Automobile Magazine Review of the 2013 GT500

[Birdman]

http://m.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1205_2013_ford_shelby_gt500_first_test/index.html

"The GT500, on the other hand, has one purpose: to go fast. The Shelby can hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and blow through the quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds at 125 mph, and it's got the most powerful series-production V-8 ever. Yep, the 2013 Shelby GT500 is the biggest, baddest bragging machine this side of a Chevy Corvette ZR1 or an SRT Viper -- especially since it costs less than either and has more horsepower than both."


"What the GT500 is capable of is 200 mph for $55,000. In that regard, it's unquestionably in a class of one. Ford feels that the Shelby GT500 doesn't compete in any way with the Boss 302, despite the fact that they're both Mustangs. We agree, because as sophisticated and well-rounded as the Boss is, the GT500 is equally muscle-car brash. It's neither rewarding nor particularly involving, but it's unbelievably fast. If cheap speed is your thing, boy, does Ford have a Mustang for you."

[68fastback]

http://m.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1205_2013_ford_shelby_gt500_first_test/index.html

"The GT500, on the other hand, has one purpose: to go fast. The Shelby can hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and blow through the quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds at 125 mph, and it's got the most powerful series-production V-8 ever. Yep, the 2013 Shelby GT500 is the biggest, baddest bragging machine this side of a Chevy Corvette ZR1 or an SRT Viper -- especially since it costs less than either and has more horsepower than both."


"What the GT500 is capable of is 200 mph for $55,000. In that regard, it's unquestionably in a class of one. Ford feels that the Shelby GT500 doesn't compete in any way with the Boss 302, despite the fact that they're both Mustangs. We agree, because as sophisticated and well-rounded as the Boss is, the GT500 is equally muscle-car brash. It's neither rewarding nor particularly involving, but it's unbelievably fast. If cheap speed is your thing, boy, does Ford have a Mustang for you."

I hope Ford didn't have to give them the secret code manual to figure this out -- it's not a Porche :rofl3: ...they make like that's a bad thing. -lol

[CH53Driver]

Some people will just never understand the KISS principle. :shades:

[68fastback]

This is how much they just don't get it: all the black text below is theirs ...not selected quotes ...all contiguous paragraphs as written (my comments in blue):

SVT engineers assured us that the extra coolers are only necessary for serious track use (Ford specifically said 'any reasonably competant driver who will track it will want the TrakPak -- that's a decidely lower threshold than "serious track use")-- for which the GT500's 15.8-gallon fuel tank might be slightly undersized. On a road course, the monster V-8 will suck the tank dry in just over twenty minutes. If that seems fast, then ponder this: at top speed, the upgraded injectors will spray enough fuel into the cylinders to empty the tank in just thirteen minutes. (and their point is what? -doh! :haha:)

Make that thirteen very hard-core minutes. From behind the wheel, there's nothing delicate about the GT500 -- each and every one of the controls is heavy, and despite the addition of an over-center spring, the clutch pedal is monumentally stiff. The shifter is slightly lighter than before thanks to longer throws, but it still requires a hefty shove, and the robust six-speed manual gearbox penalizes rushed shifts with a grind. (and their point is what? ...wow -- even managed to get left-hand digs in on the shifter 'complement' ...dude, eat your friggin' wheaties! :rofl3:)

The Recaro seats are comfortable and extra-grippy, thanks to new Alcantara bolsters (OMG an actual unmiitigated compliment? -- nah ...here's the "but," in their mind anyway -lol =>), but the Shelby's interior is dominated by the sound of the engine -- it's as if the NVH experts at Ford added in an extra dose of each, all of them rough, gruff, hoary, and tough. The GT500's shifter vibrates in your hand, and the engine's immense mechanical noise is drowned out by a thunderous roar from the quad exhaust tips. Even when you're cruising on the highway in top gear, with the engine barely above idle, the booming exhaust note means you won't forget what this car is capable of. (...and there's something bad about any of that? :haha:)

[paragraph George already posted was here]

Surprisingly, we liked the convertible better, even though it's limited to 155 mph (not! 168 last I looked), because with the top down you can clearly hear the supercharger screaming, and the brutal exhaust note combines with the rushing wind to mute all of the engine's harshness. (that mechanical music is harshness? blimey, pass the crumpets, mate ::lol:) Best of all, the droptop's dramatically softer suspension allows the big Mustang's front end to rear up under acceleration, which makes the GT500 feel even faster and more extreme. (yeah, that's why I'd buy a vert :doh2:) Let's be honest -- you're not going to drive a car with a live rear axle at 200 mph. (...really? ...'cause if it had IRS it's be so much more stable in a straight line? :rofl2:) We certainly didn't.(well, I rest my case! :lol:) So get the convertible, lower the top, press the button to put the shocks in soft mode (...apparently continuing their flawless logic :haha:), and go a summer evening cruise in the fastest car in town. (riiiight -- because all that a $55K car that will whip $150K cars is good for is cruising the boulevard while whishing it was a Porsche? Not!! ...simply clueless)

Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case :uwelcome: :giggle:

[Joe G]

:logical: in the post above Danny boy!! :wtg:

[Birdman]

My thoughts exactly Dan as I was reading this review.....what a wimp, plus they just don't understand or appreciate what a true muscle car is. The fact is what Ford has achieved at this price point is unheard of in the automotive world and it bothers the hell out of the snobby "establishment". They try to disguise their snobbery but it is glaringly there even though they are amazed by this car and what Ford has achieved with it.

They are kind of pathetic if you ask me but I guess they can't help it, after all they've been fed a steady diet of Europe/Japan are superior and nothing that good can come from America..... If you really think about and are honest in your evaluation of it, given the cost of this car and it's capability's the 2013GT500 is unmatched in the world. I'm not saying there aren't equal or better 4 seat performance cars out there but you'd have to spend at least twice as much and in some cases three or four times as much as the 13' GT500 to get one.....and that sticks in their pompous craw big time.

[Joe G]

.....and that sticks in their pompous craw big time.:haha:

[68fastback]

...exactly, George ...they're pompous wimps :giggle:

...and, once again, Joe read my mind. :rofl3:

[Joe G]

...and, once again, Joe read my mind. :rofl3::ohsnap:Isn't that one of the signs of the apocolypse?? :yikes:

[blackshelby]

...exactly, George ...they're pompous wimps :giggle:

...and, once again, Joe read my mind. :rofl3:


Did they have George driving their test car?:rofl:

[VaporDude]

Did they have George driving their test car?:rofl:

They didn't have it in the right color. They should have had Dan drive the car. We would still be reading the article a week from now.

[Birdman]

Did they have George driving their test car?:rofl:

I wish I was invited to the test drive for Stangs United...:flag:

[68fastback]

I foresee two sets of First-drive Impressions from George and Jim :banana: :grin:

[68fastback]

They didn't have it in the right color. They should have had Dan drive the car. We would still be reading the article a week from now.

:spitcopy: ...article? ...I'd shoot for a book :rofl3:

[Joe G]

:spitcopy: ...article? ...I'd shoot for a whole set of books - Encyclopedia Britannica style! :rofl3:

:iagree:.... but will that be long enough for all of the tech info you need to share?

[68fastback]

:boink: . . . :giggle:

[Joe G]

:rofl2:

[VaporDude]

:iagree:.... but will that be long enough for all of the tech info you need to share?

Encyclopedia comes to mind.:grin:

[68fastback]

...see post-15 :boink:

:grin:

[Joe G]

...see post-15 :boink:

:grin::iagree:


VaporDufus... :nonono:

[VaporDude]

:iagree:


VaporDufus... :nonono:

Post 15 is yours.........JoeDufus :nonono:

[Joe G]

Post 15 is yours.........JoeDufus :nonono:Look at Dan's quote that I replied to in that post... :doh2:

[VaporDude]

Look at Dan's quote that I replied to in that post... :doh2:

What about it?

[68fastback]

...I'll leave this to Joe to sort thru with VD :innocent:

:-)

[Joe G]

...I'll leave this to Joe to sort thru with VD :innocent:

:-)I give up. He doesn't understand. :doh2:

[68fastback]

:giggle:

[VaporDude]

I give up. He doesn't understand. :doh2:

:faint:

[68fastback]

Greg, you had said how you'd still be reading my article and I had said I'd shoot for a book ...and you had said that I would write an encyclopedia, but in between Joe had already 'fixed' my 'book' post to say "encyclopedia britannica" back in post-15.

Ok, so where were we? :haha:

[VaporDude]

Greg, you had said how you'd still be reading my article and I had said I'd shoot for a book ...and you had said that I would write an encyclopedia, but in between Joe had already 'fixed' my 'book' post to say "encyclopedia britannica" back in post-15.

Ok, so where were we? :haha:

You lost me after book.............:doh2:

[68fastback]

:spitcopy:

:hug: ;-)

[Joe G]

You lost me after book.............:doh2:Have you morphed into TG in his absence? :banghead:



















:haha:

[Birdman]

:goodone:

[Gr8snkbite]

Who's TG



:haha: