Anyone worried that the car unveiled 3/23 will not be the the production version

[jguerrero]

As with everyone else on here, I am anxiously waiting the unveiling in a few days, as it will ultimately decide what my next car will be.

Does anyone know if the car they are going to show is the concept Cobra, or the actual production version? We all know what happened when Ford showed us that beautiful Mustang GT concept, only to bring something not quite as good to production (not bad, but no where near the concept version).

Ford unveiled a great looking Lightning that never made it to production. I am just hoping that this will not happen to this car. I am eager to get back into another Cobra with added venom. Guess well see

 

[theDRIVER]

obviously it's going to be the concept version because were still in 2005. B U T it gives you an idea of where the production version is going. i know whatcha mean when you see something you like at the show and by the end of the year you get something a bit different from the concept. I HATE THAT! i remember when i saw the concept version of the 2005 mustang it looked really nice. ever since that i havn't been a total fan of the new car. obivously the 2007 cobra will have a slight differnce in body style than the 2005 stangs so i hope they put something really sweet together...

 

[jwfisher]

The press release is saying "concept".

 

[jguerrero]

So basically what we are going see is nothing like will be given to us in 2007 based on what happened to the 05 stang. I hope not, i was really disapointed based on what the concept looked like. i guess the only way is to wait.

 

[putawaywet]

It might be the same car, it might not. Some of Ford's previous concepts were a lot closer than others. But look at it this way.....

At least we'll have the rest of the year to try and change Ford's mind.

 

[stvdman]

I am thinking of going the 25th, I assume the "07 Cobra" will be proudly displayed by then????

 

[ricekiller2003]

I sure hope it's a production model 07 'Mustang' Cobra...or I'll be peeved!

 

[TheRod1976]

I can tell you right now it won't be. They will release info on what to expect in the form of power figures and what not and the appearance of the car will be close to production but things can and do change.

 

[jshen]

I suspect if they got a lot of bad reviews etc., that could certainly impact styling, etc. I just want to hear.."it's packing the full GT powerplant". I am also concerned rising gas and insurance costs may effect the powertrain as well. I can see the insurance companies denying coverage.....They have a lock on what they choose to insure.

 

[jwfisher]

There are concepts and there are concepts... and there are even be legal reasons why it could be called a concept or not. Look at the recent Jag concept - Jaguar said at the same time it's 90% the real thing, the press is saying closer to 98, and if there are changes it'll be in the grill and badging. I saw an M45 (a helluva fine car) introduced as a quote "concept", and even the press officer repeated that to me - despite the car having been simply pulled off the production line in Japan and Infiniti badging added.

Sheetmetal and engine choices (and near final specs) are already done, and nothing anybody here says can make the slightest difference there - and contracts are already being signed for the mechanicals. Frankly, also, a subset of the total number of buyers won't have an overly due influence.

There are things to look for when going to auto shows... when I go I spend a lot of time underneath the car - be it a concept or show car or anything else. I find out a lot that way. For example, I saw the Cobra R at several stages in it's development over a period of time... there were some surprising things happening underneath those cars as they went thru their development. There were also some major differences between the cars tested by the press and the cars that finally came off the line (ride height and exhaust). I have a lot of pics and writeup on my site on that particular car, along with hundreds of pictures of concepts and showcars from the last several years.

It's anybody's guess what will be shown in NYC, and NOBODY has the inside line - depisite some people claiming otherwise. Nobody will know until they see it in person whether it's a concept, showcar, prototype, or even just the red development car (which isn't necessarily an SVT Mustang - it may well be a Shelby).

There may also indeed be options on the next SVT Mustang - and the car shown may be with or without those options. What they are is again anybody's guess at this point. And there may be changes to the interior of the car - if the SVT Mustang is an '07, then the car would be due for it's first round of freshening. Whatever that entails may or may not be present on the car. As an example, the first showing of the Hybrid Explorer also served to pre-announce interior changes such as the new console and console shifter. Also, the first showing of the 2005 Mustang 'vert actually had the long-delayed 18" wheels on it... which will be '06 options, although very very few press folks picked up on that (look at the new MM&FF - they show the same car both ways and don't mention why).

It may well be that the '07 will receive some interior freshening which may or may not be shown on whatever SVT shows us this month. That "freshening" (hypothesizing here since nothing is announced) could include better plastics on the console, some dash changes, perhaps (hopefully!) a better and smaller steering wheel. If that is seen on the car this month, it doens't necessarily mean it's an SVT exclusive - it may be on the base cars as well (the alledged puicture of the 2007 Cobra showed a new interior - while it may have been a photo hack of somebody's imagination, it may also show what is coming because the changes shown are consistent with Ford's styling direction and and other statements).

