DRIVEN: 2015 Ford Mustang GT

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IN CONCLUSION

Overall the new Mustang has taken a big step toward being a sports car.  The Mustang has always been a car that brought great value and a ton of performance to the masses for an affordable price and this new car is no exception.  To put things into perspective, this was a Mustang GT with a Performance Package that I was comparing to an M3, BMW’s top 3 series model that costs almost twice as much.  The GT Performance Package is more like a Sport Package equipped BMW 435i, which I might add does not have a limited slip differential.  I think it’s awesome that Ford puts even rudimentary LSDs in their base performance cars when BMW refuses to on anything but their M cars.  To have some shortcomings to an M3 is nothing to be ashamed of.  Actually it’s a huge accomplishment for Ford that people are even comparing a Mustang GT to an M3 in the first place, which no one would have thought 15 years ago.

The Mustang probably has the largest aftermarket industry supporting it than any other car in history.  The reason for that is due to the Mustang being a great platform that’s affordable, plentiful, and versatile.  The new 2015 S550 continues that formula by being a great foundation that appeals to hundreds of thousands of different types of buyers with different uses for the car, tastes, and needs.  It’s more of a blank canvas for the owner to make it specifically their own, and this new car is an even better than before.  Since the S197 was transformed to mask its solid axle characteristics and improve handling to the point of being an M3-fighter, I can only imagine how good the S550 will be with a few modifications.  Heck, there’s already a 600+ horsepower supercharger kit out for the GT.  I think owning and modifying a Mustang will be even better than ever.

At the end of the day, the 2015 Mustang is a great car.  With 35 more horses than the last generation Corvette, and beating it to 60 and the quarter mile by 0.4 seconds each, and the 2015 GT with a Performance Package outperforms a BOSS 302 on track are some pretty huge accomplishments.  Since both the BOSS and the BMW M3 are specialty performance versions, it would be more appropriate to compare high performance models like the M3, Z28, 911 GT3 to Ford’s exciting new high performance model, the GT350:

With a 5.2L flat-plane crank V8 pumping out more than 500hp and 400lb-ft of torque, the new GT350 is the largest production FPC V8 in history and Ford’s most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever.  With flared fenders, a wider front track, lower sloping hood, and magnaride suspension, the GT350 checks off every box that I wanted from a performance standpoint and I can’t wait until they start to hit the dealerships!

SOURCES:

BillyJohnsonRacing.com

Gary Yeomans Ford / Lincoln – Daytona Beach, FL