Scot_94GT said:
Prediction wars are fun, so here's my two cents...
Ford absolutely WILL NOT offer 500hp in any mass-production Mustang in the near (5 years or more ) future...unless they make it a $60,000 car...but they won't. There are more problems that come with trying to make a 500hp car besides motor fitment, manufacturability, and cost; there are also political problems.
By 2007 there will be more 500 horsepower cars than anyone can imagine, count on the 07 Cobra to be right around 500 horsepower.
The current Cobra already makes around 425 (under-rated), and I know for a fact that they are not going to go backwards in any sense. It will only take 75 horses to get to 500 from where they are now, and with the twin screw blower Ford is using that alone can net you an extra 75 horses.
500 horses, take it to the bank..
I'm sure we'd all love if Ford made a 500hp Cobra for $34,000, but insurance companies, advocacy groups, and a lot of ordinary citizens would be shocked and in dismay if a typical 21 year old with a decent full time job could go out and buy a car that can make it to 125mph in less than 12 seconds. Sure, there is the Viper with 500hp, the ZO6 Vette with a rumored "close to" 500hp, and the GT with over 550, but those cars are well out of the financial reach of "reckless 20 year olds".
I don't know of anybody that has said the next Cobra will only cost "34,000".
As for my prediction of what we will see in terms of SE Mustangs:
Top of the line car:
Cobra: This car will have anywhere from 375 to MAYBE 450 at most. Don't be so quick to assume that the next Cobra will have more power than the previous version. The Mustang GT dropped 10hp from 93 to 94, and the ZR-1 Vette was not mached in power by GM until the ZO6 came out. As for the engine...that's anybody's guess. A 5.4L DOHC would be a real treat, but it probbably will not fit, so if we see ANY 5.4L in a SE car, it will be the SOHC 3V...maybe S/C. If it is a 4.6L it will be DOHC and definitely s/c.
1. This isn't 94.
2. That was only due to a new rating system by Ford.
3. The 07 Cobra will have 500 horsepower
Something between the GT and Top car:
Boss or Mach or GT350: I doubt we will see a Boss AND a Mach, but probbably one or the other, most likely a year or two after the Cobra come out. I could see this car having 325 to 380-ish hp. Possibly a 5.4L 3V N/A
I don't think anybody outside of Ford knows exactly whaty's in the pipeline as far as S/E's go, it would be nice to see a Bullitt on the new chassis with it's retro styling and all. Seeing as how Ford doesn't offer the 05's with any color green paint I think it's because they are saving it for a new Bullitt model.
I'm hoping for a set of 18" inch Bullitt wheels, and about 350-375 hosepower along with the usual
suspension and visual mods.
Rare/Limited production:
Cobra R or GT500:
This is the category where we MIGHT see 500 or more hp in a Mustang. This car could have the GT motor (given that it is released after the GT is out of production), or possibly the 6.2L motor IF they make it.
This is another area that's not known yet, I'd say maybe a version of the 6.4L V10 from the Shelby and GR1 concepts. Because with a 500 horse Cobra, you'd have to have something bigger and more powerful..