http://www.corral.net/forums/showthr...hreadid=288258

I saw this over at the Corral. It's mostly good news, but i don't know about the credibility since i don't know the guy and since it isn't published news. Take a look at the link and tell us what you guys think. I kind of doubt the 500hp 5.4L 3v S/c 2006 Cobra the guy mentions. I doubt Ford will let the Cobra have as much power as their $100,000+ exotic (GT/40). But by 2006, they might up the GT/40's power rating to 550 or 600hp. Who knows. If the next Lightning gets the 500hp like the recent concept, they Cobra might too. It's confusing. On top of that, he says that the Cobra will get 20's which i find it hard to believe as well (bling bling should be left for the trucks/Suv's).

Anyone heard anything similar or along the same line as what this guy is saying?

 

When I spoke with John Coletti last month, he said there would be a "big surprise" regarding the next Mustang Cobra, but to be honest I wasn't expecting it to be THAT big!!

I'm pretty skeptical about a blown 5.4. I do know the Aussie Boss engine will be in a US car before 2005 (I was assuming that was the Cobra engine), but with the Boss comming, a blown 5.4 is possible. I'll believe it when I see it though.

BTW, the Boss Mustang is being developed by Ford Performance Division, NOT SVT, and though there's not a admitted intro date, I'm guessing it'll be here before the Cobra will. It's true there won't be a "2005" Cobra, but a 2006 version comming out in 2005.


Everything else in that post is identical to what I've heard & I will say personally that the rear lights on the 2004 1/2 Mustang will look much better than the showcar's.

 

QUOTE]Originally posted by guionM
When I spoke with John Coletti last month [/QUOTE]

Your a d*ck j/p...



So does this mean the Cobra of that year is going to have more HP than the Z06 of that same year?

 

You know... you gotta wonder when factory horse power ratings top out.... I mean 500 HP is a LOT of power... how much more can be put on the street from the factory?

Soon everyone will be driving cars capable of NASCAR level speed and acceleration!

 

You know its things like this that make me want to listen to my dad and start wearing a blue oval. Those boys over at ford aren’t holding anything back. I have to say over the past few weeks after seeing the concept mustang I've been more and more interested in Ford and mustangs. I used to hate them but just recently I was even considering buying a friend of mines 94 Cobra. But we found out it had some problems and he sold it. To be honest, with the way GM doesn’t talk about their performance future really just turns me on to ford. With people like John Coletti just talking about everything is pretty cool. I know I'll be buying a 5th gen in '07 or '08. But I'm going to need to buy another used car soon to get me through the rest of college. Its either going to be a mid 90's Z28 or Cobra. Ford almost looks more fun to be apart of right now.

 

At some point, when the HP levels get outrageous enough and enough people die from their own stupidity driving these things (not saying they are stupid for driving a 500hp car, but that they are are stupid enough to drive a 500hp car stupidly), then we'll see some legislation at the federal level to cap HP ratings, like they have in Japan.

Now, in Japan they get around it by advertising ridiculously low HP ratings, but you do wonder if it all will come crashing down again. We don't have emissions to do it this time, or insurance really (insurance is already significant on these kinds of cars).

So it won't be a repeat of the 70's death of muscle cars, but you figure it cannot go on forever, there has to be a threshold of 1) how much power can you engineer into a mass produced car and still meet emissions and MPG standards, and 2) how much power is too much from a safety standpoint, in which anyone, regardless of their ability to drive something with that much power, can walk up and buy one?

 

Actually, the Japanese HP restriction was basically a "self imposed" restriction by the auto industry, not an offical government restriction.

I believe I read a quote from the new GM Pres stating he though the limit for street cars was in the 700hp range

 

And I said 5 months ago the GT mustang would be at 400hp and everyone called me every name in the book.

 

One thing Ford & SVT made clear is that there's no letting up just because Camaro's gone, and no one here should be surprised at that 400 horsepower number.

Ford is hinting at all kinds of performance surprises & obvious understatements regarding the next Mustang's performance, and it's pretty much standard knowledge the next Mustang GT is aimed at badly smoking the final LS1 F-bodies
(Warning to naysayers: Don't get too cocky about this. We are talking about off the showroom cars. Don't get stupid and start talking about how you are going to put superchargers or 747 engines on your SS or Z28 to make them Mustang beaters, or how Ford would never do anything like this. ).



Your a d*ck j/p...
[/QUOTE]

Well, I asked everyone if they had any questions in advance before I talked to him.


To hit on a point being raised here, I think these will be the final round of fast production internal combustion vehicles. With seemingly more and more resources going into alternate fuel vehicles, I don't think these cars will last forever.

Not that I think they will one day legislated out of existance the way they were in the 70s, but I think they will eventually become high priced high performance only vehicles as alternate fuel vehicles take over, & will become fewer and fewer in numbers over (an out of blue guess) 10 to 15 years.

I'm just making wild guesses based on nothing but air here, as we all are.

 

haha

You ever post the questions and replies on that Colletti interview?

 

Who confirmed that the GT would have 400 HP?

 

I can't see the Cobra getting more than 450HP,

no way the Cobra will be within 10% HP from the Ford GT

where is that 1000HP V16 when you need it.

 

Horsepower is nice and all, but how much will it cost the average slob?

I'm also wondering if Ford will be as highly criticized that this theoretical 2005 Mustang GT with 400 HP is such a rediculous jump from the V6 Mustang, like the V6-to-LS1 jump was criticized in the F-body.

 

A 400hp Mustang GT is something that I'll have to see to believe. Sure, the Mach I is pretty much a 2000 Cobra, minus the IRS. Do we really believe that Ford will unleash the supercharged Cobra motor in the 2005 Mustang GT?

I for one think that its possible, but unlikely. With the Cobra gone until 2006 - at the very soonest - there is a big performance gap. However, I could see a 400hp replacement for the Mach I before I'd believe that the lukewarm GT is going to get that hot.

...But there again, with the $100k+ Ford GT coming on the market, maybe Ford doesn't want the GT-badge associated with a "lukewarm" Mustang anymore. Could this be the Ford parallel to Chevy's "SS" marketing?

 

There will be two mustang GT trims available. S/C and non S/C. The non S/C's output will be about 300 HP. The S/C version will have the same output as the 03' Cobra.

The 06' Cobra is said to have 490 HP. That's just crazy.

The V6 will probably have a 220 HP 3.8 or maybe 3.2L.

It sucks seeing GM do this. I mean, a Mustang Cobra smoking a Z06 vette?!?! C'mon GM, the GTO is a joke and the SSR?!

I suppose the GM performance leading era is over. It's Fords time to shine again it seems.

Oh well, I have my LS1 and I'm happy with it. I guess i'll just be turning right from now on when I see a S/C GT or new Cobra next to me. =\