And, don't expect Ford to tell us the strategy of SVT versus Shelby - if there is even one. That may come at a later point... perhaps something there will be saved for the next NAIAS (the more usual announce point).

So, nobody will know until the car is actually there to look at - and even more importantly nobody will know the complete story until the car is formally announced (which is not this month). Nobody will know exact prices until some point after formal announcement and before ship - asking for an exact price now is rediculous. If prtices are discussed, they are exploratory and preliminary - probably fishing by the product planners (look at all the discussion on the Z06 pricing that is taking place - another big unknown until next summer). Remember that every single added feature over and above ye olde SN95 Cobra will cost bucks - and the GT engine is the high roller of engines these days because of the changes that were necessary to make it live long and prosper. If it does have that engine, it can't be cheap. If it has a cheaper subset, we need to know what longevity items came off it - like dry sump, super strong aluminum block, 4-valve heads, strong clutch, cooling under a broad range of conditions (tested), or more. An engine that wont' stay cool and run hard will be as worthless as the last Cobra was for *real* performance use - that is, performance not in increments of of 12 seconds at a time but in increments of an hour or more of hard flat-out running before a break. So far, the GT engine is the only 5.4 that even comes close to such a benchmark - and it costs over 4 times more to build for production than a lowly '03/4 Cobra engine - not counting testing costs (whcih were unbelievably more involved than those which were done for the Cobra engine).

And, lastly, I hope we don't have a bunch of ass clowns and children there - remember that this time Ford is showing it intentionally and they want mature feedback, not an assult by a bunch of yelling kids with a vidcam. There are people who are in business to make money, they have done a lot of research into their product, and there may well be executives there as well who need to see an orderly presentation that they can be comfortable with. Be cool and SVT will cooperate.

 

[jshen]

"So far, the GT engine is the only 5.4 that even comes close to such a benchmark - and it costs over 4 times more to build for production than a lowly '03/4 Cobra engine"

Please elaborate on this as I am not an engine builder. Is the cost in the quality/build strength of the parts?

 

[umustdv8]

So basically what we are going see is nothing like will be given to us in 2007 based on what happened to the 05 stang. I hope not, i was really disapointed based on what the concept looked like. i guess the only way is to wait.

If the 07 was due out soon, it might be the car we'd see. Since it's gonna be a while before they release this car, I guarantee it'll be different from what we see this month.

The 05 concept car was smokin' when I saw that thing for the first time. I was disapointed when the production version rolled out though.

 

[Fourcam330]

"So far, the GT engine is the only 5.4 that even comes close to such a benchmark - and it costs over 4 times more to build for production than a lowly '03/4 Cobra engine"

Please elaborate on this as I am not an engine builder. Is the cost in the quality/build strength of the parts?

If the dry sump was eliminated the casting/building costs of the Ford GT Al 5.4L wouldn't be that far off from a similar motor with 4.6L of displacement. Forget what Ford sells them for in their catalogs, reality is only a phone call away.

 

[Ken04Cobra]

At SVTOA's Chapter Leadership Training in Atlanta, we were shown some pics of the 07. George did say that it more then likely wasn't the final design but, that it would be very close. So I would imagine the NY auto show will be the same.

 

[Talus]

i think they're going to guage the response.

 

[SGL]

And, lastly, I hope we don't have a bunch of ass clowns and children there - remember that this time Ford is showing it intentionally and they want mature feedback, not an assult by a bunch of yelling kids with a vidcam. There are people who are in business to make money, they have done a lot of research into their product, and there may well be executives there as well who need to see an orderly presentation that they can be comfortable with. Be cool and SVT will cooperate.

When I meet with those executives, I notice that they are incapable of cutting through the fog and clutter of the crowd. They get confused and leave..... :rollseyes

In case you haven't noticed, it's a free country. Anyone in the crowd is a potential customer. If they want to bring cameras and a bunch of brats, so be it.

Now why don't you crawl back under the rock you came from.

 

[Fordy]

Well, its appearance probably won't be astounding, a hood, decent wheels, and very light bodywork. All I care about is the engine Will it be 440+ or actually hit 500? Can't wait to see!

 

[fordification]

Gee, I hope they don't introduce it as a concept. Like veryone else said, the GT concept was pretty far off so a Cobra concept won't carry much attention. Sure it may look great, but production is where it's at.

 

[jwfisher]

BTW, the red mule - be it Shelby Cobra or SVT Mustang, has IRS.

 

[jwfisher]

Gee, I hope they don't introduce it as a concept. Like veryone else said, the GT concept was pretty far off so a Cobra concept won't carry much attention. Sure it may look great, but production is where it's at.

Really far off: the GT Concepts were built on a full Thunderbird chassis (suspension and everything). The only thing in common is some of the floorpan and the wheelbase.