Since the 03 Cobra's have forged pistons and Manley rods, will the Lightning ever get Manley rods?

When can we expect the next generation Lightning to begin production?

Will there be a 2004 Lightning and Cobra?

 

Silver, I was going to e-mail you the answer via private message, but it seemed that John Coletti & Alan Hall were both aware of the article that questioned SVTs integrity under it's adsorption into Ford's Performance Group, and seemed eager to answer it.

SVT IS NOT loosing it's integrity, and isn't being watered down, according to them. They also questioned the integrity of the article, and where that article's information came from.

The quick answer as to why SVT is being adsorbed into FPG is that Ford is combining it's racing, it's aftermarket, and SVT into one performance umbrella, that will expand resources for all. Nothing devious or sinister about it. Mr. Coletti is extremely enthusiastic about it, seeing it as a way for all of Ford's performance expertize to gather into one group each independent, but with resources that can be shared throughout.

 

PP, your question was also one that others might want to know, so I wanted to do yours on the thread as well.

There is nothing to the rumors that any SVT products being behind schedule.

John Coletti's definately very lively, and very very funny. The things he says when you write them, doesn't transfer over well, and he sounds like something of a street tough. But in conversation, he a guy who feels that he has the best products around, that GM's on the ropes, Chrysler's playing catch up, and he's confident enough with what he's doing, that he loves to have fun during interviews.

As for future products, he simply says that the next Cobra will be much better than the current on, and there will be a surprise. He also indicated that nothing would slow down simply because there's no competition from GM. Sorry, no specific answers on what's going to power the next Cobra.

One thing that IS worth noting, and may actually shock many of you. He actually is sorry to see Camaro go! On the cynical side, you can say there won't be as much Mustang magazine coverage without Camaros to pit them against, but from what he said, he too feels GM ruined the F-bodies! He pointed out that while Ford updated the Mustang, and via Cobra, the Fox bodied Mustangs were still modern, GM on the other hand kept the F-body "primative, and didn't invest in them to keep them competitive..... cant argue with that!

Ford owns Cosworth & the name. Cosworth is strictly a European engine builder, so zero chance of a Cosworth brand being positioned anywhere at Ford.

However, Ford does, as owner, have the right to put the Cosworth name on anything it feels it fits on (much like Chevrolet did with it's "special" Vega ). In short, don't expect a premium "Cosworth Focus" to show up. But, who knows, maybe it will be on some type of high powered Lincoln or Mercury (pure speculation on my part, because SVT will grace only Ford brand cars.

As far as Ford pulling out of their Eaton contract, I got a feeling that you are the only one that heard of this. I'd file that under the file, since there is no reason why Ford would stop buying from Eaton (whatever contract it is whoever posted that feels Ford has with Eaton )

 

Cobras will be in production for pretty much the rest of the year, and will come back a year after Mustang debuts (still on target for next spring!).

I forgot to ask about Lightning because I focused on the rumored delays on Cobra & Focus SVT. I was told SVT is on schedule in all areas, so I'm guessing that includes Lightning as well. I'm speculating that means about a year after the new F100 goes on sale.

 

Nice write up there guionM!

Isn't it funny how talking to a person in person can have a whole new effect on their perceived attitude and disposition? To read a "Coletti Quote" in a mag article often leaves you thinking it is snide and heartless, but to hear the conversation before and after the quote, to hear the tone of voice, and to see the facial expressions while saying the quote can lead one to a whole different conclusion about what was intended.

All I can say now is - D a y u m, am I gonna have to choose between an even better Cobra, a Mach 1, or a potential BOSS in '04?

Along those Cobra lines, anybody else got the feeling we're gonna see the Lightning motor in a few Cobras soon?
We know for a fact that Ford US is looking very favorably at using the Aussie Boss engines, and the Mustang is the only V8 RWD coupe Ford will have around looking for a BOSS-type performance level IMO.
Remember, the BOSS engines being done down under are based on the same 5.4 block, so mounting and size issues shouldn't be a problem...
Hmmm... a 550+hp Mustang...
And that still leaves Shelby his famed 427 number to play with too and not encroach on the SVT camp!

Thanks for the note guionM!

 

I gotta admit, I had a pre concieved notion of what he would be like, but he was nothing like it. If he ever retires from the car business, I think he has a exceptional future in public relations....or stand-up.

When I first asked a question about a future model, he said if he answered that, Alan Hall, who was in the room with him would ruin his dinner date that night by shooting him. That sort of became the running line. Alan Hall is also a fantastic person to talk to, it's just that Coletti has more memorable one-liners.

He also metioned that under Ford's Performance group (exact words), SVT would "Kick ***".

On GTO, and Bob Lutz's promise of having 400 horsepower the second year of production: "You only get one chance to make a first impression."

He complimented the WRX as being a good quick little car, views the GTO as no competition to Cobra (the feeling I got is that he's going to keep the Cobra quicker than the GTO no matter what GM puts under the hood!), and had a message for me to give to a particular Chrysler PVO public relations guy, which I think it would probally be in my best intrest not to (it wasn't obcene, but unless they're friends, it would probally make for a short conversation ).

A 5 minute conversation with him is very memorable. I had over 30 minutes.

 

As we learned with the '93-2002 Mustang vs. Camaro war, keeping a car faster doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't have competition. Bottom line is, who makes the decisions for how powerful a car can be there? If it were up to Colletti alone the '94-2002 Mustangs would have never been beaten up on the street as bad as they were in the first place. I really wonder "if Nasser was still there"....

Does anyone else worry that someone of power (be it in the government or auto execs) will step in and derail the exploding horsepower wars?

 

I for one would be very interested in the (unsubstantiated) rumors that the S-197 stang is tipping the scales at 3600+ lbs, along with what kind of suspension format will be decided.

On GTO, and Bob Lutz's promise of having 400 horsepower the second year of production: "You only get one chance to make a first impression."

I could make a '99 cobra joke here, but i wont...oh wait, i did..sorry

But seriously, I'm curious if SVT gets it together and gives us the AWD turbo'd Focus that England has been able to buy for years...I also want to know why the lightning keeps getting the better engine over the cobra (looking at the concept lightning), and why SVT wasn't able to save the Marauder...And which car(s) he'll target with the next cobra...

The funny part is when i spoke with Red, he naturally had some off-color remarks about his primary rival as well...If these two ever met in public, there could be a very lively debate, indeed!!! I know Coletti's a good guy, and deep down he's one of us, but as a chevy fan I'd love to se GM do something to make him shut his trap...The mere fact that we spend this much time on this board discussing our competitors speaks volumes on how high and dry GM has left us, imo...

And to answer Z28Wilson, i think the HP wars will level off on their own..I think "400" is a very magical number for stock HP, and the numbers of ordinary people that would want/afford it beyond that will shrink dramatically.

 

what first impression would that be?i do believe the first SVT cobra was a '93.new bodystyle or not,SVT had 6 years of ***-kicking cars and trucks and a solid customer base before a major misstep,a misstep they owned up to and fixed.the goat can't fall back on previous goodwill because there is none,you can't base a new car decision on a GTO that was last made in '74.if the new GTO doesn't deliver,this will go down as the goat that zigs.it will be a small footnote to the history of the real GTO.

 

Honestly, the crack on the Cobra was all in good fun...I'm always of the opinion that more good cars to choose from in the marketplace is good for all of us..and I'm well aware of SVT's reputation going back to '93

But I'm also certain the GTO will be a success, once the dealer gouging slows down. I'm not sure, but i think a LOT of the aftermarket mods for f-bodies will fit on the GTO, and for just a few dollars more, there could be some serious street terrors...And 400HP in any relatively inexpensive 2-door sedan is worth celebrating(not that i can afford it)...

