Do you think SVT will strike gold with the new supercharged, 390HP 2003 Mustang Cobra

[Unit 5302]

Well, in the past GM has waited for Ford to release some specs and then released something a little better. We'll have to see if they follow suit with the Corvette, but with not much else using the LS1, it will be pretty hard to justify R&D expenses for JUST the Corvette.

[89 Cobra LX]

Originally posted by Unit 5302
I haven't been reading this thread, behold my suprise when I start and see so many ridiculous posts.

Thanks for adding yours.

[Dark_5.0]

Originally posted by Unit 5302
If this new Cobra Special will run 35k, that will be great. Unfortunately, in standard Ford stupidity they have sacrificed meeting demand so they can keep resale on the special model high. Interestingly enough, the SVT site didn't make a distinction between the Cobra and the Cobra special.

A supercharged DOHC Cobra will OWN a Corvette (excluding the special model Z06 including it is like saying a Ford Escort Cosworth was an Escort). In the 0-60, in the 1/4mile, just about everywhere in the performance categories. To say the Corvette will compete is ludicrious. It's easy to see who the GM fans are. The people in the LS1 trance. Perhaps if you pray to the alumium LS1 god, he will send you the additional 50hp+ you will need to compete with the Cobra, if by some miracle Ford is rating it correctly?

The specifications I just got from the SVT site are 390hp, and 390lb/ft. Those are serious numbers, and way more than the current LS1 puts out. Way more. 390hp will be underrated anyway. An intercooled 8psi supercharger on the DOHC engine is going to make for massive power increases. Just like the Cobra R made 385hp

I guess by some people's logic the Cobra competes with the $80k Viper and the $50k Corvette/Z06, LOL. So what did the SS compete with? The Viper and Corvette as well? Perhaps the Neon R/T competes with the Viper and Corvette too because it is the top option in it's model? 2 Seat Roadster vs 2+2 Coupe/Convertable. The Mustang is practical, the Corvette and the Viper are toys. The GT-40, if released, will compete with the Viper and the Corvette.

I haven't been reading this thread, behold my suprise when I start and see so many ridiculous posts.

Why is it anything other than your opinion is ridiculous

Your envy of the LS1 is apparent in every post that mentions GM.

[Dark_5.0]

[

[CactusHugger11]

its nice to see ford finally decide to make a high powered car. its too bad they have to use a super charger to do that but you cant have everything. anther good thing is that they are finally going to a 6 speed transmission instead of the outdated 5 speed. as far as owning a vette?? nope. the new vettes will still beat a cobra, especially a z06. and think about what would happen if you threw a super charger on a vette. but im still looking forward to the new cobras, and i think they will be a huge success if the price is right especially since the f-bodies are going into hibernation.

[1BAD89]

Check this out. http://forums.stangnet.com/showthrea...hreadid=118343

[Mercury]

In order to meet emissions standards now a days it seems that you almost have to add a blower to make power. Plus alot of states and counties now adays are having Emmision testing as part of the inspection proccess. And not to many people have friends that can help out with passing a vehicle that cant pass the sniffer test.

You can build some good power out of the 4.6 with the aftermarket thats available with out the aid of Turbo's or SuperChargers. With the few Cams, intakes, and worked over PI heads (And now aftermarket Cobra heads) selection there is, you can have yourself a powerfull 4.6. While its not exactly cheap, give it time.

I know I'm going to burn for this, but I'm looking for a set of cams for my 4.6, and I dont give much of a damn about emissions. On a side note, I've had people yell and scream at me while riding in my old stang, calling me Tree Killer, Destroyer of Mother Nature, Earth Killer, all kinds of nice things. I just give them the bird and go on my marrie Tree killing, mothernature slaying, Global warming, self.

As for "Having to use a superCharger", its the easiest, sure fire way to build power and still maintain realiablitly, driveability, and consistancy. And with the way the general public is now..Even so much as a Hic-up from a car will have them screaming all kinds of Warranty fixes, Lemon law quotes, and Lawsuits.

Although I personnaly would like to see the 5.4 offered on a regular bassis, or the 4 cam 4.6. But I'm happy with my 2 Valve 4.6.

I'm with unit on this one, I think the Cobra Special will own the standard vette in performance.

And yes, the Z06's do go for an ungodly price around here.

[CactusHugger11]

"Thats right boys and girls, those dudes at GM are bringing back the 427!!!
A factory installed, Lingenfelter built 427 pushing out an ungodly 520 hp / 520 lb torque! Its all NA too. "

All I can say is wow. I am glad to see that the cobra is finally getting some real power (even if it is from a supercharger) but 520 HP NA is just outrageous for an American production car. I dont think cobras will be able to compete with vettes in performance. Like the wise man said there is no replacement for displacement. 4.6 vs. 7.0. I'll take the 7.0. Of course I know all of you will be screaming about the big price difference which is a valid point. But heres what it comes down to. If youve got the money go with the vette. Otherwise the cobra makes a great substitute but can never be as good as the vette when you compare apples to apples. But look out Viper. The vette is gonna give the Viper a serious run for its money. Overall Im not trying to bash any cars. I love American made muscle cars and I am glad that they are really beginning to have some serious muscle in them.

[Unit 5302]

I've seen 1 mention of the 520hp L88 special edition Corvette. I spent a good hour searching the web for ANY information. The Z06 will make between 405-425, and the standard Corvette will make 360-370hp. That's for the 2003 model year anyway. From everything I've seen the C6 will be a 2004 model, and the ONLY site that listed the L88 option also said the C6 would be delayed until the 2005 model year.

Dark 5.0, it's people like you that make me glad I'm smart.

89 Cobra LX, I apologize greatly for interjecting any logical thoughts, arguments, or ideas. I will let you get back to your world of blissful ignorance.

[1BAD89]

You have to ask yourself how much truth is in that information? No-one knows for a fact, but you would think for the 50th anniver. they should have something "special". And if Lingenfelter is going to make the 427's, you know there is going to be a very limited edition available at a higher than normal cost. His engines go for like $15,000+.

[Dark_5.0]

[

Dark 5.0, it's people like you that make me glad I'm smart.


Is that the best you could do, What a let down

You are confused when it comes to car performance.

The 03 cobra will not only compete with the Z06 and viper but it will also compete with anything else that pulls beside it. For the simple reason that car performance is tested on the track.

For some reason you think all the cars at the track are stock...and you spout out things like LS1 owners will have to pray to the gods for 50 horses to compete witht the new cobra.

Most of the LS1's that drag race run 11's and 12's and many of the Z06';s and vipers are in the tens there are at least 50 5.0's running 11's or better at my track.

There is nothing more frustrating than killing an LS1 in the 1/8th mile and then see him fly by you going 108mph.

There are certain vehicles that are just fast and deserve respect.

Grand nationals
LS1's
Modular cobras
V-8 swapped S-10's

None of us will probably ever get to see the new cobra on the track anyways cause of its low production #'s

[302 LX Eric]

Excuse my laziness for not reading through 4 pages again or excuse my forgetfulness, but are there going to be only 1,000 '03 Cobra's made?

E

[89 Cobra LX]

Originally posted by Unit 5302
89 Cobra LX, I apologize greatly for interjecting any logical thoughts, arguments, or ideas. I will let you get back to your world of blissful ignorance.

LMAO!

Logical? How about this for logic... If GM wanted to step up to the plate, all they would need to do is add a blower from the factory. What would that be? At least 450 HP (and I'm not talking about the Z06 or any other special edition). Then guess what, the Cobra will be behind again for the next 10 years.

After my initial excitement for the 2003 Cobra, I'm now a bit disappointed. The performance is now where it should be, but I wish they would've accomplished this naturally aspirated. I think Ford will eventually have to add a little displacement to the current Mustang engine size if they want to compete with GM. Or, hope GM decides to reintroduce the 283, 305 or the 327.

Sorry, Unit, not trying to start a flame war here. Just something else for you to consider.

[TJR]

Excuse my laziness for not reading through 4 pages again or excuse my forgetfulness, but are there going to be only 1,000 '03 Cobra's made?

I think they're going to build somewhere between 5 - 6,000 new Cobra's.

[TJR]

There's an article somewhere that talks about the production numbers, but I can't find it. A few people on the Corral said 10,000 will be produced.

[StangFlyer]

That production figure should be in the ball park based on past production numbers of the Cobra.

[Unit 5302]

Dark 5.0, although you have apparently witnessed the modifed cars at the track, most stay very near stock on the street. Not everybody likes to void the warranty on their $30,000 investment right after getting it. Still more don't just because their new $30k car can beat almost anything they run up against, while in stock form. Interesting that you left the 5.0 out of the cars to be respected. Don't kid yourself about the low production numbers on the Cobra. It would appear to me that the standard Cobra will have a supercharged 390hp engine, not a Cobra special. Your insistance that the Corvette and the Viper compete directly with the Mustang shows your lack of knowledge and ability to create a valid argument. Please allow me to explain this to you so that you may better understand. I'm talking about the guy who walks into purchase the car. Is a person who needs 4 seats going to look at the Mustang Cobra, or the Viper? They are completely different cars, and their target markets are much different. By the way, it wasn't worth my time to create some brutal comeback for you. I don't really like destroying good topics anyway

89 Cobra LX, your point is? Do you know anything about the 4.6L DOHC? Apparently not, or you'd know that the 4.6L equipped with a blower puts out more power than the LS1 equipped with a blower. Coulda, woulda, shoulda... If Dodge decided to step up to the plate, they could supercharge the Viper. Or if Toyota wanted to step up to the plate, they could turbocharge the Camry. Or maybe if Chevy wanted to step up, they could drop the Corvette altogether and replace it with a turbo V-8 Metro. Ford could step up to the plate and begin production of the 720hp GT-90 with it's 6.0L V-12. The Cobra's DOHC engine is more tame than you know. It's not even working to make it's 340hp (RWHP of 280, suggests it's really making 340). There is no need to consider your interjections as they are purely founded in fantasy. Ford has decided to bring forth this supercharged Cobra, GM has killed the model that they would counter the Cobra with. Honestly, I really doubt Ford isn't aiming the Cobra at the Corvette. More likely, they're just trying to keep it ahead of the Lightning. As far as the Cobra being faster than the Corvette, I'm pleased and very suprised to see that it will be.

[91GTturbo]

I really get so tired of hearing people(especially the GM crowd) say it's too bad Ford had to put a supercharger on the cobra to make that kind of power.

Do any of us have any pull with Ford? NO

Ford choose several years ago to begin putting 4.6's in mustangs, not 5.0's, 5.8's 5.4's or what ever.

And I especially like when the GM crowd says well lets put a supercharger on an LS1 and see what kind of power it makes. Fords motors have typically been low compression, meaning 9.5:1 or lower. GM's motors are usually 10:1 or higher. Imagine how much more power a regular cobra would be if it was 10.5:1 like the LS1.

Now lets slap a blower on the 10.5:1 LS1 motor. How much boost can you make without destroying the motor, maybe 10 lbs with the best tune possible, most in the 6-8 lb range.

The cobra has 8.5:1 and runs 8 lbs from the factory. This thing could easily handle 15 lbs of boost with a conservative tune. If the power is as advertised, which I think it will, you add a full exhaust, smaller pulley, more gear, and a chip and a stock Z06 has meet it's match, even a lightly modded one.

I scan the net regularly to see what others are saying, and alot of the GM crowd is scared of this thing, they just want admit it. All I hear is excuses about the supercharger being cheating or they continue to refer to the 99' cobras lack of advertised power in hopes that the new cobra will be the same, at least they hope it will.

[PKRWUD]

Originally posted by Mercury:
I know I'm going to burn for this, but I'm looking for a set of cams for my 4.6, and I dont give much of a damn about emissions. On a side note, I've had people yell and scream at me while riding in my old stang, calling me Tree Killer, Destroyer of Mother Nature, Earth Killer, all kinds of nice things. I just give them the bird and go on my marrie Tree killing, mothernature slaying, Global warming, self.

If it makes you feel any better, trees thrive on automotive exhaust emissions. If you are a "gross polluter", you are actually doing more for the trees on this planet than your emissions friendly counterpart. if they give you a hard time, you can accurately tell them that you are actually saving trees.

posted by CactusHugger11:
I dont think cobras will be able to compete with vettes in performance. Like the wise man said there is no replacement for displacement. 4.6 vs. 7.0. I'll take the 7.0.

The one thing people seem to be forgetting is exactly what it is that a blower does. It increases displacement. Period. A 4.6L that acheives 9.65 pounds of boost, at sea level, will have exactly 7.0 liters displacement. Advantage: Ford. Why? Because the Ford will have the lighter weight and better economy of the 4.6, but on demand, will have the displacement of a 7.0. Meanwhile, the GM 7.0 will always be 7.0. When stuck in traffic, or going shopping, or dropping the wife off at the hairdresser, it will be a large, oversized engine, with lousy fuel mileage.

I'm still glad the idea is being discussed, but think about the pros and cons before you make up your mind. IMHO, a supercharged 4.6 is the smart choice.

Take care,
-Chris

[CactusHugger11]

i dont think anyone buys a v8 sports car because they get good gas mileage. and what would happen if you supercharged the 7.0??? youd have an absolute rocket.