8 Things We Learned from Talking With John Coletti
What achievements is the father of SVT most proud of? Back in 2006 The Mustang Source had a chance to run a few questions by Mr. SVT himself and what follows are a few choice takeaways... with photos!
1. Faithful Soldier
John Coletti is a hero to Ford fanatics far and wide. Starting with Ford in 1972, and leaving in 2005, he spent the intervening years saving the Mustang from a front-wheel driven fate, leading the Special Vehicles Team (SVT) and delivering the Ford GT to the world. Let's start with one of the tougher questions put to Mr. Coletti. One of our Forum members felt that Ford had distanced itself from those who have been associated with SVT. They asked if John had left because of internal changes and his ties to SVT owners.
Mr. Coletti's response was measured and diplomatic, showing his loyalty to fans and the company: "While these are all very interesting questions, I don't believe that serves any purposes for me to speculate on the answers. I can only thank Ford from the deepest part of my heart for the 33 years of wonderful opportunities that they afforded me and my family. Ford gave me the opportunity to accomplish more than I could ever have hoped for, and for that I am extremely grateful. I would like to thank each and everyone in the Mustang hobby for all the support that they have given me during my tenure at Ford."
2. Favorite Mustang Ever
One question that Mr. Coletti answered with no hesitation was about his favorite Mustang ever: "Without question, my favorite Mustang of all time was the 1969 Boss 429." By the time John Coletti joined Ford the writing was on the wall for muscle cars, but he was lucky enough to be pressed into service supporting the Autolite racing program. It was there that he worked with IndyCar giant A.J. Foyt and met some of the most famous names in the history of racing—Mark Donahue, Bobby & Al Unser, and Mario Andretti.
*Bonus: Milwaukee rockers Rob McCuen and the Ruins named one of their signature songs after Mr. Foyt
3. Favorite Mustang From His Tenure
John followed up the question of his fave Mustang ever by offering: "Of all the vehicles that I had a chance to do, my favorite Mustang was the BOSS 10.0L. I was so proud when this car beat the hell out of the 572cid Camaro ZR-1 car." The BOSS 10.0 was a factory built showcar with a SN-95 chassis, and a huge motor based on the 429. Never let anyone tell you that competition doesn't foster innovation. You can watch it race the Camaro here.
4. Favorite SVT Mustang
His favorite SVT Mustang? The 2003 Cobra. "The Terminator was a car that I thought would never see the light of day," he volunteered. "Who would have ever thought that you would see a supercharged DOHC V8 under the hood of a Mustang? It's a good thing that GM cancelled the Camaro/Firebird in 2002, because this Cobra was armed to terminate the war once and for all. That's why we called it The Terminator."
Like we said, competition is a good thing.
5. Favorite SVT Vehicle that's not a Mustang
Though he mentioned that all of the SVT vehicles—including the three Mustang Cobra R models, the SVT Contour, and the SVT Focus—had a special place in his heart, John pegged the F-150 Lightning as his other favorite SVT creation. He called it "a benchmark in the evolution of the SVT group." Sharing his thoughts on forced induction he asserted, "The beautiful thing about supercharged V8 engines is that not only do they put out a great deal of power and torque, but they do it very efficiently. Yes performance is important, but performance without efficiency just won't cut it in today's world."
6. Competition is Good, part 3
When asked to tell more about the birth of the 1994 Mustang, including the role of the 1993 Mach III, Mr. Coletti again cited that primal urge - the desire to stay ahead. "The primary reason for doing the Mach III concept vehicle was to blunt the introduction of the all-new 1993 Camaro at the Detroit Auto Show." He also wasn't shy about mentioning "Isn't it amazing how many times I stuffed a supercharged V8 in a prototype during my years at Ford? I guess I just a fan of the blower."
7. What was his role in the 2007 GT500?
Mr Coletti summed up his contribution to the creation of the 2007 Shelby GT500 Mustang with two pivotal points. First: he brought Carroll Shelby back to Ford. He told us, "(getting Shelby back) had been a personal objective of mine for the last ten years I worked at the company." And second: SVT did a lot of the ground work. John clarified, "Obviously with the new 2005 Mustang coming, we were working on prototypes for the new SVT Cobra. The new Shelby launched off of these early prototypes."
8. Why no SVT T-Bird?
"We never gave the new two-seater Thunderbird any real consideration." That was John's response to questions about an SVT 'Bird. He said they wanted to do an SVT version of the MN12 T-Bird, but that Ford discontinued the line before they got the chance. He added, "...we pretty much always got to do the vehicles we wanted to do. The only disappointment I had during my tenure at SVT was that we couldn't do the supercharged 1998 Thunderbird as an SVT model." You can't win every race, but thankfully for us, John Coletti won his fair share.
Mr. Coletti left us with these parting words: "I would like to extend my best wishes to all Mustangers for their continued success of the hobby. You guys were the greatest, and it was my pleasure to work on your behalf."
If you want to read more, click back to the Mustang Source thread from 2006.
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