Ok really need some serious opinions on which one to buy!? 03 Cobra or 2011 GT?? I have a 92 notch that is being put together nice but, would like another pony. 03 Cobra stock 390hp & 2011 GT 412hp so which one?? Cobra is f**kin sweet but the newer muscle is coming out stronger!! If you add a better supercharger to the cobra plus a few extra goodies it can pretty much eat anything on the sreet, but you can do the same with the 2011 GT.. So which one!?!?!?!?!? Im looking for better power and stronger all around stang. Plus i just wanna destroy all chevys that come my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So any and all advice and opinions!!
03 Cobra vs 2011 GT
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Are you asking which is the better car? Hands down, the '11 GT....all the way across the board. Just as fast, just as expensive/inexpensive to modify, better handling, better riding, better seating possition, better interior, better built, better period!!!
That being said, the '03 Cobra is the better looking car (IMO) and will hold its value much longer than the GT due to its limited production run and "Cobra" designation.
...but if you're looking for a driver as well as a performer, the '11-up GT is where it's at. No contest.
That being said, the '03 Cobra is the better looking car (IMO) and will hold its value much longer than the GT due to its limited production run and "Cobra" designation.
...but if you're looking for a driver as well as a performer, the '11-up GT is where it's at. No contest.
Nope....don't get me wrong, I'd love to own an '03-'04 Cobra and would light my Coupe on fire if it mean I could drive off the lot with one, but as cool as they are an SN95 (glorified Fox) doesn't hold a candle to an S197 in any category.
2011 GT! The heads on these flow so much better than any other design. The potential for the new 5.0 is so much more. I believe I saw somewhere that JPC has made 500RWHP without any power adder!
Joe
Joe
JordanB21
Active Member
I hate the body of the new edge, but it's actually a hard pick because the cobras were just so bad ass. 2011 GT isn't the body style of the s197s I'd pick, I'd hold out for the 2013 look.
But you should really go for the 11, newer, more ride left for you, versus buying someone elses car (even if you buy the GT used it's just a year or two old).
The only loss is like someone else said is the badging of a cobra and the car's depreciation, if that sorta thing matters to you.
But you should really go for the 11, newer, more ride left for you, versus buying someone elses car (even if you buy the GT used it's just a year or two old).
The only loss is like someone else said is the badging of a cobra and the car's depreciation, if that sorta thing matters to you.
SteedaGT9150
Advanced Member
Newer GT for sure.
But price might be a decider. What are 03 Cobra's going for these days? DO guys still want $20K for a 100K mile Mustang?>\
But price might be a decider. What are 03 Cobra's going for these days? DO guys still want $20K for a 100K mile Mustang?>\
Better handling? Doesn't the Kewbra have IRS?
The thing is, the Terminator 4.6 is basically a detuned race engine. That bottom end is known to support 4 digit power levels, and making more power is stupid simple with those cars. The Coyote is pretty sweet, but it's pretty much the only thing I care for in the S197s. Hate the styling, don't care much for the rest of the car. PERSONALLY I'd take the Termi any day of the week over a 2011.
I agree, I'd take the Terminator. While the styling of the S197's has grown on me it's not enough to choose one over an '03-'04 Cobra.
The Terminator Cobra is just badass and IMO looks much better than the 2011 GT especially at the rear. As much as I love the Coyote 5.0, the supercharged 4.6 in the Cobra is an icon and has the potential to make insane HP. The Cobra's a surefire future classic and collectible so that gets my vote.
I drove a 2006GT as a daily driver and it was comfortable and knocked down 22MPG on the highway. The newer GT's are even more comfortable and make more HP. I'd be tempted to get a new GT. The 03 Cobra Motor can easily be modified to throw down some HP though. That's a tough choice. In the end I'm sure the 03 would be cheaper, I could make more power with it and will probably hold more value later so that's what I'd go with.
Not a chance. The Coyote stock vs. stock is a way better engine than the Termi engine. That said, the Termi engine has way more potential as far as easy power goes since you can just pully and tune and make stupid power. To get the same power from a Coyote you'd have to add a blower to it.
For myself i'd probably choose the GT, but i really want a '03 because that was the year my son was born.
I was in this same position last spring before I bought my '11. For me, it came down to payments and the reality of the situation I was currently in. I was going to have to get a loan from the bank either route I chose, and the 2011 was considered a "new" car so I qualified for a 1.3% interest rate. The 2004 Cobra I was looking at was at almost 7% interest, and I could only get a loan for 3 years because of the car's age. Take $26K (car had only 3200 miles on it, and 670 rwhp) over a 3 year note, and it was practically a second mortgage. Although the Cobra was pristine and had all the mods I would ever do it, I just couldn't justify that payment, even if it would only be for 3 years or less.
