I'm not posting this to incite a flame war. I just want folks to understand
what they're getting before they slap down a wad of bucks. In other words, this is the post that I wished I read before I'd bought my 99 Cobra.
I bought a 99 Cobra when it was advertised as a road car. The IRS was great and it was not only pretty manueverable but also fairly peppy. (Not as peppy as advertised, however, because the engine didn't make the advertised 320 HP.) I loved that car, but after some experiences with open track and autocross, it was apparent that it was no road car. The brakes were great, but the suspension s*cked and the old body style was as flexible as a bowl of jello. It would have cost roughly 5000 dollars to fix the suspension since I don't generally do the work on my cars.
I was hoping for something more like a road car from the Cobra this go round, but I am disappointed. I see that they've got a much stiffer body now but the car weighs in at near 4000lbs. Are you kidding? Guess what? My old 99 weighed in at about 3400lbs, which means that it had apx 10lb/hp weight to power ratio. At 475 HP, the GT500 is around 8.4lb/hp. What's up with that?
One of the problems with the old 99 was the leather seats. Just try going a round a curve quickly and you'd end up gooshed up against the wall or sitting on the center consol. I see that the seats on the GT500 are not much different, except for some barely noticable side bolsters.
It's clear to me that once again, Ford has produced a car which has one purpose, and that is it's meant for people who think racing is beating the ricer next to you at the stop light to the next stop light.
Well, it that's your idea of a "sports" car, I'm sure you'll love the GT500. If you have intensions to open track or autocross, save yourself some embarassment and buy a Corvete or EVO, because both have better suspension, similar brakes, better seats and also about 600 lbs less weight
to drag around the curves. And I'm sure the EVO costs quite a bit less as well.
what they're getting before they slap down a wad of bucks. In other words, this is the post that I wished I read before I'd bought my 99 Cobra.
I bought a 99 Cobra when it was advertised as a road car. The IRS was great and it was not only pretty manueverable but also fairly peppy. (Not as peppy as advertised, however, because the engine didn't make the advertised 320 HP.) I loved that car, but after some experiences with open track and autocross, it was apparent that it was no road car. The brakes were great, but the suspension s*cked and the old body style was as flexible as a bowl of jello. It would have cost roughly 5000 dollars to fix the suspension since I don't generally do the work on my cars.
I was hoping for something more like a road car from the Cobra this go round, but I am disappointed. I see that they've got a much stiffer body now but the car weighs in at near 4000lbs. Are you kidding? Guess what? My old 99 weighed in at about 3400lbs, which means that it had apx 10lb/hp weight to power ratio. At 475 HP, the GT500 is around 8.4lb/hp. What's up with that?
One of the problems with the old 99 was the leather seats. Just try going a round a curve quickly and you'd end up gooshed up against the wall or sitting on the center consol. I see that the seats on the GT500 are not much different, except for some barely noticable side bolsters.
It's clear to me that once again, Ford has produced a car which has one purpose, and that is it's meant for people who think racing is beating the ricer next to you at the stop light to the next stop light.
Well, it that's your idea of a "sports" car, I'm sure you'll love the GT500. If you have intensions to open track or autocross, save yourself some embarassment and buy a Corvete or EVO, because both have better suspension, similar brakes, better seats and also about 600 lbs less weight
to drag around the curves. And I'm sure the EVO costs quite a bit less as well.
