And Ford throws down the gauntlet...again
 

2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Debuts as Most Powerful Production V8 in the World With 650 Horsepower, Top Speed of 200+ MPH

Good grief!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/2013-F...0.html?x=0&l=1

http://image.motortrend.com/f/394032...-in-motion.jpg

Saw that today as well, Mike.

As much as I like performance cars, it's starting to get out of hand.

Better buy one of these or a ZL1 Camaro before the feds find a way to outlaw them . . .

My thoughts exactly! What the hell are you supposed to do with that much power on the street? Maybe I'm getting old, but I just don't see the point... other than making up for some inadequacies elsewhere.;)

Maybe it's just that I'm a LOT older, and hopefully a bit wiser now.

I just hear about WAY too many middle-aged folks buying new 'vettes and vipers - and killing themselves literally on the way home from the dealer. Now they'll be able to kill themselves just as handily in a Mustango or Camaro . . .

No amount of electronic "help" can make up for inadequate skills and stupidity . . .

Sounds a bit like the late 60's all over again, doesn't it?

Why have one? Because you can.

Period.

:D

It will be interesting to see the sticker price on that vs. the new ZL-1 Camaro.

I'm guessing that that extra HP is going to be r e a l expensive...;)

Wow, and I remember how hard it was to get my 85 GT 5.0 to hook up!:eek:

A friend of mine has a 2008 GT500 with 'only' 500hp, and that thing is crazy fast...I can only imagine what it would be like with 650hp.

Does anyone know what the sticker price will be on this Shelby? I'm assuming it won't be over $100K, but you never know...

I agree, the manufacturers seem to be in an overly aggressive horsepower race right now, perhaps to get in their parting shots before the new CAFE standards take hold. Ever since the "retro" Mustang, Challenger, and the reborn Camaro, things are getting out of hand.

I think the difference between the 1960's horsepower wars verses today's wars is that back then gas was .59 cents a gallon, we didn't have bumper-to-bumper traffic on every major street in America, with half the population on the cell phone, the other half texting.

I'd hate to buy the Premium gas that goes thru that 650hp engine. But if you can afford the 2013 GT 500, I guess you can afford the gas too.

For me, I'll stick with my 46 year old Pontiac GTO with 370 horses under the hood. And that's only a rough guess by the builder of this engine. Which is a hell of a lot more than I thought it had.

All I can say is....WHY? The few who can afford the price tag won't ever use them. The others who really want that power will make it the old-fashioned way, and much cheaper. The "new 5.0" hasn't helped Mustang sales that much so I don't see how the GT500 will benefit. I have two friends with current GT500s and they rarely even drive them. They are gently cruised around in much like a Camry.

I mean, seriously, the Cobra with its 390hp was a beast, the GT500 with its 540hp is wasted on the street. Heck my 400hp GTO has never seen redline and its power seems ridiculous. Kudos to Ford for having the know-how to build that much warrantable horsepower. I guess having to spend 15k additional for insurance means nothing to those with 65-70k to spend on a car.

I hate Mustangs, but that car is mean looking. I am not fond of the blue color though.

Perhaps in Buccaneer Red? :D

SDD

Personally, I htink its all about image. Automakers want to project excitement and with a car like this, your gonna get it.

For the same reason any auto manufacturer has a halo car - image. You could say the same thing about a Corvette ZR1 or a Camaro ZL1 or a Challenger SRT8, no one needs that much power under the hood but it helps them sell their other vehicles. Same thing applies to motorcycles, no one needs a 200hp superbike either but the bike manufacturers are still in a horsepower race.

Im with you Gary! I'll never grow up and a car like that would cause my name to be in the paper one way or another. I too will stick with the old raw horsepower and enjoy a leisure drive through the country side.

Oh D, I think that blue blur would be bad enough making it arrest me red is just asking for the clink.

I think it's great. My flat-tappet 505 goat won't stand a chance, but hey - that's life, win some lose some. Some people want that kind of car and Ford is building it for them.

Only problem is, in the '60s, some car lines (namely Pontiac) had the entire car lineup for excitement. Nowadays, carmakers will have one or two cars to "spice up" the showroom, then line the rest of it with boring, medoicre, lookalike transportation modules. By the way, where is Ford getting a 5.8 litre from? Is it based on the 6.2 truck engine? The bore spacing and deck height of the 5.4 is close to the limit as it is.

That must be one of the bullets that Tom said they still had and were waiting to use.

Why not!

I remember when I ordered my 87 IROC I weighed out the cost of the 305/5spd vs the 350/auto and it was about $1,200 less for only 10 HP - that was an easy decision. Then there was the Buick GNX that had 276 HP vs my 205 - but that one was $35,000 more than my car - that one was easy too.

It all boils down to how fast can you afford to go? :D

Funny how they can make and sell these but killed the Pontiac Solstice.....27 MPG !!
People dont use the back seats in these.. thats not an excuse