Top Gear this coming Sunday: Mustang Battle (Pics of Stig and Top Gear Inside)

Gibbo said:
In my view the GT500 should have been 500-550BHP, just as much torque weighed closer to 1500kg and has as close to 50/50 weight distribution as possible with a sorted suspension setup. That would have been a truly great Shelby, yeah it would have cost more but I am sure it would have sold just as well if not better.
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If it had more power I'd forgive it for being heavy and wayward to be honest. 600 horsepower, and nothing to tame it. Just make it all about the absolute brute power.

But they didn't do that. They instead gave it just enough power to be reasonably quick, did just enough work on the underpinnings to allow it to take the power without exploding. It has the aroma of beancounters all over it....a car built down to a budget.
 
JRS said:
If it had more power I'd forgive it for being heavy and wayward to be honest. 600 horsepower, and nothing to tame it. Just make it all about the absolute brute power.

But they didn't do that. They instead gave it just enough power to be reasonably quick, did just enough work on the underpinnings to allow it to take the power without exploding. It has the aroma of beancounters all over it....a car built down to a budget.
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Well as Ford are loosing huge amounts of money then the GT500 probably cost them peanuts to build but they slam a huge price tag on it as they know people will buy it and hence try to make some profit for once.

Shame really as they should have built the car so it lived upto the Shelby reputation.

Yeah it great you can buy a new Ford Mustang GT V8 for so cheap in the USA and then adding some Tokico D Spec struts/shocks, springs, bushes, front sway, brace, rear sway bar, adjustable panhard bar and brace along with better brakes turns the car into something very special. Then just chuck and supercharger in and some LT headers and you have once serious very capable machine that is even good in the twisties. So its good in that way I guess just a shame Ford can't make it perfect themselves either though.
 
didnt jeremy do something like this on his new dvd? think he had them all go round a big oval track and he had a horse go round too

may be imagining this :p

maybe the dvd before the newest


(the horse won i think :) )
 
utajoker said:
didnt jeremy do something like this on his new dvd? think he had them all go round a big oval track and he had a horse go round too
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Yes he did, hence why people earlier said they hope its a new film and not that one :)

IIRC he said the Roush was the best, then the GT500, then the standard stang.
 
Stellios said:
Yes he did, hence why people earlier said they hope its a new film and not that one :)

IIRC he said the Roush was the best, then the GT500, then the standard stang.
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Take note though the horse race was against the bog standard V6 convertible which in all honesty is a piece of junk. :D
 
Gibbo said:
Take note though the horse race was against the bog standard V6 convertible which in all honesty is a piece of junk. :D
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OT, but did you know that a standard horse has less than one hosrepower?
;)
 
Tomsk said:
OT, but did you know that a standard horse has less than one hosrepower?
;)
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Yup, hence why I don't believe that particular test anyway. As many have said Clarkson is good for laugh and fun to watch but his car knowledge is poor and most test are no doubt rigged or made to look to get a particular outcome to make fun enjoyable watching.

My view is any car in the world could have beaten that horse, even a Fiat Panda, especially when you consider the horse took the outside line. Maybe the horse had weetabix for breakfast. :D
 
Hi there

Got the cars lap times from Top Gear power laps, for both the Shelby GT500 and Roush Stage 3 415BHP car but its led to believe the Roush did not have the handling pack fitted, not ready in time...

Top Gear also dyno'd the Shelby GT500 and got very strange results, a mobile dyno gave a reading of 440BHP. However I suspect the dyno is giving an at the wheels figure which if you calculate in 12-15% transmission loss works out to be circa 500BHP flywheel.

