But it's a pig that flies.

 

No argument out of me. Compared to (Mustang) cars of yesterday, it's a behemoth - especially the '68 fastback with a 428 CJ or even the 71 Boss 351. BUT... the 500 hp in todays GT500 is an honest 500hp, and it's cleaner than yesterdays 400hp engine by far. I'd shave my left jewel on the Springer show to get a GT500 that weighs 3100lbs in decent street trim.

Know what else? A 78 King Cobra can weigh in at a svelt 2800 in street trim. With a stroked SBF and an iron lung on it, it can hand a GT500 it's **** in a line OR on the twisties. With Upper and lower control arms, coil-overs, and no MacPherson struts - from the factory. One of the most under-appreciated performers out there due to it's lame 139hp V8 it came stock with.
BUT which one will people pay $65k for?
Which one do they want to be seen in?

LOL!

Quickly, I went to my first track event a few years ago and had a blast... I also learned that ANYTHING can happen when you put cars to the test in the real world, and it's not always what you think either...
When I told people that I passed a C5 in my old cop car, I was all but thrown out of a bar for laughter AND fighting. I told them that I was passing the "new" 05 Mustang GT at will and they insisted I was lying. I almost lost a few real friends (car buddies) over that stuff. My 3rd time out, I made a bracket and mounted a digital camera on the rear package tray of my car so you could see the entire windshield, my hands, the shifter, the instruments, everything.
As I recall, I "won" about 12 or 14 bucks from the guys in the office after that trip... I told them I passed an Audi TT or a 350Z, and they called BS on me. I told them to put their money where their mouth is, and the rest is history. betting me that I could not pass an Audi TT or a 350Z on a road course.
Since I started bringing video of my sessions - the naysayers have shut up.

Honestly, the video was not just intended to quell the naysayers but was actually more from the suggestions of my instructors. It's amazing the stupid things you do when you are driving in competition, and the best way to see it is just that - watch yourself. I was going 120mph down the back stretch with my right hand resting on the shifter. Looking to the side instead of ahead of me. Leaning in the seat in anticipation of upcoming turns. Once I saw some of these things, I became more consciencious about them, and developed better habits. It really helps. I watch the video a few times and then delete the ones that are insignificant, and keep some of the ones that are "cool".
But it DOES help to prove your story when it seems unrealistic to the average Joe (like a "stock" 1991 5.0 Mustang running down and passing a 2005 Mustang GT, or an Audi, or a Nissan, or a Vette...).

 

"Racing is 90% driver, 10% car."-Carrol Shelby

 

Until things get competitive....

 

Things have to get really damn competitive before the car becomes anywhere as important as the driver. Ol' man Shelby builds cars, not drivers, and so his words should be carefully considered.

 

That brings me back. One of my friends that lived down the street in my old neighborhood had a father that was really into classic Fords. He mostly had model As (restored original, not hot rods). Then one day he came home with a '68 GT500KR convertible. Dang that was an awesome car... even though it was a Ford and the son and I were both into 1st gen Camaros.

 

100% true by my accounts.
Often, the Corvettes or Porsches that I am passing on the track are being driven by people with just a little track experience and they don't understand the mechanics and the physics that are taking place (yet).

Likewise, they guy in the grey MiniCooper that passed me - he knew his sh1+. My instructor who was within 2 seconds/lap of me while he was driving a Toyota Matrix daily driver... he knows his sh1+. I blew away an Audi TT, only to get passed by an old 911.

This is why internet racing is SO rediculous. We can (and do) discuss stats and figures and that's fine. But for ANYONE - me included - to say that tthe GT500KR will be faster on any track because it has 40 more Hp is simply wasted keystrokes. I can say "it has 40 more Hp" and that's a provable fact - no problem, but I have no basis to say the car is faster. Truth may be that the 2000 Cobra R can hang with or even beat the new KR on a track. Driver, conditions, set-up, tires, brakes, and about 10,000 other things come into play before the truth is discovered.

I will say that most of the cars that I pass in my class are because I am CONSISTENT and they are not. When I see the guy in front of me miss his line into a corner, I up my concentration to 110% and REALLY do all I can to maximize my line and capitalize on his error. As they develop more experience, they get better, and harder to pass. When cars are "close" to the same performance, it almost ALWAYS boils down to who makes mistakes and who is inconsistent versus who can execute "perfection" every time.

Obviously, you can have two cars that are just radically different in performance, and there is such a mechanical advantage that no level of skill can overcome that deficit. But I can tell you for certain that two cars like the GT500 and the GT500KR are so close that the above is NOT the case. I believe 100% that drivers can and wold make the difference in a win/lose between those cars on a given track.

Things like this are what is really neat about actually getting out on a track and racing instead of reading about it. I recommend to ANY car guy that they invest in at least doing a driving school one weekend for the experience alone. There is 100% difference in running a car at it's limits for 20-30 minutes as opposed to doing a little 30-second run into triple digits on an open highway or jumping from streetlight to streetlight... you really find out what the driver's skill is when you live at the limits for extended periods and you find out where those mechanical limits are too. (You just don't wreck or lose it if you are "good"! )

For giggles... you guys check out this vid from one of the instructors at CMP where I like to go. He is in a C5-Z06 that is decently race-prepared with cage, race seats, 5-pts, engine mods, rotors and pads, and HUGE rubber. I rode with the guy a few times, and he is an AWESOME driver.
One lap around the course at speed...
How a Porshe can screw-up...
How a Vette can screw-up...
And... how an instructor can screw-up too...