[Press] Road Test Classic: Corvette and Mustang

[Rob]

Source: http://motortrend.com/roadtests/classic/112_0402_arc/



Road Test Classic: Corvette and Mustang
Together now, together then

By Matt Stone
Photography by the author
Motor Trend, 2004-02-01 00:00:00
Our February 2004 issue was rare in that it covered the introduction of a new Mustang and a new Vette, both being revealed simultaneously. Yet it's hardly the first time these two domestic dynasties have battled for attention, and it won't be the last.

Our April 1967 issue also put this pair on the cover, though as a heads-up comparison, since both cars were already currently on the market. The Vette was an automatic-equipped 300-horse 327-powered model, and the Shelby GT350 packed a 306-horse small-block, also with an automatic. Their track times were remarkably close, the Mustang nipping the Vette to 60 by a tenth (7.8 seconds versus 7.9) and by just two tenths in the quarter (15.9 sec/90.5 mph versus 16.1 sec/89 mph).

What's interesting is that neither tester represented its nameplate's highest-performance variant offered at the time. (The Corvette could be had with a fuel-injected 327 or one of several big-blocks, including the L-88 427. Shelby also offered the 428-powered GT500, its engine being little different from that in a 427 Cobra.) So it is with the 2005 Corvette and Mustang GT in this issue, as future Z06 and SVT Cobra models are yet to come. Even after nearly 40 years, the Corvette remains a fiberglass-bodied two-seater, and the Mustang is true to its original fastback ponycar formula. Why screw up good things?

Coverage: March 1969





The 2005 Mustang's design team worked hard to mix a modern form and proportions with cues that recall the original ponycar's greatest hits. One of the best is the Boss 302 of 1969-1970.

The new car's round, grille-mounted foglamps clearly evoke those of the 1969 model, and the fastback body style and taillight treatments are familiar, too. This issue's "skyline blurb" asks a question we're once again pondering: "Is It Practical? Diesel Power for Your Car."