Friday 18th November 2011

LA Show: Ford

Live axle, stick shift and - gasp! - 650hp prove Ford isn't about to surrender muscle car honours to the Germans, or anyone else

---

In your face AMG/GM/Dodge/anyone

Motor show media days are always a bit of a scrum and finding the right person to talk to isn't always easy. But PH struck gold whilst loitering, awestruck, beside the new 650hp Shelby GT500, our designated representative turning out to be none other than Ford Special Vehicle Team chief engineer Jamal Hameedi.

As programme manager for the Ford GT, Hameedi knows his onions when it comes to fast Fords but, it's fair to say, doesn't exactly give much away. Standing next to the lurid blue GT500, all gaping grille-less front end, stripes and bonnet vents it's fair to say his product kind of does all the talking.

And if your jaw still hasn't quite retracted from the floor after reading our news story earlier in the week seeing the GT500 in the flesh is enough to have us singing the Star Spangled Banner and ready to turn our backs on featherweight Lotuses and finely balanced Ferraris. Shock and awe? Nobody does it better.

Go big or go home and all that

Hameedi does come out with some surprising descriptions though. You wouldn't expect the creator of car like this to be dropping words like 'holistic' into the conversation but recent hot Mustangs have been about more than just levering another few hundred horsepower under the bonnet. The Boss 302 Laguna Seca was developed with the specific goal of being quicker round said track than a BMW M3 which, big engine or not, is a fair aim for a live-axled leviathan like the Mustang.

It's still a shock to hear Americans getting all serious about 'ring laptimes but even Hameedi is getting stuck in, not least after record breaking runs by the Viper and serious hot laps in the Camaro ZL1. So, how fast? "Deep in the sevens" is Hameedi's slightly cryptic reply, the 200mph-plus top speed meanwhile a triumph for American muscle versus aerodynamics. Yes it's crude - in parts - and yes it's lewd. But the Boss 302 proves modern day Mustangs are more than just straight-line heroes and if the GT500 makes it to our side of the pond we'll be first in the queue begging to have a go.

[PiB]

When will they ever put in some proper looking track bucket seats?

Edited by PiB on Thursday 17th November 22:37

[Twin Turbo]

Awesome job, Ford, simply awesome.

Slap a set of these on a black and silver one, and I'll be in heaven

[Roo]

PiB said:

When will they ever put in some proper looking track bucket seats?

Why? It's a road car.

[Roo]

ANF11 said:

Live axle in 2011... come on!!

Here we go again.

[Roo]

ANF11 said:

Live axle in 2011... come on!!

Here we go again.

[Mastodon2]

ANF11 said:

Live axle in 2011... come on!!

Didn't the Boss Mustang that beat the M3 around Laguna Seca have a live axle?

[LuS1fer]

Mastodon2 said:

Didn't the Boss Mustang that beat the M3 around Laguna Seca have a live axle?

Shhh...you'll only make them cry.

[Twin Turbo]

Pistonheads "ignorance matters"

[LuS1fer]

ANF11 said:

The one place that a live axle still works, on smooth surfaces, not on the road.

Yeah, like all those 70s rally cars
Mine works just fine - I think people just wish it didn't work because they can't think of any other reason to diss it.
However, I will stand by for the treatise as to why it doesn't work and why a heavier IRS is so superior.

[davepoth]

ANF11 said:

The one place that a live axle still works, on smooth surfaces, not on the road.

Ahem.

[LuS1fer]

Also, correct me if I'm wrong because I'm a bit thick but isn''t a track a sort of twisting road? Hmmmmmm.......

[HD Adam]

ANF11 said:

Live axle in 2011... come on!!

Can I just ask how many of the new 2012/13 Mustangs you have actually driven?

[Skyedriver]

If it was only front wheel drive with a few cup holders and lots of electronic stability stuff it'd be a great car
Should change that silly old lump in the front for a turbo 1400 too.
.
.
.
...
..
tee hee
I want one, love the colour the wheels, the interior, (assuming its not too plasticy). Everything I suspect but the price

[TheBigUnit]

What a car. Straight into the Lotto garage. Can you imagine the noise it must make at full-chat?

[Zed Ed]

Too right

Ignore the live ax nonces just repeating what they hear on Top Gear.

This is an epic car and just imagine what it will sound like.

Tempting.

[will261058]

Lovely car, just need to sell a kidney now!

[Motorrad]

An American car??? I thought they were all rubbish.

Next thing you know they'll make a car that's fun to drive.......

[sc4589]

Skyedriver said:

If it was only front wheel drive with a few cup holders and lots of electronic stability stuff it'd be a great car
Should change that silly old lump in the front for a turbo 1400 too.
.
.
.
...
..
tee hee
I want one, love the colour the wheels, the interior, (assuming its not too plasticy). Everything I suspect but the price

This made me laugh. Approved!

I love it. It's big, bold, brash and badass.

It's also stupid, monstrous and probably uses fuel like it's coming from a fire hydrant.

However... I don't care. It looks amazing, I bet it sounds amazing, it's fast and it looks like it's fast. GIMME!!

[Kawasicki]

The Mustang is a lot narrower than a mondeo. I drove a 2011 Boss around Phillip Island and it was a lot of fun, and pretty quick (as in M3 quick). Yes, the live axle is not a perfect engineering solution, but the car was fun and fast.

[FWDRacer]

'kin love it

Now where did I put that donor card?