Now for the info, the Shelby GT500 did Top Gears lap in 1:30 exactly. Not amazing but not too shabby. In comparison an Impreza WRX STi does it in 1:30.1 and a Vauxhall Monaro VXR does it also in 1:30.1 so not too shabby.
Here is a list of SOME cars slower than 1:30 around Top Gears track:-
1:30.1 – Subaru Impreza WRX STi[3][8]
1:30.1 – Vauxhall Monaro VXR
1:30.4 – Aston Martin DB7 GT
1:30.4 – Volkswagen Golf R32 2005
1:30.9 – Audi S4 quattro 4.2
1:31.0 – Porsche 911 Turbo[6]
1:31.4 - Audi TT II 2.0T
1:31.3 – Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
1:31.6 – Honda NSX Type-R[6]
1:31.8 – BMW M3
1:31.8 – BMW 535d
1:31.8 – Nissan 350Z
1:31.8 – Mazda RX-8
1:31.9 – BMW 130i
1:32.2 – Ford Focus RS
1:32.2 – Mazda6 MPS
1:32.5 – Lotus Esprit V8
1:32.5 – Renaultsport Mégane 225 Cup
1:32.7 – Audi TT 3.2 quattro
1:32.8 – Modernized Jaguar E-Type
1:32.8 – Facelifted Honda Civic Type-R
1:32.9 – SEAT León Cupra R
1:32.9 – Mercedes-Benz SLK350
1:33.0 – Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG[6]
1:33.0 – Vauxhall Astra VXR
1:33.1 – Noble M12 GTO[6]
1:33.3 – Volkswagen Golf R32 2003
1:33.3 – Cadillac CTS-V[6]
1:33.7 – MG ZT 260
1:33.8 – Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup
1:33.9 – Holden Monaro[6]
1:34.0 - Renaultsport Mégane 225
1:34.2 – MINI Cooper S Works
1:34.5 – Ford Mondeo ST220
1:34.7 – Jaguar XKR[10]
1:34.9 – Ford Focus ST[11]
1:35.0 – Volvo S60 R
1:35.1 – Volkswagen Golf GTI



They then took the Roush round, which I don't have the full details on yet but it is believed it did not have the handling pack fitted which seems pretty pointless. But still it did Top Gears lap in 1:28 dead. Pretty impressive for a Yank car that supposedly cannot handle, has a live axle and only cost £30,000.
That puts the Roush ahead of the following cars:-
1:28.0 – BMW M3 CSL[6] WET
1:28.2 – Marcos TSO GT2
1:28.5 – Dodge Viper SRT-10[6] WET
1:28.6 – MG XPower SV
1:28.7 – Porsche Boxster S
1:28.9 – Porsche 911 Carrera S[7] Very WET
1:28.9 – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII[3][8]
1:29.0 – Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG
1:29.0 – Alpina V8 Roadster[6] WET
1:29.0 – Lamborghini Murciélago[5][3][9]
1:29.4 – Subaru Impreza WRX STi WR-1
1:30.0 – Alfa Romeo 147 GTA 3.7
1:30.1 – Subaru Impreza WRX STi[3][8]


I was expecting in all honesty both cars to do slightly better, if the Roush indeed did not have the suspension pack it would no doubt have been quicker but still they are not slow and certainly capable.


Here is a list of cars that are quicker than the Roush:-
*****0:59.0 – Renault R24 Formula 1 Car*****
*****1:08.6 – Aston Martin DBR9*****
1:17.6 – Koenigsegg CCX (w/TG wing)
1:18.4 – Pagani Zonda F
1:18.9 – Maserati MC12
1.19.0 – Enzo Ferrari
1:19.5 – Ariel Atom 2 300
1:19.8 - Lamborghini Murciélago LP640
1:19.8 – Porsche Carrera GT
1:20.4 – Koenigsegg CCX (Original)[3][4]
1:20.7 – Ascari KZ1
1:20.9 – Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
1:21.9 – Ford GT
1:22.3 – Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale
1:22.3 – Porsche 911 GT3 RS
1:22.4 – Chevrolet Corvette Z06
1:22.5 – Noble M15
1:22.6 – Westfield XTR2[3]
1:22.9 – Ferrari F430 F1
1:23.2 – Ferrari F430 Spider F1
1:23.7 – Lamborghini Murciélago
1:23.8 – Pagani Zonda C12 S 7.3[5]
1:23.9 – Koenigsegg CC8S
1:24.3 – Prodrive P2
1:24.6 – TVR Sagaris
1:24.8 – Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ-400
1:24.8 – TVR Tuscan Mk.II
1:25.0 – Noble M12 GTO-3R
1:25.1 – Lotus Exige S
1:25.7 – Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
1:25.8 – Lamborghini Gallardo[6]
1:25.9 – Morgan Aero 8 GTN
1:26.0 – BMW Z4 M Roadster
1:26.0 – Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ-320
1:26.2 – BMW M5
1:26.2 – BRABUS SV12 S Biturbo
1:26.4 – Lotus Exige[5]
1:26.7 – Porsche Cayman S
1:26.8 – Chevrolet Corvette
1:26.8 – Ferrari 575M Maranello HGTC
1:26.9 – Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG
1:27.1 – Aston Martin Vanquish S
1:27.1 – Aston Martin DB9
1:27.2 – Porsche 911 GT3[6]
1:27.3 – Spyker C8 Spyder
1:27.5 – TVR T350c
1:27.9 – Wiesmann MF 3


