times. So that is MY opinion.

Now use some kind of an educated or logical argument to make a valid counterargument. "you're just a bunch of Camaro5 guys" doesn't count as either.

P.S. Before you ask where my track times come from:
http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/laguna_seca.html

Unless the GT350 can take on the 911 Turbo or the 911 GT3 RS, good luck beating the Z. Fact.

 

First, nothing can make me loose sleep, especially this. What ever happens, so be it. Also I'm not calling you anything or implying anything either. For all I know your a nicest person anyone could meet. But what I know is the Z-28 is not the answer to end all in the performance car world as many here and else where would have people believe. If it is then why do you drive a Mustang, don't you want the best there is, why heck, why should anyone even look at another Mustang again, for that matter just give up, go out of business you will never beat the holier than thou Camaro anyway. You see my point?? And if you think just because one car costs a lot more makes it better, there are to many examples that disprove this too. Not saying you do ,but I'm not into drinking Kool Aid. I wish you well Mr Engineer, best regards.

 

Perhaps we're talking about 2 different things. I did choose Mustang. It looks better (in my opinion), it's the best performance value out there. My 2014 GT TP cost $33k. An equivalent Camaro would have been at least $4k more. You get a great power/weight ratio, and it can smoke most other cars out there. Plus it's easy to live with every day.

Now with that said, if we're purely talking about track performance (which I may have made a wrong assumption about) it's a different story. That's all I was trying to say.

 

I told my fiancé that I was trading my car in...

She gave me the "raised eyebrow" look and said "for what??"...

...showed her the front and rear pics of the white/blue striped car. She gives the "not bad" smirk and says "okay!"

 

I see and understand what your saying...good point. However even with the Z-28's built in advantages for track use, it is still comes down to driver skill and various other factors, good and proper track position being just one.

 

Everything forward of the windshield is new. The widened front track and wider front fenders give it the square stance lacking from the stock car (which is why any Mustang benefits from wider/bigger wheels and a lower stance, in my opinion).

I think GT350 is everything I wanted it to be. It takes everything that made the Boss so good, adds some new ingredients (IRS etc), then turns it up to 11.

I'm soft, so I'll take mine with the tech package and leather interior. I wish they'd had the 10-speed auto ready to go in this, but I totally appreciate why they kept it manual only.

Top job, Ford, top job

 

Hahaha

 

Has anyone ever noticed that the outgoing gt500 is less than one second

 

Dang it, hit send too early..

On street tires, the gt500 is less than one second slower than the z28 at LS? Just put a set of suitably wide R6's (or other equivalent r compound tire) on the "old" LRA gt500 and it would outrun the Z28 there...

 

That's a good point

 

I noticed that too! Little surprising since GT500 is not known for great handling, but very encouraging

 

This car won't replace the BOSS.
It'll leapfrog it by a mile.

This is an SVT vehicle (with suprise, no SVT badging that we can see)

Let's all just hold our horses (snicker) until we see what this badboy can do and what options are available.

SVT isn't exactly known to be ....subtle.
For as much as they told us, they didn't tell us much.

 

On Road & Track's track, the '13 GT500 and '15 GT were less than a second apart

2013 Ford Mustang GT500 56.19 sec
2015 Ford Mustang GT 56.81 sec

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...he-motown-mile

Kind of amazing and only makes you wonder how much QUICKER than the GT500 this GT350 would/will be?

 

I can respect your opinion, you definitely would know better than I would. But I think it comes down to IF they shave any weight with the gt350 over the regular gt... Because it already has a weight advantage as is. Plus the numbers aren't out for power yet... What if it comes back 550 hp/450tq ? I understand tires are probably the biggest mismatch but still... With the mustang (even the Boss) not being the best handling cat ever, be it very good, and not having near the power... Well if you make it handle better, put better brakes on it, make it lighter, lower, and give it more power (100 hp???)over a wider powerband... Sounds like it could make up more than a few seconds on a track... Keeping the z/28 as a constant, I think this mustang could be right there for $20k less (also speculation)

Who knows... I know for **** sure if it had the same tire it would be a faster car.

To answer your question... They charged $75k because they could! I don't think they made that car to sell anything... You have the ls1 priced that much less with more power blahblahblah. It's an absolute enthusiasts car at a time when America had nothing to compete... (Except Chevys own c7...) they had their moment in the sun where they could charge a massive premium, granted the upgrades aren't cheap, it's not $75k good... Just saying. With the Hellcat priced at $60k... And this thing likely markedly less than that, it won't be relevant. Let's put it this way... How many z/28s will you see on the road versus one of these? Not even a contest, Ford will sell 10x more. Chevy was shooting for accolades for their halo car, not sales. They figured the few people crazy enough to buy a z28 camaro with no AC and speakers were going to pay $50k or $75k, whatever was on the sticker.

Same is true for the gt350, but since it is more streetable... And has AC, a back seat, stereo, and is still a livable driveable daily drive vehicle... It will sell way more anyway. Bravo Ford for making a people's track car

 

That's a very good point. Weight is one of the bigger unknowns still, and it will have a big effect on performance. So you're right, it is one of the unknowns in the equation.

I guess the big thing I'm having a hard time seeing is that the 350 would be faster than the C7 with the Z51 Package. That car is 3300lbs. If the GT350 is ~3700lbs it would be pretty impressive, but would it be faster?

But who knows, the Z at nearly 4000lbs is faster than C7 (which is a bit mind boggling) so perhaps GT350 can be as well.

I really like the concept of the GT350. I can't wait to see what it's really capable of

 

Haha very true very true... I guess they don't call it "voodoo" for nothing

Now the real wait begins...

 

So does this motor share architecture with the Coyote or is it something new?

The front clip isn't entirely new. The weird looking headlights are seemingl identical...and it's still bulbous and ugly.

...but who cares? This thing is shaping up to be one hell of a car.

 

Be interesting to see more of a shark nose front like the 10-12. Funny how Dodge is getting away from the bulbous front and Ford is embracing it.