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Originally Posted by AU N EGL
DJ you BUY the Mustang GT500 and find sponsorship for your team and Ford will provied technical & engineering support but no money or free spare parts.
Those GT500 are great looking cars. Sound fantastic too.
Me, I will stick with LG and the Corvette. My second choice would be a Ferrari F430.
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That's fine with me....
Though I wouldn't buy a GT500 GT3 car, would be better to start from scratch and just use GT500 bits from the production line as needed.
Ming -
Why wouldn't it competitive????
The major issue(s) is handling, weight balance and brakes.
Straight line speed is not an issue, even if the front end causes more drag than most of the other cars mentioned, it has more displacement than the F430 or the 997, it can be overcome.
Depending on how much the car weighs after ACO/FIA legal modifications, that would have final say on which displacement I would use. The "Hurricane" - "Boss" engine starts at 6.2L for the Navigator for 2009 and is capable of being punched out to 7.0L which is plenty of GRUNT the Europeans can't match.
With legal engine lowering and set-back, it might not be 50/50 like the Ferrari, but with GT1 tires ala the 997 GT3 I would make the most of I would least guess at 400-500lbs of torque being generated even with tiny restrictors.
The car should crack 190+mph on the run down to Indianapolis.... and a low 7-8K redline with DOHC heads, reliability shouldn't be an issue, as long as cooling is addressed.
Plus the French would go nutz over it and I am sure it would be fan favorite, the Mustang is an icon like the Corvette, but Mustangs can be seen in Norway and Sweden (and I have seen them, classic models), even Germany and the UK, even Top Gear's Richard Hammond has one...
Plus its SIMPLE and not COMPLICATED like most GT cars.
If I wrecked it, I can replace it for 1/3rd the cost of any of the current "hot" cars and have it back on track in 5 days, if that.
In the end, it would be pretty much like the Corvette, I would maximize its strengthens and minimized its weaknesses.
It would be similar to the Panoz currently but without a IRS or 50/50 balance and the Panoz is limited to 5.0L since it used the older Modular engine and Roush/Yates has already carried out development for that displacement.
If I could get a solid rear tire, I don't think handling would be an issue and depending on weight like I said, I'll take the extra weight and just use a larger engine and larger rear tires.
Besides its beaten Porsche 997 GT Cups straight up in Grand Am Cup competition.... In basically "GT4" spec.
Eric De Doncker's Motorsport 98 GT4 WINNING Mustang FR500C and who did he beat?
All the cars mentioned in this thread including the Cayman....