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Top Gear tests the Shelby GT 500

Mustang owners, don't let it hurt your feelings.

id take a roush over a shelby too!!!

Yes

I want that new 550HP cammer in the new FR500C.

7200RPM redline, no boost required.

I noticed something about TopGear....

For all the Pooh-Poohing they do over the mustangs, they keep doing more and more shows/segments about them...

And...the presenters always have s*** eating grins on their faces when driving them too...

Besides, you can take a stock GT like mine, and put an awesome suspension on it, as well as a 14" brake upgrade for it, and voila....blue collar hero mobile becomes import hunter...

Top Gear always smashs the mustang, but I think ford should have at least changed up the suspension on the new stangs cause a stock C6 Vette will eat a new GT500, and the GT500 is *suppose* to be competing with the C6 Z06 Corvette, like honestly, there is NO competition there........

the problem is ford would have to put in one heck of an OEM IRS to put up with 500hp.. and gobs of tq... I driven a GT500 and yea it dosn't handle as well as you would hope but it handles prety Damn good! and braking? the brakes were smashing!!! I also drove a ZO6... and unlike the mustang the only thing that feels like a sports car is the g forces in your stomach... it's quiet and every thing is soft with little feed back.. kinda scary...

^-- there are lots of cars that put out over 500HP in an IRS.

Hell, ford even had an IRS in the old cobras... and it's not like they put solid axles in their aston martins...

they've run out of excuses -- it's strictly a cost-cutting measure.

I'm sure we'll see this change as other pony cars come back out with IRS.. it will force Ford's hand in the matter.

that what I don't get, why the previous Cobra's had IRS and new GT500 doesn't. I'd rather find a 00 to 04 SVT Cobra and than have the new GT500 for about $80K.

darkpuppet,Mar 9 2007, 09:07 AM Wrote:^-- there are lots of cars that put out over 500HP in an IRS.

Hell, ford even had an IRS in the old cobras... and it's not like they put solid axles in their aston martins...

they've run out of excuses -- it's strictly an enthusiast-f***ing measure.

I'm sure we'll see this change as other pony cars come back out with IRS.. it will force Ford's hand in the matter.
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Edited to reflect underlying meaning. You're welcome. :P

Meh, if I could drive one, I'd take it, live axle & all (Besides my father knows all sorts of tricks he could teach me about tossing a Mustang around :D)

NefCanuck

NefCanuck,Mar 10 2007, 02:00 AM Wrote:Meh, if I could drive one, I'd take it, live axle & all (Besides my father knows all sorts of tricks he could teach me about tossing a Mustang around :D)

NefCanuck
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I did take the live axle and all... don't get me wrong, I love the car, but that axle detracts from the experience..

If you want the perfect example of why a live axle is bad, drive your car east on Glencairn starting from Marlee Ave (basically across from the entrance to Lawrence square)..

You'll get to feel both the axle wrap and hop that detracts from the experience. And while this road is the extreme example, it's what really takes away from the handling..

Ah, true enough DP, though conversely I can show you roads that give a FWD car fits if you push it (oversteer city) where a RWD car like the 'Stang could take it with just throttle modulation...

All depends the roads you drive... Heck, if you drove the street my dad lives on now with a 'Stang at speed, you'd have the back end howling like a wolf baying at the moon :ph34r:

NefCanuck

I've driven one. only one though. And you know what? they are handicapped until they get to the dealer. No 500hp for us to play with (probably a good thing)....but as one of my co-workers proved they still do killer donuts...

The solid axle wasn't just a cost cutting measure...Ford kept it also because the number of mustang enthusiasts who buy the car with the intent to drag race it are legion. The number of people that want the car how it is, vastly outnumber the people that want IRS. The mustang is a blue collar car, and they built it to sell as many as possible, to as wide ranging a demographic as they could. I personally am not bothered with driving a vehicle with a live axle. Just about everything the Cdn Military has is live axle, my truck is, etc.

