bascho

I need this car. 475hp GT500 is the greatest Mustang ever made.

Hornet

With that kind of HP jail would definitely be in my immediate future!

playdoh43

impressive power. however the last gen cobra had individual rear wheel suspension, which i thought was very nice and heading toward the right direction in terms of becoming a complete sports/performance car... now they are doing the single live rear axel agian... they are claiming that it handles just as well as the last gen, and I believe them. its however unfortunate to see that they arnt making more of an effort to improve on the fundation they had built last time to make this new one a much better overall performer than the last gen. eitherway 475hp is extremely impressive for a car that cost roughly 20k less than the Z06.

Japan8

The lack of IRS...

1. Keep prices down for the V6 model
2. Core Mustang GT buyers like to drag race their cars and live axel is superior in this application. So much so that some SVT Cobra owers changed their rear ends to live axel.
3. The experience Ford has had in racing with the new chassis and revised live axel has been very good. Why fix it if it ain't broken?
4. I remember reading somewhere that IRS would have also added extra weight to the car. And we all know it's not featherweight.

rx8wannahave

First, nice job Ford...but a 50K Mustang???? I say that based on the 20K comment, I thought the GT500 would cost 40K which would make it 30K cheaper or 25K if it's sold for 45K.

With all due respect to the GT500, it still wont be faster than the Z06 considering it makes more power and is significantly lighter. With that said...it will be the bang for your performance buck KING of the automotive world.

Again...nice job Ford, I hope the best!

Note: Bascho...I know I know, it's not completely aimed at the Z06 anyway...I know...

PoorCollegeKid

The Z06 starts at ~$65,000, so the GT500 could still cost in the $40,000-$45,000 range.

dillsrotary

in the 1999 to 2003 mustang gt, companies such as saleen and rousch supercharged the GT instead of the SVT cobra because they said the IRS didn't always agree with the high hp from their supercharged 4.6's. Maybe thats another reason ford ended the IRS in the shelby, the old SVT supercharged was rated at 390hp(maybe the limit of the ford production IRS) and the 475hp in the new shelby was completely to much to even begin building a stronger IRS.

RevTo9K

When the car was first announced, the engineers said they had the chassis dialed in so well that nobody would miss the IRS. Also, Mustang enthusiasts believe in the live axle.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this one's definitely on the shopping list once the RX-8 comes off lease. A forced-induction RX-8 would get my attention too, but I get less and less optimistic as time clicks along.

I can't consider the Z06, or even the awesome C6, for one reason: I have a wife and a young child, and wouldn't get to use a two-seater enough to justify the expense.

Speaking of Mustangs, Saleen has a $15K package that supercharges the V6 Mustang (yes, you read that right) to 350 bhp. That's just weird enough for me to consider. I'd think that a 475 HP GT500 might be a little annoying around town; a 'Stang with "only" 350 would be less of a handful running to the grocery store in the rain, I suppose.

toca

my buddy works at ford said msrp be around 44k

snizzle

Wow, I am impressed at the figures. By far the best performance bang for the buck on the road when it comes out. The Vette will no longer hold that title.

I've never understood buying a Mustang as expensive as Saleen/Rousch/GT500 b/c when all is said and done.... it's still a Mustang. It's suppose to be the "cheap" way into the segment. I'd rather buy the Base GT for the platform and mod it myself. I guess it's all about the warranty.

BaronVonBigmeat

I think I read a while back that this car will weigh 3800 lbs., is that correct? If so, it would have a HP/weight ratio about the same as a base model Corvette--8 lbs./HP. And for a similar price? I doubt it's going to cut into Corvette sales too much, even amongst people who are strictly interested in 1/4 mile times.

jaguargod

From what I've seen, the specialty Mustangs are worth it because they actually hold alot of their value.

dillsrotary

now does the saleen package for the v6 give it a live rear axle as well or does it maintain its "peg leg" rear, cuz i think 350 going just to the rear right tire would be a waste of money

Cooder

The Horsepower war is getting carried away. I wonder how long it will last...HP war, that is.

bascho

The base price for the Shelby GT500 is going to be $39K......obviously the convertible versions will be higher and various option packages raise the price. I would say that $44K MSRP for a nicely equip'd Shelby GT500 sounds about right.

bascho

You know me so well

bascho

3800LBS sounds about right.....

