Will there will be a run on S197 cars shortly?

[MrAwesome987]

The glass roof would be the hardest thing for me to give up, I love it.

Same here. It's literally the thing I was looking for when I bought mine. I'd love to find a glass roof 09 GT manual in white. That, to me, is the perfect combo for these cars.

 

[stevbd]

ask and receive: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2009-ford-mustang-22/

 

[eighty6gt]

I liked the GT350R I drove, and I also liked the v6 vert S550 I had on vacation once, _because_ it had no roof. I was on Kauai, Hawaii - made all the difference.

I think I'd bore quickly of the 350 in real life. Very difficult to use the power and capabilities on the street. My friend has a ZL1 1LE, similarly ugly to the 350 but much friendlier. Similar cost, also.

I am sticking with my '08. Lots of project-y stuff to go that is not that expensive, like hand building the rest of the 3" exhaust.

 

[MrAwesome987]

ask and receive: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2009-ford-mustang-22

Yeah... You have no idea how bad I want that lol

 

[WJBertrand]

Stick axle cars would be a non starter in Europe..hence the IRS. That, plus europeans are all driving audi, porshce, bmw, jag etc. Steering wheel on right side in the UK, and Japan, and several other countries. The S550 was designed to be built with either left or right side drive, IRS. IE: world wide platform...with loads of power. I doubt you will see too many S550 mustangs in Europe with blower's added, but I may be wrong.

I have a friend in England with an S197. There are a number of them there that were self imported somehow. Anyway he was a bit disappointed the new S550s were coming with right hand drive from Ford. He and his friends kind of view the left hand drive as more "authentic" if you will.

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

A curb weight of 3700lb would be considered fairly average these days. There are several "sports cars" that weigh in at 4000+lb, but then they also have 500+hp. I agree that they should really be called powerful grand tourers (GT cars).
IMO a true sports car should be light and nimble. If it's light enough, it can still have blistering acceleration with "only" 300hp.
At ~3500lb, the S197 3V GT wasn't light enough to be proper sports car, 300hp was barely adequate to make it a muscle car, and a solid rear axle was crude technology in an era of more sophisticated independent rear wheel drive systems, but none of that really matters. You can drive it and fantasize about being a movie hero such as Steve McQueen (Bullitt), Nicolas Cage (GISS), or Keanu Reeves (John Wick) behind the wheel.
It was conceived to capture the soul of Gen 1 '65-'70 Mustangs in a more modern chassis equipped with enough creature comforts to make daily driving a pleasure, while the 4.6 3V had the soundtrack to plaster a big grin on your face when you hit the gas. In that respect, Ford nailed it. As always, Ford deliberately underdeveloped certain aspects of the car to keep the sticker price down, and the aftermarket was only too happy to develop a plethora of parts for owners to conceive their own masterpiece from a blank canvas. You could even decide which movie hero you wanted to be and modify the car accordingly.

Technically the definition of a sports car is a 2-seater, 2-door passenger coupe or at least it used to be anyhow

I know what you're trying to say here, and for the most part I agree. What I do have to note is that 3500 lbs runs contrary to any notion of a true sports car, which for me has always been a minimalist lightweight machine whose handling would be described as 'nimble' rather than 'ponderous' or even the milder description 'deliberate'. As good as the S197 is for putting up the numbers, it's still in the 'deliberate' category compared to Miatas, BRZs, and the traditional sports roadsters of the past.



It was just easier to deal with that one particular aspect than try to chase down information on things like chassis stiffness.

You'll probably have to excuse me for not even thinking about things like "improved quality interior materials" and "modern bells and whistles", because I tend to hardly even notice the first and I don't have any need for the second. There's stuff on my '08 that I've never even peeked at, and probably a ton of stuff on the WRX that I'll never know exists there.



Works for me.


Norm

I really don't have the need nor use for modern bells and whistles either. In fact, not even the shaker 500 is used very often, as I much prefer listening to the engine and exhaust lol.

In traditional terms, the C8 has a better-than-decent claim on 'Exotic' status. At least 'near-exotic' even by current standards.


Norm

And the cheapest for a near exotic starting at 60k MSRP for a base C8

 

[Midlife Crises]

a sports car is a 2-seater,

That’s what I always thought. A sports car is a to seater built with spirited driving in mind. The Mustang says GT right on it.

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

That’s what I always thought. A sports car is a to seater built with spirited driving in mind. The Mustang says GT right on it.

GT stands for Grand Touring, but I believe your fully aware of that anyhow lol.

 

[dark steed]

Yeah... You have no idea how bad I want that lol

Now if it was also a GT/CS I would want it worse than you! Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MrBhp]

Anytime I hear "Sports Car" this song comes to mind. And every time I hear this song, I think back to two doors, no top, engine singing, and wind in my hair.

