2k05gt

The Ford Mustang GT Must Diet

No question, the Ford Mustang is a galloping success. Both the base and GT models are a
runaway success, contributing significant revenue to their corporate parent. And now
legendary racer, sports car constructor and chili magnate Carroll Shelby has added some
hottamales to the feed bag. The Shelby Cobra GT500, saddled with a supercharged
5.4-liter V8 goodfor 500hp. Although there’s little doubt that Shelby’sperformance
package isa well-engineered addition to the core car’s strengths, it’s still a case of too
much too late.

Let’s Review. For 50 percent more than the MSRP of a Mustang GT, the GT500 buyer
gets a supercharger, an intercooler, a race-proven T56 six-speed manual transmission,
suspension mods, 18” wheels, wider tires, distinctive spoiler and grill treatments and one
whole Hell of a lot of Shelby badging. Oh, and roughly 400 pounds of additional weight,
which push this pony car into the Crown Vic weight class. And that’s what I’m talking
about: Ford’s decision to add horsepower to the Mustang instead of reducing weight.

It may be a piercing glimpse into the obvious, but Ford could have made a serious
performance car out of the Mustang GT simply by shedding weight. In fact, if the 300hp GT
lost 700 pounds, it would have the same power-to-weight ratio as the 500hp Shelby
GT500. A leaner, meaner, altogether keener Mustang GT would find a willing market, and
serve notice to GM and DaimlerChrysler that Ford isn’t going to cede the ponycar market
quite yet. There are a number of ways, most of them relatively cheap, to ditch the
Mustang’s extra pounds.

Start by eliminating the air conditioning. This lightweight GT (call it the GT-L) would be a
potential race-ready road car, not a boulevard cruiser for hot nights in Vegas. If it wasn’t
for the Federal standards about defrosters, you might be able to leave off the heater. But
even with a heater and defroster, the elimination of the air conditioning unit would drop a lot
of mass, and some drag on the engine as well. Next, ditch the power windows. If Ford
made the call, its suppliers could come up with a manual window regulator in a heartbeat.

Likewise, lose the electric locks. Real racers can push their own lock buttons down. Ditto
for the electric trunk release. Once those are gone, the module that controls these functions
and related wiring can also be deleted, saving even more weight. The radio and CD player
can also go; the glorious fury of the Mustang GT’s V8 is music enough to a performance
junkie. And while we’re at it, deep-six the sound deadening material behind the front seats.
And the back seats, rear seat belts and shoulder harnesses.

Ford can use the front fascia from the base six cylinder Mustang, delete the fog lights and
save a few more pounds. The cladding on the rocker panels can go, too. Who cares if the
tires throw a little dirt on the side of the car? And off with the spoiler. A real racer is going
to fashion a spoiler that works, rather than one that satisfies the design committee.
Removing the spare tire, jack and tools will also liberate some major heft.

These simple steps would get the Mustang coupe’s weight near the goal of 2600 lbs.
Several more radical changes would get the weight to less than 2600 pounds. How ‘bout
manual steering? Back to the supplier for a manual rack and pinion gear. This would allow
the elimination, and drag, of the power steering pump. A Mustang with manual steering
would probably be a bear to park, but pistonheads aren’t going to buy this car for their
grandmothers. The final step: kill the center console. This would require some new parts,
but the existing console has to be a lot heavier than a few rubber boots around the shifter.

Tweak the car’s suspension, add appropriate decals and there you have it: a Mustang that’s
fully competitive with the Shelby version, and a lot better handling to boot. As less is
sometimes less, the Mustang GT-L’s development costs would not be prohibitive. Lest we
forget Shelby himself jettisoned ballast when he developed the GT350, ‘way back in the
60s. It was a belter that burnished the image created by the Cobra. Porsche, Mazda,
Honda and several other manufacturers build lightweight performance cars like these. Even
better for Ford, they charge more money for them. That’s a business plan that FoMoCo
should latch onto pronto.

Of course, not many people would buy this car. But there is simply no underestimating the
street cred a GT-L would generate for Ford and its entire Mustang franchise. Of course,
there’s nothing to stop ole Shel from putting his Mustang on a diet… [/align]

s2k

This would be great and ford did do this (2000 cobra R) but it would not sell like you would expect
Too expensive Regular price+dealer mark-up
Would only be a limited couple 100's of them
For a Weekend warrior it would be great but for a Day to day mustang it would be inconvient
Some of those ideas would be great to have as options though (i.e manual windows, locks)

ohsixgt1217

I agree with you on the fact they should have made a diff. GT such as a race one.....but i disagree with you on the gt500's "lack" of performance for its weight. The Shelby GT-500 + some bolt ons and a pulley = mid 9 second 1/4.... Id like to see a GT do that.

VaporDude

First off, the Shelby has been around for about 5 months now. Second, they already have a car like the one that took you several paragraphs to write up. It is called the FR500C which has been out since the 05 model year.

Besides, putting this car on a diet would mean comprimising the structural integrity of the car. They would have to reduce the actual size of the car to reduce that much weight. Maybe it should be the size of the Mustang II. I don't think the Fox body Mustangs were that light.

2k05gt

The Fastest GT-500 is by Evolution Performance, His Best is 9.96 with Nitrous.

David Beyer a member here I believe.
His 2005 Mustang GT 9.73 with turbo no spray.. only has Boss 330 heads
rest of the motor is stock
http://www.dragtimes.com/Ford-Mustan...lip-10294.html

Justin Burcham also another member here..
9.53 with a procharger http://www.procharger.com/2005_mustang_jpc.shtml

HypromanGT

Ford would never make any money off it. Most people want something beasty that has all the comforts of the modern vehicle. The people that are serious about racing this car are going to rip out all the extras anyway, and race it. Why would Ford make a car that 10% of the people are going to buy, when they could sell a car that 90% of the people are going to buy, and then 10% of those people are going to gut the car. Sounds like a no-brainer to me, on Ford's end.

Also, how many components here and there were borrowed from other vehicle lines on this car? You claim that producing these cars with no power locks, trunk, or windows would be cheaper, but aren't most cars coming with all of that stuff standard? It seems to me it could be more expensive to revert back to "old school" stuff because then Ford would actually have to make something unique to the Mustang.

That said, I would have thought long and hard about buying a GT-L if they had one It just doesn't make business sense to have one.

ohsixgt1217

75 shot of nitrous ( big deal ).... im not saying you cant make a GT run a 9 sec 1/4 mile....But you can make a GT-500 run it with like i said, some minor bolt ons.

2k05gt

Listen, I am a Hugefan of the GT500 and I also believe that the 5.4L engine has more potential HP than the 4.6L, I am just worried that Chevy will be comming out with aV8 Camaro that may out run a stock GT500, with just an intake and a tune, I just don't understand why they had to makeheGT500 a pudgy4000 pounds.

|UCF|chron

i think they did this already, fr500c like said above and this http://www.muscularmustangs.com/gtr.php

Ringo01

I agree. Unfortunately I have to say I am afraid of the camaro to come . I'm hoping ford will put a 5.0 in the mustang for 09 or even 08. I think that would help the mustang at least be more competitive!

Although I don't think they made Shelby with the intention of being the fastest thing on the street or the track. I think it is more of a name. But it is still suprisingly fast for a comfortable street car. Plus it looks so mean and has 500hp. What's not to like? [8D]