i love both of them, but the mach will serve you better in your search for power.

 

I loved my Mach in comparison to the S197's I drove. It just feels way more like a muscle car.

 

Personally I'd say go for the Mach, but it all comes down to how you feel. im sure the 05 GT gets better MPG and runs on 87 octane vs the 91 of the Mach. so the newer GT may cost more but it will save you a little at the pump. The Mach on the other hand, comes with great seats,brakes, and style. an added plus is the rarity of the mach, you wont see another quite as often as lets say being in a GT. power wise i think the mach has it over the 05+ models, It is lighter too.


ultimately it all comes down to your personal preference. go test drive both, and by test drive i mean find a sales man that will let you take the car out alone for 2-3 hours and live with the car for a portion of the day. the guy that sold me my car let me do that, with a S/C 5.7 GTO and a 6.0L GTO. with my mach i took maybe a 10-15 minute drive i already knew i wanted it. stepping into that engine and hearing it rev cleanly all the way to 7 grand and watching that shaker torque to the right was all i needed.

 

I just got a Mach 1 this week and it is amazing. It looks great, sounds fabulous, and the shaker hood gives it such an aggressive appearance.

I've loved my 96 Z-28 for 13 years, but this Mach 1 has just taken over the "gotta drive" it spot in my driveway.

Like others have said, the Mach 1 has the rarity factor going for it too. You'll see a lot of 05-09 Mustangs on the road, but you won't see a lot of Mach 1s.

 

OP you decide on a car yet?

 

It certainly is quite a unique and satisfying feeling driving a Mach 1, hearing the fabulous exhaust note, and seeing that shaker hood do its thing.

 

I like both. I think it's probably cheaper to mod the 05 though. My local performance shop is offering the ford racing hot rod cams for $1200 installed/tuned for the s197's. It costs a TON more than that for a mach, and I also like the blower setups better on the S197 how they have a separate belt for the blower.

 

not really. a good set of cams for the mach 1 are the 96-98 SVT cobra intake cams. you can usually find them in the $300 range. a lot cheaper than $1,200 for a set of 4v cams.

 

A lot less gain than custom cams as well.

 

I was in this boat 3 years ago - '05 GT or Mach 1? Well...I obviously went with the Mach 1. Both my dad and I test drove both cars in their stock form. The interior of the '05's has some nice touches to it...but the Mach 1 seats hug you and just feel more comfortable! Also, as many have said, the Mach 1 feels faster (probably due to the weight). I would definitely recommend you get a Mach 1! You won't regret it...