 

[Green Mamba]

I really don't consider the Mustang a Sport Car as much as a Pony Car, the tag name it coined. Since it comes in so many flavors from 6's to V8's, Pony Car seems to fit better. V8 models are more a Performance Car than a Sport Car IMHO. But overall they are mostly a Fun Car. My S-197 is here to stay, still gets plenty of Fairly low mileage for it's age and it looks great sitting next to my '67 Fastback. So unless Richard Rawlins shows........

 

[06 T-RED S/C GT]

The S197 cars were the last of the raw, no nonsense Pony Cars that were affordable and offered the best bang for the buck. The current S550 models are by far more refined, more sophisticated and nearly twice the cost over a 2005 GT premium when new. Although the current S550 models aren't considered as true sports cars, they're nevertheless approaching sports car/sports coupe territory and becoming more and more distanced from the Mustang's original Pony Car roots.

 

[BlackGT450]

I'm with ya on that. I love old cars and I find the cheap/retro themed interiors of the 05-9 to be charming To all of you saying there's plenty of 05-09 cars out there, I don't know where you're seeing them because I don't see them in Tampa or Orlando (two large cities). S550's are a dime a dozen on the road, but I rarely see an S197, and when I do, it looks like it just came back from Vietnam

I am in the Tampa area and I would completely agree with your statement. I see S550s everywhere and a few of the 2011+ S197s but it is super rare to see an 05 - 09 GT in beautiful shape like mine is... but then I suppose mine is in the garage most the time also so hardly anyone ever sees it.

Cars get worn so anyone that's daily driven a 05-09 car until now it's going to look old. The nice ones are sitting in someone's garage and only get out every now and then.

 

[BlackGT450]

ask and receive: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2009-ford-mustang-22/

Glass roof that's awesome. I had no idea this even existed.

 

[Robert302]

IMO, I think there will be a tighter market for the 05-09 cars due to the styling resembling the cars of yesteryear. Not so much for the 10-14 cars because those are fat and ugly. I was disappointed when the redesign in 2010 went in a different direction and haven't cared for them since. I also realize that I'm in a small minority who only cares about 65-69 and 05-09 cars due to their styling/design heritage. Most people only care about powah, powah, powah anyway so the 11-14 cars will have their day in the sun too. The key will be finding a 1-2 owner car with less than 50k miles and not rusted. Too many people beat the shit outta these cars and unless you have real knowledge and a trained eye, you'll get duped into buying a visual queen with whore internals....meaning she looks great, but she's severely worn out.

Good luck with the above, I have a 14 I bought new and beat the snot out of it almost daily. It's a 5.0 coyote car, I have 100k miles on it and drive the shit out of it. Most people don't buy these cars to put in and only drive occasionally. I don't care because I'm not selling my car anyway I plan to run it till it blows up then build a new engine. I just want to offer some insight to those of us who buy them new and keep them. The people who do baby them and keep the miles down are only worried about resale value and plan to trade the car to the 2nd owner who will do as I have.

 

[tjm73]

Good luck with the above, I have a 14 I bought new and beat the snot out of it almost daily. It's a 5.0 coyote car, I have 100k miles on it and drive the shit out of it. Most people don't buy these cars to put in and only drive occasionally. I don't care because I'm not selling my car anyway I plan to run it till it blows up then build a new engine. I just want to offer some insight to those of us who buy them new and keep them. The people who do baby them and keep the miles down are only worried about resale value and plan to trade the car to the 2nd owner who will do as I have.

My Dad calls this "keeping it nice for the next guy".

 

[Juice]

Why not "keeping it nice for yourself"?
I try to keep my shit nice for me!

 

[Forty61]

Why not "keeping it nice for yourself"?
I try to keep my shit nice for me!

My ‘08 got hit with some hail, that was the tipping point for me. I still try to keep it clean (black car, outside, yeah right.) but man, letting go of having to keep it immaculate or preserved made it easier to just focus on enjoying it.

 

[Juice]

My ‘08 got hit with some hail, that was the tipping point for me. I still try to keep it clean (black car, outside, yeah right.) but man, letting go of having to keep it immaculate or preserved made it easier to just focus on enjoying it.

Shit does happen. That is why when we were looking for a new house, a garage was a must have.
Having a daily beater I dont care about is also nice, so trust me, I understand. My 91 is black.

 

[Pentalab]

I still try to keep it clean (black car, outside, yeah right.) but man, letting go of having to keep it immaculate or preserved made it easier to just focus on enjoying it.

Exactly why I gave up on car shows. 6-8 hrs of prep work..for what ? My 2010 is black..and stays..'clean' for about 5-6 days.