I find that the stock GT handles VERY WELL for a larger and beefier car. It is, what it is. Also, it's retro oldschool...Ford made attempts to make this as close a rep of the mustangs of old, but giving us a decent clutch and gearbox, nicer interiors, better handling and brakes, all out of the box. Sure, they could have made the Mustang to be the "End-all and Be-all" of performance vehicles, but that would detract from the sales of the GT40/GT and also end up reducing the want/need for factory tuned cars/specialty editions, etc.

I think the live axle also helps FORCE people to learn the car, and learn to drive it properly within it's limits. Like I said, with lighter and stronger control arms, panhard rod, and an aftermarket suspension, you can go out and hunt 5 series BMW's and Audi's and Lexus' all day long...

Drivesthebeast,Mar 10 2007, 06:42 PM Wrote:I think the live axle also helps FORCE people to learn the car, and learn to drive it properly within it's limits.  Like I said, with lighter and stronger control arms, panhard rod, and an aftermarket suspension, you can go out and hunt 5 series BMW's and Audi's and Lexus' all day long...
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BUT, if it was outfitted correctly for that type of work from the get-go and all that was needed was an improved set of bounce gear... it would be much, much better. The fact you need lighter and STRONGER control arms kinda scares me.

Drivesthebeast,Mar 10 2007, 06:42 PM Wrote:...Ford kept it also because the number of mustang enthusiasts who buy the car with the intent to drag race it are legion.  The number of people that want the car how it is, vastly outnumber the people that want IRS.  The mustang is a blue collar car, and they built it to sell as many as possible, to as wide ranging a demographic as they could.  ...
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I find that it's the blue collar hero because it is cheaper to go racing with than an IRS. To meet a lot of the demographics, they had to keep costs down and cater to their fanbase.

On many levels, any way you slice it, the live rear axle is a cost cutting measure. For ford, for racers, for the university girls looking for their first red pony car.

I'm not faulting the demographics, I'm faulting the live axle... I don't deny the car is competent, but you really need to desensitize yourself to the fit the axle throws when it's pushed outside it's comfort zone in order to get that performance.

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a big fan of loud exhausts or rattling/clanking cars... my childhood was spent in fear of vaccuum cleaners and lawnmowers...and yet I still went out a bought one.

on one hand, I love the throwback, the 'being-seen' car, it's so much fun! on the other, I still don't see it as a "driver's" car. And thus I attract the disdain of mustang and non-mustang owners alike...

I personally am not bothered with driving a vehicle with a live axle. Just about everything the Cdn Military has is live axle, my truck is, etc.

Yikes thats a terrible comparison, you bought a "sports car" remember?.


Personaly I never thought of the mustang as a track car, except for the previous SVT, but I lost respect for it when I saw the numbers it put down in an auto x event........... and yes the SVT had an IRS.

For the GT money you can buy a lot of nice sports cars....but its all personal preference.

Yes I totally agree with Nos, this car should have came from the factory with the correct gear.........they could have cut the money on the plastics or something, not on a key componet like the suspension.

Out of curiosity what does a miata or a wrx lay down at the track ?

Obviously I know nothing about the car that I actually own or drive, so I'll shut up now.

Drivesthebeast,Mar 11 2007, 12:12 PM Wrote:Obviously I know nothing about the car that I actually own or drive, so I'll shut up now.
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I don't think anyone's saying that.. it's just difference in opinions.

It's still got power, it's still a decent handler, and it's still a beautiful looking car... I'm just saying that I agree with the crowd that believes the solid axle is a detraction from an otherwise brilliant car.

I also don't think an auto-x is indicative of a mustang's performance. Auto-X times depend on course design, driver ability and hardware... Take a GT to a corvette club-held event, and you'll embarrass your share of vettes.

put it this way.. a GT is the same weight and power of a 350Z, and it costs significantly less. But it doesn't measure up in the handling department IMO.

I guess that's why I went with the V6.. everything I'd want to upgrade, I'd end up pulling off the GT anyways... I just won't have the power...

then again, if I wanted a real performer, i wouldn't have bought a convertible.

I'm such a poseur