V-8 Family Feud: Mustangs
By By Tom Wilson, Andrew Bornhop, and Douglas Kott - January 2007
The appeal of the Ford Mustang — be it a GT or the supercharged Shelby GT500 — lies in its simplicity. First and foremost it's a pony car, designed to be affordable from the outset and fitted with a V-8 rear-drive powertrain that practically begs to be abused. The live rear axle may seem old school, but it's anvil tough, keeps costs down, and works remarkably well. Complemented by the S197 chassis' more ergonomically friendly cockpit and vastly improved seating position-not to mention classic bodywork reminiscent of earlier vintage Mustangs — Ford's latest pony car is galloping off of dealer lots.
Leveraging that heritage even more, Ford now sells a California Special version of its Mustang GT. An $1895 option package to the Mustang GT brings 235/50ZR-18 BFGoodrich KDW tires on polished alloy wheels, along with unique fascias, side stripes, rolled exhaust tips and special badging. Apart from that, it's a standard Mustang GT which, even with 300 bhp, means it's the slowpoke of this group.
Not that anybody would call a 5.3-sec. blast to 60 mph slow. It isn't. It's just that in this hallowed group of pricier iron, the GT, by comparison, seems a bit docile.
Nevertheless, the standard Mustang GT is a great car, much more powerful than the vaunted Mustang 5.0s of yore and blessed with acceleration that quickens the pulse of all but the most jaded automotive scribes. Several of us, in fact, feel that it has the best overall balance. Not only does it have less weight on its nose than the iron-block Shelby GT500 (52 percent, as compared to 56 for the Shelby), it also has less total weight, tipping the scales 335 lb. lighter than its supercharged brother.
This could be felt on the twisty tarmac in the mountains near Borrego Springs where the GT felt a bit more willing to stay on the cornering line than the Shelby, aided by better damping and standard 4-wheel disc brakes (with ABS) that proved up to the task. Of note, both cars lap our skidpad at 0.87g, a respectable but not great performance with mild understeer as the predominant characteristic.
On duty beneath the hood (that shakes a surprising amount in everyday driving) is Ford's tried-and-true 4.6-liter modular sohc V-8, the 3-valve-per-cylinder aluminum-block engine that puts out its 300 bhp at 5750 rpm and 320 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500 rpm. With a black plastic intake manifold front and center, the engine isn't much to look at, but it does boast a typically wide Ford powerband. This means the driver won't need to row through the gears much on a twisty road, likely preferring to keep it in 3rd and let the engine show off its fantastic flexibility. The clutch, compared with the Shelby's, is light, and the linkage of the Tremec 5-speed manual transmission is precise, with reasonably short throws. All the while, the GT, with 9.8:1 compression, burns regular unleaded gasoline, further improving the car's affordable nature.
The Shelby GT500, on the other hand, requires premium. After all, what else would you expect of the most powerful factory-built Mustang ever?
This thing is a brute, able to reach 60 mph in 4.6 sec. and hit 100 mph in less than 10. That's not as quick to triple digits as the Corvette Z06, mind you, but it does out-class a standard Vette, a much lighter car with better aerodynamics.
As with most Mustangs, the Shelby GT500 is best defined by its engine. It's a wet-sump iron-block 5.4-liter Triton V-8, capped by the 4-valve aluminum heads from the sadly discontinued Ford GT. Unlike the screw-type blower of the Ford GT, the Shelby GT500 has a Roots-type supercharger (with an air-to-water intercooler) that's better at fattening up the midrange power, which improves everyday driving. With the blower whining at full boost of 8.5 psi, this engine puts out an even 500 bhp at 6000 rpm and 480 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500 rpm. Helping keep this hand-assembled SVT powerplant together are a forged-steel crankshaft and rods, forged aluminum pistons, an enlarged aluminum radiator and a unique hood that helps vent engine heat.
“This is four tires and an engine looking for a suspension” is how one of us summed up the Shelby. While that's harsh criticism of a chassis that has been both stiffened and fitted with firmer suspension to compensate for the added power and weight, the GT500 does need better front damping. The high-riding car (especially in back) dives under braking, and then stays unsettled as the driver tries to bend the Mustang into a corner. This is not only because of the Shelby's heavy nose; to keep the ride pleasant and to facilitate weight transfer to the rear axle for good drag-strip launches, Ford appears to have reduced the front rebound damping to make the GT500 more of a drag-strip demon than a corner carver.
Even so, this Mustang is capable, and will not embarrass itself in the twisties. Power is such that the standard traction control is your friend, and Brembo front brakes are on call with 4-piston aluminum calipers acting on huge 14.0-in. vented rotors. Body roll is kept well in check, and the accurate steering has a lighter feel than the Corvette's. Also, the linkage of the standard 6-speed manual gearbox, the Tremec 6060, is the best in the group, with a clutch that requires considerable effort.
Word on the street has it that Shelby GT500s are going for about 10 grand over sticker, which is $40,930 for our test car. As Ford plans to build perhaps 10,000 per year for the next three years, demand will likely stay high. It is, after all, the hottest Mustang you can buy. It has all the right parts — the big V-8, the right heads, the supercharger, the live axle and a particularly menacing look. Some folks might keep their GT500 stock for future collector value; others will modify them with parts such as a new blower from Roush that can bump output to a whopping 700 bhp.
For folks not looking to spend that extra 10 grand (or 20, in the real world) for a Shelby, the California Special GT, at $32,475 as tested, more than satisfies. Although it's not as quick and doesn't stop quite as well as the Shelby, it's a more settled machine that's very much a muscle car at heart. And with the money you'll save, you'll be able to tweak your car any way you want. After all, that's the Mustang way. — Andrew Bornhop
Bornhop, Andrew and Douglas Kott, et al. "V-8 Family Feud: Mustangs." Jan. 2007. 09 Nov. 2007 <www.roadandtrack.com>.
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