Edit: Let me add this as well. Having owned both an SN95, and my newer S197, the interior in the S197 is hands down a far superior build quality. Also, a CAI, a little exhaust work, and a mail order tune is netting 415+ rwhp while still maintaining 18 mpg in town, and 25 mpg highway with 3.73 rear gears and a 6 speed manual. I dig it.
Edit: Let me add this as well. Having owned both an SN95, and my newer S197, the interior in the S197 is hands down a far superior build quality. Also, a CAI, a little exhaust work, and a mail order tune is netting 415+ rwhp while still maintaining 18 mpg in town, and 25 mpg highway with 3.73 rear gears and a 6 speed manual. I dig it.
Mintsick
10 Year Member
I had a similar choice this past summer, and ended up buying an 04 Cobra with 12,000 miles on it. Ended up with a 6 year loan at 3.49% interest, so that part worked out fine. The Cobra's are certainly more unique, and hold their value much better. The IRS does deliver a better ride (noticeably better over bumps as compared to my 89), though I spent money replacing all the rubber bushings in it to largely eliminate the axle hop. Strangely enough, it was my wife that really made the decision - she didn't like the styling of the newer Mustangs, but I sure am happy with how it turned out. Put a pulley, tune, intake, and exhaust on it to get 465 rwhp, while still getting 19-20 mpg in town.
Sure...an IRS that was put together with a mish mash of parts to make it compact enough to fit into a chassis that was made to run a solid axle. I'll take the modern 3-link design, complete with panhard bar of the S197 over the compromise of space over function that was mounted in the '03-'04 Cobra. Couple that with the fact that the S197 has the longest wheel base and the most rigid platform ever to wear the Mustang moniker and was designed with a "true" Macpherson strut front suspension design, with lighter front end components and revised suspension geometry in comparison to the old modified Macpherson strut set up they ran for 25-years before that, it's no wonder the S197 was the better handling car. Lets not also forget, although the S197's were criticized for their portly weight, the '03-'04 Cobra's were actually slightly heavier in comparison....carrying most of that weight up front.
As for the claim of the 4.6L being a "detuned race car". It's kinda funny....I always thought of it as a glorified "Truck" engine. There's really nothing special about adding a set of forged internal and a huffer to what was otherwise a basic DOHC engine. You wouldn't consider the mills in the Lincoln Mark VIII, Continental, or Mercury Marauder "Race Engines", would you? Take away the forged rotating assembly and Eaton supercharger on the '03-'04 Cobra and that's basically what you've got.
A nice engine and certainly ground breaking 20-years ago when it was first designed (and certainly more modern than the 5.0L OHV it replace) but it's a 1st graders finger painting compared to the Picasso the Coyote's TiVCT is. All Aluminum engine, with 4-bolt mains, forged counterweighted steel crank and integrated oil cooler, twin independent variable cam timing, oil cooled pistons, and heads with flow ratings that would make a Ferrari blush. If the '03-'04 4.6L DOHC is what you'd consider a detuned "race engine", then you must consider the Coyote's 5.0L TiVCT a detuned "space shuttle engine" by comparison?
Not sure how you figure that? A pulley and tune on an '03-'04 Cobra is maybe getting it into the 440-450fwhp range if you're really lucky. The 5.0L TiVCT guys are making those same number with a CAI and tune, sans supercharger. These cost of mods and resulting horsepower increases for each are eerily close with these two cars.
While I agree that the '03-'04 Cobra has the potential to “handle” more horsepower due to the cast iron block and forged internals, the Coyote has the potential to “make” more horsepower across the board bolt on for bolt on and seems to consistently do so. Pretty impressive marks for the 5.0L when you consider the Cobra needs a blower and forged internal to compete with, what the TiVCT is bringing to the table in N/A form.
….again. Love the ’03-’04 Cobra’s. To be quite honest…if it were just a summer cruiser, I’d probably go with the Cobra myself. I’ve got my F150 to daily driver, so owning just to hear the blower whine and see the envious looks I’d get pulling into local hot spots, or sitting at traffic lights alone would be worthwhile. But I am certainly aware I’d be giving up a far “better”, more practical car, for a prettier, more rare one. It’s all about where your priorities lie. Anyone who chooses an ’03-’04 Cobra over an ’11 GT is most certainly choosing form, over function….without a doubt.
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