The $20K V8 thread

The completely unfounded wild speculation of a 20k Mustang GT thread.

Ok just to let it sink in this is pure wild speculation that sprung to my head while I was cooking chilli today(the hot food makes the brain think). I'm not an insider and I don't anything that anybody else that has been on this board for more than a day knows. But after watching that video again of the 05 Stang's debut and seeing them say the V6 and the GT will both start under 20k I got to thinking it might not be impossible.

Let's say the V6 Stang will start at 18995 for the base Stang.
What's to stop Ford from taking the V6 body and just dropping the 4.6 V8 in it up the price by 1000 and calling it a day. Nothing else changes from the V6. You get no extra styling you get a very very basic interior(cloth seats no color coding no fancy color changing instrument panel no bright shiny aluminum). Nothing that identifies this car as a GT not even the badging. I could see that being possible with the price for the engine alone causing it to jump a grand to 19995, under 20k. This thinking also falls into line with Ford wanting to build a car thats customizable. I'd gladly take GT power in a V6 body as most everything from the interior to the exterior on my ride would be altered in some way or shape anyway it just gives me an extra 5k to do it with. So what do you think?

They said the GT would start under $20K? Really? I find it hard to believe but if true that would be cool. Some of the most desireable Mopars from the sixties are some of the lowest option cars (no trim, taxi cab interior, no power anything, steel wheels) with the biggest engines--Hemi Road Runners, Max Wedge Savoys, etc. I like sleepers. Probably the only changes I'd make would be wheels and maybe suspension.

No way that will happen

He does say it in the video, but it had to be a mistake. There is no way the GT is going to be under 20k. It'll probably be mid-20's.

If they made a GT that they could sell for under 20k you wouldn't want it, anyway. It would have to have the build and materials quality of a Pontiac Sunfire.

Omega, I had this same thread all written up and was ready to post, but I decided one last check to ensure someone hadn't done it. Yes, this deserves its own thread.

I think it must be a terrible mistake for Ford, as it's already going into print. If there was a 200HP model and 300HP model separated by $1000 or a GT anywhere under $20k, who would buy the V6? More importantly, where would the market be for the $25-29K Mustang? This would cause a serious problem for different classes of Mustang.

But what I found most ridiculous about a 300HP GT for under $20k is cost. People were saying the concept styling was way too expensive to produce, when in reality, it's only different plastic molds and different metal stamping (yes, there's more to it, but I'm trying to make an example). Ok, so what would people have to say about a far superior engine being included not only at current GT rates, but $5,000 less. This is absurd...there would be little respect owning a Mustang GT.

This would mean Cobra prices would need to come down $5k too. This just wouldn't work out. It seems like everyone would buy the 300HP GT under $20k to mod it or keep it as is, and Ford would be making very minimal $$$...especially after rebates and stuff. The Mustang would be too cheap, and it could even hurt sales.

I'm pretty sure he just made a mistake.

Think about it, thats a "Pretty Big" mistake.

That doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake. I would love it if it were true. But let's be real. That's almost as wild as the people who thought the concept was actually going to be built with no changes.

I would love the return of the LX mustang, which would be what this would be. 200 dollar payments would absolutely rule.

Yeah, there's no way the GT wil be under 20K. Was the dude who said that even from Ford? You never know - I mean, I was at the auto show in San Diego, CA this past weekend and the girl who was giving the spiel on the Ford GT mentioned "Dale Gurney" when she was talking about the car's heritage.

Of course everyone should have known this will start endless speculation without facts to back any of it up. Here I'll help. I heard the under $20k gt was going to come stock with a 6 speed and IRS. With the concepts hood and HID lighting. Although you'll have to pay more for that on the more expensive gt's.

Not necessarily. Pontiac sold a heck of a lot of Trans-Ams at the same time the Formula ran the same Corvette engine, same suspension, just a different body - same as the V-6. The Formula is considerably faster (it's 300+ lbs lighter) than a TA, but they still sold more TAs. People WILL pay for the flash before they buy the dash.

I'm hoping that is what the 'under 20k GT' is. Maybe not that extreme, but I love the sleeper look.
Hope it wasn't a misinformed Bill Ford Jr.

Ummm, Bill Ford Jr. said it, it might be a mistake, but why wasn't there a correction? I'm sure somebody besides us, esp somebody from Ford would notice a mistake like that a make some sort of press release correcting that.

I'm not saying it's true, but who knows? And people will buy the other Mustangs for the extras, security, power everything, heated seats, etc. And I don't think the V6 sales would suffer much either, most who buy those are females who just want the style, or parents who don't want their 16 yr old child killing himself in a V8, and insurance. But until I actually see some numbers, I gotta call it a mistake

right from the FORD site...

“Cars are built all over the world, but Mustang could come only from Ford," says Martens. "Like the F-150 is to Ford trucks, Mustang is the soul of Ford cars. A pure performer, it's the most affordable 300-horsepower car made and the best rear-wheel-drive performance car under $20,000.”

located at bottom of page... http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=16647




I have a feeling its no mistake. they want to make this baby sell good in its first year.

Ok that statement could also be taken in 2 parts. Because the V-6 could be described by ford as the best RWD perf. car under $20k. And the gt could be taken as the most affordable 3000hp car made. Not to be a buzz kill but. People need to look for ALL the info. Not just what they want to see. This is also from the same website.

The 2005 Mustang GT (top) is the most attainable 300-horsepower V-8 performance car on the market, and its V-6 Coupe stablemate is the best rear-wheel-drive car under $20,000.

I thought he said that you would be able to get a 200 horse or 300 horse mustang for under 20k. He doesnt say GT so maybe there will be an LX V8 like the Fox mustangs had.

Lx Lx Lx Lx Lx Lx Lx Lx...

And it's only going to weigh 3000 lbs.

It was probably just an error on the part of Ford during the announcement -- from the video, the exact words are " ... 200 or 300 horsepower, both under twenty grand ...". The meaning of the sentence is quiet clear, I think he just got ahead of himself and misspoke.

Dave