nericreations

Just curious as to what you guys think will happen with this scenario in late 04/05 :chevy

WhiteDiamond

My guess is that the new LS2 engine is much more powerful through midrange and the Cobra is going to require even more power now to just keep up with base coupe/verts. The 05 Cobra should be coming out about the time we get info on the new Z06........

Todd

Bwright

Probably the same thing that happens to the 405hp Z06 and the 396hp Modena now. One will command far more respect than the other because the cognoscenti know the order of things.

LS1LT1

Well, I personally don't subscribe to that namedropping, 'it must be better because it costs more' and has more status (can't see, feel or measure status my friend ;)) approach when it comes to cars...if it's faster, has better handling and features than it's a better performing car, period.
Respect, the 'order of things' etc goes right out the window when you lose the race in what is normally recognized as the faster car.

That being said, the Cobra's weight and suspension set up will still allow the C6 to beat it in most performance arenas. And no one knows for sure what the pricing or horsepower rating of the next Cobra will be yet, could be well over $35k and over 400hp possibly.

white shark

i read a post on the svtperformance forum and they have heard that the new cobra's hp will be well over the 03-04 cobra's hp, while being only a little more expensive then the 03-04 cobra. the 05 cobra coupe will be just under 40k and the vert will be a little over the 40k mark. i hope i am making sense :crazy: :lol: but whatever is going to come out its definetly going to be interesting


[Modified by white shark, 3:27 PM 1/3/2004]

2k3z

Can't deny Ford's or the Mustang's heritage. The GT40 (regardless of the styling issue) appears to wipe the plate with the 360. If they take anything they learn there and transfer it to the Cobra, then consumers will have a big decision to make. I'll never own a Mustang though. It's a chick car - even at 400HP. Plus, Ford will never match Corvette's outstanding interior ergonomics in any model. They just don't get it.

vetteinsider

"400HP$50k C6 VS. 400+HP $35K 05 COBRA = ??"


If you opted for the econo version at the end of the day you would still have a Ford. :eek:

:chevy

ivan111

For me mustangs are just straight line performance cars..... :U

Jinx

Do we even know there will be a Cobra for the 2005 model year? I bet they sit out a year and let the Mustang GT bask in the sunshine. After all, it's the first really new Mustang in, well, a really really long time. Even if you count the SN95 as a new Mustang, it's been a decade. I don't think Ford is too interested in chasing the Corvette just yet. And I think they might want to do more than just breathe on the '03 iron block blown 4.6 for the next Cobra. And I bet it'll cost more than thirty-five large. Heck, if a special edition Mustang GT doesn't push the high side of thirty grand they're not trying hard enough.

Ford is probably setting its sights on embarassing the Pontiac GTO first. That's certainly an easier target, being a heavier more aged platform with a Corvette horsepower ceiling to respect. The Pontiac GTO probably occupies the market space Ford would like Mustang to reach with a special edition GT or Cobra.

Sure, it'll be embarassing if a lowly Mustang beats Corvette's horsepower and torque figure, and it does put a dent in the aspirational value of Corvette, but I doubt it'll do much to short-term sales. For all the complaining some of us do, Corvette really is its own car in a class by itself.

I just hope that in three or four years, that's still the case, and C6 is packing even more punch.

I have to wonder how much less brow-furrowing we'd be doing if C6 debuted with four-and-a-quarter... :-)

.Jinx

C6-XTSY

I don't see why the new Cobra can't be awesome. Ford obviously knows how to build a world class performance car in the GT. Will it be as good as the C6? Who knows. What we do know is that the platform is new, the motor will probably have a whipple charger (which offers torque down low, not just up top like a centrifugal), have forged internals and can take more boost.

I can see a scenario with the Cobra and C6 such as what we have with the BMW M3, Mercedes C32 AMG, Audi S4 and Boxster S. All of these cars have their strengths and weaknesses and are priced within $10K of each other. Is any one car dominant? Not really. JMHO.

johnnyvettes

Corvette really is its own car in a class by itself.
:iagree:

DanielC485

You don't pay just for horsepower. You pay for superior engineering. And after they update the mustang's looks does it really matter what horsepower it has? I thought the concept looks pretty good but the pics of the actual car are UGLY.

ivan111

I agree the C6 is in a class of its own.....

The new Mustang will be an improvement but it will not be at the same level as a C6, when you have a car like the C6 that can be compare against cars costing 120-150k that is simply awesome...