On another note, I wanted to mention when I first heard that Ford was going to cancel the 2000 Cobra, I ran to the local Ford Dealer (Laird Noller in Lawrence, KS) and swiped a bunch of 2000 Cobra Brochures...Does anyone think they might be worth something someday?

 

I agree. We always love more but honestly 400 HP is A LOT of power for most people to handle, probably too much in fact, as the average person's driving skills have steadily deteriorated in an age of 4x4's and front drivers.

People are tossing around speculation that a 550 HP Mustang is coming, a 600 HP Ram SRT-10, 500+ HP Lightning...Is the market going to support the pricetag that comes with insane horsepower? How many are truly prepared to spend $50,000 or more on a Mustang or a Dodge Ram? I have no problems telling you that I would not pay $50,000 for a Camaro in today's dollars and I don't care how much power you put under the hood. As good as I expect the next Camaro to be it will still be a Camaro. Camaro and Mustang are not cars that should have luxury-type price tags. It isn't their heritage.

 

One of the things I learned in the conversation with him is that SVT has nothing to do with Lincoln Mercury. So there will be no SVT cars over there. Maraurder had nothing to do with SVT, so they weren't the people to save it. Just for the record, SVT has nothing to do with the Mach1 either. In both instances, that's Ford "proper".

As far as a Red and John Coletti meeting, it would be an interesting debate, but it would be extremely mismatched. Colletti's a bit higher in the corperate food chain than Red is. A better, and more equal paring would be with Mark Reuss who runs GM's counterpart to SVT, General Motors Performance Division.

This is absolutly no slam or disrespect to Red, but a far more fair and interesting debate would be between the head guys of the 2 performance divisions. Personally, I get an odd feeling Coletti gets more of what he wants at Ford than Reuss does at GM.

As for what it would take to shut him up (you really don't want to do that...who else is publicly prodding GM to get back in the game!), hiring him at GM with the amount of autonomy he has at Ford would probally be a good 1st step, though.

 

Couldn't have said it better.

Now where have I heard that mentioned before?

 

Hey guionM, whether you realize it or not, you are kinda defending this guy in a competitive forum.
I know another guy who LIGHTLY defended him (and heavily defended his car that wasn't even noted in the thread subject line) in another thread a couple weeks ago, and had to fight the flames for about 2 days.

I think that if everyone in here took the time to actually listen to an interview with him, or better yet be part of an informal conversation with him, they would actually like the guy. All I can do is plead with everyone to take off the rose colored glasses once in a while and see the passionate people behind these cars we love - BOTH SIDES.

Nice post dude. I concur in full.

 

Very wise words Z28Wilson.
The only thing I think I could ad to this would be to restate that the Cobra is really a "Mustang out of the paddock". That is to say it is not the base car, the mid-level car, nor even the third highest performer in the true Mustang car offerings. It is the 4th and top level offering and is not even available from all Ford dealers. Due to this exclusivity, I think SVT has room to play with the Cobra without encroaching on the poularity of the "common Mustang" offerings. GM didn't have the same luxury with the Camaro, having only full-bore V8 or base 6 offerings, and the overhyped Vette-owned performance ceiling.

Again, very insightful. I think there should be a cap at 400. Government mandated, Insurance refusal, or whatever. If you want to mod further - go for it. But there are too many people out there right now that can't drive a 100hp car well, much less a 400hp rocketship. The problem is that the cars will get going faster than you can get them stopped.

As far as Coletti, he seems to be delivering his end of the deal, and what management is asking him to - profits. IMO, as long as he keeps giving them what he says he will in exchange for the money they give him to develop cars with, they will keep giving him the funds to do so. That's how corporate America seems to work these days - at least at companies I deal with.
So I'd expect to see the current trend continue, or perhaps even get a little better after the resources at Ford (FRPP, SVT, and Ford Racing) streamline, consolidate, and begin sharing resources better.