Mustang GT-R Concept News

Old 04-04-2004 | 01:16 PM
  #1  
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Mustang GT-R Concept News

Mustang GT-R concept is race ready



By Eric Mayne / The Detroit News

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DEARBORN — In the minds of the motoring public, the Mustang is just a thinly-veiled race car.

So, Ford Motor Co. is using this week’s New York International Auto Show to bare the soul of its Mustang icon with the GT-R, a concept vehicle that celebrates the car’s ties with speed and performance.

“It’s a full-blown racer,” said J Mays, Ford’s group vice president of design. “It has more power than any man has a right to aim down the road.”

Making its debut in the same city where the first Mustang was introduced at the 1964 World’s Fair, the concept car is based on the 2005 production model and hints at what might be seen on the track when race teams get their hands on the new pony car. Ford will begin building the production model in September at AutoAlliance Inc., the Flat Rock plant it shares with Mazda Motor Corp.

The GT-R is also an homage to the imaginations of Mustang owners who can’t resist the temptation to tinker.

“It’s a celebration of things that people have done to Mustang over the years,” Mays said. “Through 40 years, they have just kept taking them and changing them and customizing them and modifying them. So we’re just trying to stoke that fire a little bit before September.”

Fittingly, the concept car is powered by a 500-hp 5.0-liter V-8, which is based on a Ford “crate” engine — so named because it offers high performance in a box. Ford builds and sells the engines for $14,995 each to enthusiasts who want to do their own customizing.

And while the GT-R remains a concept car with outlandish features such as a Formula One-style steering wheel, wide racing tires and a race-proven six-speed transmission, it still has resonance for Mustang fans. More than 85 percent of the GT-R’s body structure comes from the car that will roll off the line with a starting price under $20,000.

The GT-R was built in Troy, Mich., by Saleen Specialty Vehicles, which has its own connection with Mustang. Its California-based parent company, Saleen Inc., is Ford’s largest Mustang customer. It buys and customizes about 1,000 Mustang models annually and resells them at prices ranging from $36,669 to $150,000.

You can reach Eric Mayne at (313)-222-2443 or emayne@detnews.com.
Old 04-04-2004 | 01:22 PM
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pretty nice
Old 04-04-2004 | 02:19 PM
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nice 15000 grand for that engine thats not bad
Old 04-04-2004 | 02:25 PM
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lower the spoiler by one foot and that thing looks like a freakin beast.
Old 04-04-2004 | 03:28 PM
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couldnt they use a name besides GT-R?

Now there will be even more GT-R badges on 90's mustangs
Old 04-05-2004 | 11:28 AM
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I read that at the MT mag and I thought...how come I have not seen anything about this on line yet. Then I log in here and there it is
Old 04-05-2004 | 08:01 PM
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hail to the victors
 
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wow that's the best looking mustang ever
Old 04-05-2004 | 08:30 PM
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Mustang returns to road-racing, 5.0-litre roots with Mustang GT-R Concept - - - Posted by: kak on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 04:15 PM CET
Old 04-06-2004 | 07:40 AM
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I like!
Old 04-06-2004 | 08:53 AM
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Very nice but that wing...
Old 04-06-2004 | 04:19 PM
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Originally posted by Chaptorial
Very nice but that wing...
Ditto
Old 10-20-2004 | 01:38 AM
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Any Lady Want One??? :-P
 
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2005 or so Mustang GTR




Old 10-20-2004 | 03:11 AM
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spec???
Old 10-20-2004 | 03:59 AM
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I'm too lazy to find the thread, but it's around, somewhere. Not sure if it got moved to Automotive News, but I know it's around.

Hot car, however.
Old 10-20-2004 | 09:08 AM
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repost from 2003

jk it was proly 2004
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