The Corvettes are indeed impressive as the C6 is still 1s quicker around the lap over the Roush. I suspect the Roush with all its suspension add-ons would lower the gap but not enough to beat it. The M5 is nearly a whole 4s quicker than the GT500, goes to show BMW's handling on the new M5 is a lot more capable than the GT500's.

It would be nice to see Top Gear put a Saleen on the track, especially the 550BHP version with the sorted suspension but I suspect they won't look at Mustangs again now. Still I'd have thought such a car would manage 1:25 - 1:26 certainly nowhere near Z06 territory but the Z06 is pretty awsome on track but rather pathetic on road.

Goes to show weight is your worst enemy as the Roush has far less HP and Torque over the Shelby GT500 yet it still laps 2s quicker due to weighing nearly 250kg less. I would say suspension components on the Roush helped too but its unknown if it had Roush suspension setup or not.....

Should be good viewing Sunday. :)
 
He did this in his latest DVD didn't he?

The stock one was slower round an oval than a horse.

The Shelby was fast in a straight line but they did nothing to the brakes/suspension so it crumbled in the corners and lost all it's advantage in a straight line over the rousch in the twisty stuff?
 
Alex_6n2 said:
He did this in his latest DVD didn't he?

The stock one was slower round an oval than a horse.

The Shelby was fast in a straight line but they did nothing to the brakes/suspension so it crumbled in the corners and lost all it's advantage in a straight line over the rousch in the twisty stuff?
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Nope this has nothing to do with Clarksons DVD.

It in this upcoming Sundays episode which I believe is the last episode of the current series.

The GT500 does quite well as it does the lap in 1:30 as you will see this Sunday coming. Which puts it quicker than all the cars below 1:30 which you can see in my previous post in this thread. So does that make all those cars crap then too in the handling department?
 
I never said that :)

Just inferred it from what I remember seeing on Clarksons DVD. But then you know what he's like.

Edit: Infact I never even inferred that they handled bad. Just that according to JC, the power boost of the GT500 with no changes to the chassis meant it lost its straight line advantage over the rousch
 
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Alex_6n2 said:
I never said that :)

Just inferred it from what I remember seeing on Clarksons DVD. But then you know what he's like.

Edit: Infact I never even inferred that they handled bad. Just that according to JC, the power boost with no changes to the chassis meant it lost its straight line advantage
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Yeah sorry you right there. :)

Yeah the GT500 suspension setup is poor and its very heavy. Hence why this Sunday the Roush which has 85BHP less and over 100Lb-Ft less still beats it by 2s around the Top Gear circuit. :)
 
Alex_6n2 said:
Aye that's exactly what I was getting at :)

So my bet is on the Rousch ^^
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No need to bet, I've already posted the results from this Sundays show. :p

Roush = 1:28
Shelby GT500 = 1:30
 
Aye but my original post meant my bet went on the rousch too. Mainly due to seeing it beat the GT500 on Jezza's vid. Still it goes to show that it isn't all about straight line speed......... unless you drag race for a living ;)
 
Alex_6n2 said:
Aye but my original post meant my bet went on the rousch too. Mainly due to seeing it beat the GT500 on Jezza's vid. Still it goes to show that it isn't all about straight line speed......... unless you drag race for a living ;)
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HI there

Yep, Ford should have just stuck with the 4.6l ALU engine and re-inforced the internals and supercharged it. That way they could have kept weight down and certainly made it a better car than it is now. :)
 
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