Where do I begin …
I've been a Ford fan since I was born, worked for Ford Corporate, worked for a Ford dealership, and my family has only ever driven Ford vehicles, aside from BMW's (preceded by Audi's). I had a 2011 Mustang GT California Special … good car, lots of fun, but not fast enough. My dad currently drives a 2014 Mustang GT with the Brembo brake and Track packages (basically a Boss 302 since they don't make them anymore). With a 6-speed and 3.73 rear end, his car is even more fun. I also owned a 2007 GT500 Shelby with more mods than I can remember, resulting in a car that produced 725 hp at the crank, sat on fully adjustable suspension, and could be heard from a mile away. That car was fun!
The new GT350 is designed to be the track weapon alternative to a Camaro Z/28. The car looks amazing in my opinion and will surely do well. The outgoing GT500 produced 662 hp from a purpose-built, fairly exotic and technologically advanced (for American car standards) 5.8L 351 V8. There is no way in heck that Ford's "pinnacle" Mustang will produce "only" "around" 500 hp. The reason I lay that out is in terms of price - the GT350 will likely be around $50-55k depending on options (navigation, track package) and the next generation GT500 will maintain it's $60k+ price tag. Ford cannot take the price of the Mustang's too high because then they stop competing with Camaro's and start competing with Corvette's, which is likely comparing apples and oranges. You can't put a car that glorifies rental car fleets against a purpose built sports car. And with the Challenger Hellcat producing 707 hp, the new GT500 will be up around 700 hp for sure. Shelby American in Las Vegas (the actual Shelby shop) takes the current cars up to 1000 hp, so the 5.8 motor is capable of so much more.
I am a huge BMW fan as well and plan on getting a M3/4 in the next year or so as my daily driver. I am leaning toward the M3 for practicality sake but if I wanted a coupe, how could I not look at the GT350 as faster (dare I say) competitor for probably $10-15k less?!
Sorry if my post was all over the place
