I am a fan of the new car, but I have the same complaint about it Ive had since 1994, the drivetrain. 300hp is nice, but in this day and age of turbo 4's and superchrged 6's I think we deserve more in the base car. Since Ford seems to be done with four valve engines, this is how I would have powered the new cars, please feel free to argue anything you disagree with.

The 2005 GT: I wouldnt change anything other than upgrade trans and rear for more power. Engine would be the 3V 5.4 from the F150. With unique intake and cams, this engine would be good for 315-325hp and 350 ft.lbs.
Enough beans to put the GT in the low 13/high 12's.

The next Mach1/Boss: 6 speed trans/5 speed auto option. 3.73 gears. Unique lowered suspension (Blisten?). Enigine would be same 5.4 from F150 but with following modifications. Bumped compresion. Unique cast aluminum high flow intake manifold. Tubular exhaust manifolds (headers). Exclusive cams, Extrude Hone 3V heads (Ford had done this before for a limited production car). This motor would be good for 350-375hp and around 375 ft.lbs. The best part is all these parts would be a direct replacement for GT owners.

The next Cobra: 6 speed/5 speed auto option. 3.73 gear. Exclusive suspension and brakes. Due to its much high cost, the Cobra would use an aluminum 5.4 3V. Forged internals.Twin-screw positive displacement blower, 8lbs. Same heads and cams from the Mach. This setup should make an easy 450hp/450ft. lbs.

The modlar enigine family is a great design and can produce some nice numbers but I feel the 4.6 is more suited for Towncars, Lincolns and base F150's. The beauty of my idea is that a GT owner could add the factory Mach1 or Cobra parts to his car without modification. Kinda like the 5.0 days when GT owners were bolting on Cobra intakes. I would also give GT owners optional rear gears, and the GT and Mach1/Boss would have a forged engine /serve duty option as well.

 

These upgrades would be nice but have one major detractor,cost.A "base" model car is just that,an entry level car.Ford sold way more V6's than V8's because they either don't want to pay premium insurance rates or the added cost of purchase.Expensive can be used in place of "unique" or "exclusive" in the post that you submitted.Interchangeability of parts is nothing new.4V heads bolt directly in place of 2V heads.This must be accompanied by a new tune,computer,or both.Cams and exhaust can be installed and the choice is yours what to do with the power curve.The aftermarket is handling the add-on parts supply well and if the cars were all built from the factory the way the new Ford GT is,where would the fun of making our own cars come in?

 

Besides... what fun is it if the car is maxed out from the factory? I like making my own changes.

300hp is fine. Cobra/Mach 1/Bullitt/Shelby etc. are supposed to be the higher output cars at a higher cost. Those that cant afford it get the GT or V6.

 

Remember one important thing, the Mustang was always a car made for the mass public. Ford will sell probably 150,000 stangs in '05 compared to 8,000 GTO's. Why? Price and performance. It has to be a good value. AND insurable. Some of you young dudes are already paying $300 + per month for minimum coverage insurance. More hp will only add to higher insurance costs.

 

I meant unqiue as in the way the Bullitt was given its own manifold. A Ford OE part that could be added to any GT. Yes the current motors are interchangable, but, to put 4V head on a GT there are so many parts involved its not worth it. If it were my way, you could add a Mach 1 intake to you base GT, or even add the complete Cobra blower and intake to a GT because the heads would be identical.
The afterarket would still have plenty of room for improvements, Cams,exhaust, pullies gears, blowers and nitrous would still be just as popular.
And yes with more power insurance will go up and mileage will go down, but people can afford 310hp Camaro's and T/A's.....

 

No they can't! That's why they stopped making the F Bodies. They got too expensive and too costly to insure. Result, no more Camaros and Chickens.

 

I dont like the F bodies, not because of the "Ford-Chevy" rivalry ( i guess you would have to include pontiac in there, lol) just because to me, they always looked like 'fish' or something,and i like the 82-92 camaro better than the 93+... But they ruined a good thing they had going there, mustang evolved into a beautiful butterfly, while the camaro ( a year earlier...) evolved into and ugly *** moth.

 

You can add the Bullitt manifold to any 4.6L 2v with PI heads.

If you're talking about for the new Mustang, give them time. Ford doesn't want to shoot thier proverbial wad on the first year of this car. The fact that its all new has enough interest to make them sell. Once there is a decline, Ford will bring out special editions and more tuning parts to personalize the car.

Just wait, it will happen.

 

That is true, Im sure the next special edition cars will be sweet, but I guess my real complaint is that I'll probably never afford more than a GT.

 

I just think 5.4 is a lil extreme I say back to the 302

But some of these mods would make a mustang seem more exotic, even though it is no longer muscle.

didn't mention anything of base model, got any plans for the six?

But like we mentioned of the GTO, even the 2005 GTO 6.0 16 valve with 400 hp has no chance over the stang Ford has it right, but words are flinging around the engine shop I work at. We do a lot of work for Ford and they say next year GT has a 32 valve v8 cobra engine and hopefully a 3.5 liter v6 (I belive the numbers are 265 hp v6 and a 300 hp GT)

6 speed trans... I dunno dont see the need for the GT or specialty model.

there will defiently be some good models coming up right after Ford junks the place making engines for the real stuff.

One major thing I like to see is a solid rear axle in the Cobra.

Shelby Might come back.

I doubt we would see a cobra moving up in numbers that would compete with the Ford GT, Ford wouldn't do that.

and I want to see a lot less blowers on cars, most people don't enjoy that whining noise out of the cobra. let imports force induction all they want. the 385 hp cobra non blower 2001 type R model was the best IMO. More muscle less forced, more fun

what they have out now is great for starters, it's only going to get better.

my only major complaint is dealerships priceing a new GT for 30K+ that's rediculous, they are killing the whole affordable aspect. damn greed.

 

I really cant see Ford changing its entire engine program after only 1 year, but I always thought the 03/04 Mach motor was the best choice for a 300hp car. As far as the Ford GT, Im preety sure that car wont be made after the 2006 model because it cant meet the safety regulations set by the government, if that car is gone, why not give the Cobra some exotic power.... wishful thinking I know!!!

 

Fords gonna sell all of the 05s they can make as it is. No need to add all that stuff. Ford is around to make money, not to make a mustang no body will buy.

Very few would spend 30K on a base model GT then you have 35 for the vert. Just wont happen. That the reason the F-bodies are gone. The price tag of the V8s balooned to 30K. And they dont sell enough V6s to compete with the sixer mustangs.

 

I dont think a 5.4 GT would cost anymore than a 4.6. Both engines are in production in the F series line.