I disagree with the Shelby not cutting into Vette sales though. Here is why, around me, regular C6 Vettes are a dime a dozen. GM employees get such great discounts on these cars that you see them everywhere. The Shelby is limited in production #'s just like every other SVT product.....and they are all assigned a certificate with it's # out of the total made. This exclusivity and the fact that it has 'Shelby' in the name will have many would-be Vette owners thinking about their purchase. It wouldn't matter if the Vette was faster, the Shelby GT500 will sell on name alone.

bascho

I am also thinking of making the Shelby GT500 my next car. I wonder how bad the insurance company will screw me

BunnyGirl

I'm sure pretty significantly. I also kind of want one so when I was getting the quote for my RX-8 I asked if they could give me a quote for it. For the convertible version it cost 2.5 times as much as the RX-8 to insure (at least for me). They also told me that was a rough guestimate at this time (based off Mustang GT as starting point) since they don't have full info for their database. I know I certainly can't budget that kind of money for one of those!!!

bascho

The lease on my car is not up until Sept 2007, so I will be looking at a 2008 Shelby GT500. I am going to talk to my insurance company about a policy for 'second vehicle that rarely gets driven' and see if that helps the annual premiums. I just hope Ford allows me to use A-plan....when the 2005 Mustang came out, A-plan could not be applied because they were already selling more then they could make. I am hoping that getting the Shleby on the second year of production may help. We'll see.....I may have to buy a used 2007 if a 2008 is still impossible to get. I am really excited though.....the only thing that would prevent me from getting the Shelby is a decent turbo kit for the RX8. I know the 8 is not a straight line performer.....but I don't autoX. I drive on regular streets and would like to waste my coworkers GTO off the line. I think that the RX8 will only be able to meet that requirement with 350rwhp. The Shelby would be able to do that without even trying.

BunnyGirl

I'm not into racing and all that stuff. I pick cars based off what features they have, appearance, and fun to drive. I drive mainly country roads and interstate so not a huge concern. Handling is a concern since I have a lot of winding roads around me.

bascho

I am not a huge race guy either (only been to a track once in my life). But having a faster car is a guy thing.....macho

like having a better looking girlfriend...or bigger house.. or greater knowledge of sports............................or a bigger....uh hum....foot

We can't help it.......we're a simple-minded subspecies with very primal rules.

Example: Gather the 10 smartest men in the world and put them in a room with a naked playboy model........think anything intelligent will be discussed?

BunnyGirl

definitely not unless they aren't into women or have very bad eye sight!!!!

Japan8

I've got a size 15. How about you?

rx8wannahave

Dang...40K for 475HP, that's impressive...nice job Ford!

Why oh why are American sports cars getting fatter and fatter, other than the Vette??? Gosh, I'm so tired of this overweight problem with our sports cars. Gosh, just look at the Solstice...no it's not heavy, but for it's size GM could have done a better job (then again it is a 20K car).

Anyway, I just don't understand why our sports cars seem to be not only retro in style but in weight also. Am I the only person that thinks a sports car should be relatively light?

3800...gosh, too fat...too dang fat!!!! Bascho...I wouldn't mind spending another 3K to cut the weight to 3400 pounds.

You know what, I think GM should make a limited edition Vette...bring back the Stingray nameplate. It should be based on the same platform of course BUT with a more daring and unmistakeably STINGRAY flavor. It should still look VetteISH, but be it's own style. Mabye it could sit between the standard C6 and Z06 in price and performance.

That name has so much history...it's a shame they have never brought it back. (Note: I hear there is a concept now based partially on the Soltice platform but a Stingray should NEVER have a V6.