RichieRich

The fact of the matter is, no one except Mustang guys and the Vette guys who only drag race ever compares a Cobra to a Vette.

The Vette, while perhaps not respected by the overly status conscious (who only seem to like German cars) is respected by everyone else for its design, comfort, refinement, performance and value. The only thing people seem to like about the Cobra is the hp. Not that that isn't significant, but it isn't a highly regarded car by car enthusiasts (and by car enthusiasts I don't mean people who are MUSTANG-only enthusiasts) the way the Vette is.

I do wonder sometimes why the drag racers don't just buy Cobras though. It seems to do the job in that regard, but I'd take my C5 over one every friggin day for a drive on a track, a twisty road, or even an on-ramp. I've driven late model Mustangs (GT, Mach 1, not Cobra) and you get what you pay for.

Scooter 94

Horsepower shmorshpower...it's all about balance and an overall performance package, regardless of the cost. I couldn't care less how cheap a Mustang is, when I want a pure sports car, I don't pick a wannabe with a back seat.

C'mon folks, comparing Corvettes and Mustangs has always been a buncha baloney if you ask me. Then again, the Mustang guys love it because it's the only way they can compete against Corvettes. Sure as heck can't do it on the track, drag strip or road course either one.

Bwright

Fair enough.

In their November 2000 issue, Motor Trend put the question to the instrumented test. After seven grueling tests the Corvette beat the Cobra R by 5 to 2. Most telling was the 1-mile sprint in which the Z06 put something on the order of a 26-car length lead on the R , not a run-of-the mill Cobra. That was the slower (385hp) Z06 and the R made exactly the same horsepower. Now the Corvette is up to 400hp base, better suspension, better aero and has a 500hp variant on the way. The Cobra today? Noticeabley heavier and with a less aggresive suspension than the R of that day. In fact, Motor Trend tested the current 390hp Cobra against the 405hp Z06 last year. Results? With a power-to-weight ratio of 9.6 and handling that Motor Trend described as "loose and numb" the Mustang went on to a perfect record of 9 tests and 9 losses to the Z06. The C6, especially when equipped with the Z51 package should continue this familiar story.

No way will you ever see a 500hp Cobra in the C6's model cycle. Even Ford knows better than to do that to its $139K GT buyers. Price? That 2000 Cobra R cost $54,995 as tested to the Z06's $47,525. I assure you would have been able to see, feel and measure that one had it hit your bank account in that losing effort (made all the more painful by the fact that the Cobra shed its A/C, radio, sound-deadening and back seat and still lost).

Status? Check the Le Mans grid in the last six or seven years and see how many Cobras you see threatening the C5Rs for credibility. A car bearing the Corvette name has been competing in sports car competition and establishing its performance credentials since 1956 with Le Mans in 1960. The Cobra is a car that was only recently introduced to the benefits of an independent rear suspension.

One more thing on the subject of race car credibility, the cheap trick of producing big horsepower numbers with superchargers? Only works on the street, can't be used on the track where reputations are built. Superchargers lose power under prolonged exposure to heat. That's why you don't see too many supercharged racecars. Ford just hopes enough people will be easily fooled into thinking that because they can rate an engine at a given horsepower they are about something.

:cheers:

I could not agree more. There will always be a current Corvette that can defeat any current Mustang. That order will never be reversed.

BuckyThreadkiller

Not even the most hard core Mustang geek wants to attempt 150mph+ in a Mustang. And C6 at the 'Ring is said to be stable and comfortable at 180.

There's so much more to a performance car than the first 1320 feet.

Yogivette

I dont have too much against mustangs...(well the cobras at least). The gts and v6s are garbage though. That being said. Personally i dont consider a car a real sports car unless it only has 2 seats. Porshes being the exception but honestly are those cupholders in the back really considered seats. And although the HP is the same, things like GPS, HID, and HUD are things that you just dont get in the mustang, those are worth an extra 15k for me when it all adds up. Those little things like crossdrilled rotors and the various fluid coolers are the little things that you dont hear about when doing a comparison online or reading magazine reviews...the C6 is different than the mustang although the HP is close.

vinsvette

Just read in Feb Motor Trend that Carroll Shelby will be involved with next special edition Shelby Mustang, possible GT350 or GT500. Don't know what this means for next gen Cobra.

usroute66 MKW

Yup- that's why I bought a Porsche 996 Twin Turbo 2 years ago instead of a Z06 despite the latter being 40% the Turbo's price with near identical performance as " measured " objectively , because ultimately " subjectivity " is what brings lasting satisfaction.