rmorin1249

http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...-mustang-ever?

mpuzach

I'd say it's more of a competitor to the Z/28. It's interesting that the article makes not a single mention of the power train.

kiley2418

z/28.... from what i saw its got a flat-plane crank and revs over 8000 rpm. with horsepower a bit over 500 i believe.

dvilin

scottsh

Carbon fiber wheels - is that the first production car with those?

Update: yes it is, and currently Carbon Revolution the maker charges $15k per 4 wheels. I can't imagine that's the OEM price but it makes a set of GM wheels look rather pedestrian by comparison.

I can't afford them, but I see someday that will be the norm. Removing much rotating, unsprung weight (especially on the front wheels) is just too valuable.

cheapthrills

If that was available when I bought the C7 it would have been on the check it out list.

cheapthrills

It's suppose to be 500 or so.

_razar_

It was on my short list. Then I test drove a C7.

I kinda wanted to wait for a GT350..... Honestly I'm glad I didn't

Not sure if true but I read somewhere that they were only going to build 1,000 the first year.

jma242

It's a really nice Mustang .... but that is what most people will say. 99% of the population won't recognize it from the 4 cyl which will soon be everywhere.

I'll never forget the first weekend I purchased my 2002 GT vert. Two other exact copies of my car lined up next to me while out randomly driving.

\Boost Monkey/

In before the move?

The GT350R supposedly ran a killer lap time at the ring...beat the Z28 by like 5-6 seconds or so, can't remember the time. It was impressive, though.

GT350R is the better half, but will be pricey. I considered this heavily before choosing the Z51 C7 as it's going to be a beast.

Implementing a flat plane crank design on this GT350 was a pretty cool move imho. I didn't see that coming despite their Euro turbo kick.

Steve_R

CDH76

The R model is like the Z28 in that is does not have A/C, radio, etc. Its a track only car. However it would be interesting to hear that flat plane crank.

Brubie

I read they are only building 37 of the 350R 's to start. Good luck getting one those.

AORoads

Regardless of what its competitor is, it's still a cool move for Ford and Mustang. As to hp, it's probably still in certification stage like some other cars and they want to get the number right before publishing the number. They had that "issue" several years back...

sTz

... and the ADMs will be ridiculous.

Nice car and look forward to hearing more...

descartesfool

From EVO mag: http://www.evo.co.uk/ford/mustang/15...s-ring-laptime

"Shelby has thrown a punch at arch-rival Chevrolet on the European continent, by lapping the Nuburgring in a reported 7min 32.19sec in its GT350R Mustang. That’s more than 5sec faster than the Chevrolet Camaro Z28’s 7min 37.47sec, and just 0.8sec off Pagani’s V12 Zonda F."

That 7:32 Ring lap time is not confirmed officially by Ford and there is no video posted yet AFAIK.

Frodo

[QUOTE=\Boost Monkey/;1589618822]The GT350R supposedly ran a killer lap time at the ring...beat the Z28 by like 5-6 seconds or so, QUOTE]

Yeah, they beat the Z28 but look at the huge investment in R&D to do it. They basically built a ground up race car and compared it to a production Z28. Kind of an apples and oranges thing, isn't it?

Or did they compare the GT350R against a race ready Z28?

\Boost Monkey/

[QUOTE=Frodo;1589619921]I agree with the massive R&D effort... but that's about it.

Other than that, no it is not apples to oranges. Both are "stripped down" track versions offering the same lack of amenities for weight savings, revised suspensions, brakes, etc. Yes this GT350R has no back seats, but the Z28 has specific reduced weight (for Z28 only)rear seats and it was intentional that Chevy kept the rear seats. I think more effort was put into the Shelby based on some redesigned body work that is specific to the "R" version, but that's about it. There is no doubt on anybody's mind that the Z28 was the target for developing the GT350R...

Both are (will be) street legal production cars and no a "race ready" further modified non production Z28 would not be apples to apples with the R.

The carbon fiber wheels are huge. Such a reduction in rotational mass is a huge advantage versus traditional cast/forged offerings. But you could also say the Z28 has an advantage in braking with Carbon ceramic offering versus the R not having CC brakes (I'm pretty sure they don't, I cant remember but I think it doesn't).

Point is, these cars were intentionally pitted against one another. Hell just look at any article ever on the GT350R and you're likely to find the Z28 mentioned in one form or another.

sanantguy

Funny no one thinks that the plain old 2015 mustang gt is a competitor with the C7.

But oh it is.

Do I love the C7, sure do. Is it the best deal for performance, hell no.


Looks to me like for 20k less dollars the performance on track of the mustang gt is about 2 seconds behind the mustang. A far cry from an *** whooping.

And this isn't even supercharged mustang (loaded with options of course). which for 15 grand less than a bone stock stingray would probably run nearly neck and neck.

Put simply, the corvette is a status symbol and the cost is a reflection of its "exclusivity".

OC Sadler

Absolutely Kerrect!!

If the Ford people want to compete with the C7 they already have the platform. It's called the Ford Shelby GR1. Shown below!