I got to look at the 06/07 Shelby GT500 Prototype this weekend at Sebring. I've got to say, that at a projected price of @ $40k, GM better bring something new to the table soon. The prototype looked pretty good. Front chin spoiler to recuce lift.....rear diffussers...4-piston front brakes on a 14 in rotor, and a 2-piston rear piston on a 13 in rotor...all under 19 in wheels. The rear suspension is a duplicate of the 05 mustangs that are running in World Challenge...the front suspension is a little different than the race car. Hp is promised as 450+.

I can only hope that the f-body community will someday see the support that I witnessed being given to SVT owners by Ford Racing and Ford in general. They brought out two Ford GT's and were giving rides for charity. Unfortunately they managed to break a hard coolant line on saturday afternoon running the GT on the street, and they canceled the Track rides on Sunday. I was running with the SVTOA for Camp Steeda. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me bring my Camaro so I was regulated to running down supercharged Cobra's in my buddies NA fox body.

I'll try to post up some pictures before we leave for One Lap.

yes, but to have that sort of support, one would need a f-body, or the like, in production.....and judging by the factory support we received while still in production, my hopes are near nil.

but that's just me....lil mr. pessimism

Hell, like I've said before. I could care less who comes out with it - I want a 400+hp, 2 door, RWD, sports car for around $40k. I'm not beholden to GM - what have they done for me lately?

If I like the looks, I'll let ya'll know how it drives!

It's becoming hard to remain GM-loyal. I hate Fords, not sure I could ever own one based on durability and stupid setups I've seen while working on them, but GM isn't offering any options as far as competition. I've got a lot of time, but I have no idea what my next track car will be.

you know, the more i see how "basic" our wants are in general, i wonder more often on why one would wait for a new car to come out to fit those standards.

one of my sorta "dream projects" is to rebuild a datsun 510 2 door. not exactly gonna push 400+ hp, but you can get the car down to 2100 lbs. easily, so that much hp isn't exactly necessary.
IRS, RWD, 2 door, and if i could sink 40 grand into one, geez! i'd be a giddy lil boy.
throw a sr20det from a s14 silvia, get it to comfortably push around 300 hp. and there are a slew of companies making replacement parts to better the suspension in about every aspect i can think of, and the car can adopt parts from a large amount of nissan cars that followed it. as far as i can tell, i could practically turn it into a show worthy race car for 40k.

then of course there's simply getting an older lt1 f-body, modify it to your content, throw in some extra c.i.'s, and be happy.....and most likely coming under a price you could be comfortable with.

now, of course, i can see the benefit/"ease" of purchasing the car that meets your demands that is brand new, but then it comes with that brand new price....not saying rebuilding cars is cheap.

....did i actually prove any point through all that, or did it just come off more as rambling like i feared it might? darn....ah well, if anyone gained anything from that, awesome! i'm gonna go back to doing homework.

I saw it at the NY auto show and I think it's a really nice car. It's basically the best of both worlds for a Mustang. It uses the supercharged engine/iron block formula derived from the Lightning and 03/04 Cobra, on top of the much improved 05 chassis. That engine combo has proven pretty durable, despite being heavy.

Hard core Cobra fans don't like the lack of an IRS, but the live axle will probably do just fine. It'll probably get lumped in with wherever the 03/04 Cobra is now. Is that superstock? I'm not sure how competitive it will be. My guess is it might surprise some people, but it's going to be hard to beat the Z06.

Based on what Ford said, it'll probably come in under $40K. If it hits around $35K, I think it'll be a good value. If it's closer to $40K, then it's getting into Corvette territory and isn't such a great deal.

My .02.

Has anyone seen an 05 GT run in FS/ESP yet?

If Ford does a Mach 1 style 06 Mustang (or whatever model year) with a 4.6 DOHC and the beefed up suspension from the GT500, it should liven up those two classes.

-John

I actually love the idea of fixing up an old car. But, my next car is going to see strictly street duty. Maybe new wheels and tires, and an exhaust. That's about it. And, It's gotta be new/slightly used so that we can take it to work, social events, vacations, etc.

BTW, the 04 Cobra is an AS car. It does well there, but just can't hang with the S2000 or C4. Now, in ESP, it does quite well.

I'll be in line for a GT500 if the price is around $40K. :drive: