It doesn't need to be practical to be a volume car like the 350 was. You just need the right market conditions.

I want a Z that can compete with this Shelby. (nice segue, no?)

Let's get some crazy Gran Turismo tuning in a Z and have it crank 600hp with just bolt-ons :rofl2:

Edit: See, just get the power up, since the IRS in the Z will make it corner better than the SRA in the shelbystang. :rofl2:

Not sure how many 550 HP TT Zs that Nissan can sell for $48k to $60k

Again, you're bringing sales into it. I don't want the car to sell, I want it to fly. :roflpuke2:

I'm trying to veer this back onto the topic of the Shelbystang, though, honestly. That car's a monster. It's not a volume seller for Ford. It's a brute. Probably slightly below a GTR in terms of performance, although I'm open to low ring times if they should pop up.

Sales are a big part in determining if a project like the Shelbystang gets greenlighted. I would love to see an AWD Shelby to see what it can do.

Sales are a part of it, but not just the shelby's sales numbers, but more importantly the halo car effect. Much like Corvettes and GTR's, this is the car that guys salivate over that get them into the showroom, even if their wife is looking for a grocery getter. This is the car that sits there while the guy salivates over it, and his wife buys a focus or edge or what-have-you, over the similarly priced/equipped cruze/sentra or traverse/murano. The Shelby's most important feature is how it looks on paper and how it looks sitting under showroom lights. And eventually an enthusiast with more money than brains (like me, minus the money part) will come swoop it up from its place of resting.

:icon17:

^ indeed :o

They really have ruined the back end of the modern mustang. It used to have such an attractive rear end, when it was younger:


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1105/...40093161_o.jpg

That's what happens when you get old and fat

That happened to almost all the cars. Look at a 240Z compared to a 370. As time goes by cars get bigger and bigger to comply with all the safety regs.

Those damn safety laws. Always screwing up a perfectly good sport car.

Yup. It seems like sports cars weigh at least 1,000 lbs heavier than they did when they were first introduced. The '65 Mustangs ranged from 2400-2800 lbs depending on configuration. The 240Z's were under 2400lbs.

My how the times have changed.

But they had less factory HP too.

My complaint is not directed to the size/weight as much as to the "ugly." It's just not a pretty back end. Although I realize the 60's stangs would never come close to passing modern safety tests, so it's not fair to compare them directly.

Each decade had a different design styles. Out of all the corvettes I like the '50s the most. The mustang did do the best job of getting the retro-modern look right. The camaro looks too much like they took a "future concept" drawling that had been sitting in a draw from the '60s and used it. The challenger went too retro and not enough modern.