Let’s think back just a couple
of years….I remember how much Ford and their engineers boasted when they were
developing the 2012 BOSS 302 Mustang.
During early on track testing their goal was to beat the BMW M3 and if
you remember, after the Boss 302’s first track time, without much engine tuning
or suspension refining, they smashed the times of the M3. That was an awesome
accomplishment and the Ford engineers and test drivers said what now?? Who is
our competition……..what’s our goal now?
Fast
forward just a couple of years and Ford is set to unveil a new Mustang….this
time it’s getting serious. If you have
been following the all-new 2015 Mustang talk and internet buzz, you should know
that Ford has once again boasted that the new 2015 Mustang GT (with track-pack)
is promised to be faster "on-track" than the 2012 BOSS 302. Okay, if it is.....that will be very impressive!! Most of the newly promised on track quickness
will more than likely come of the new independence rear suspension that will
make its debut on the 2015 Mustang. We
can only imagine that the handling on this already quick coupe will raise some
eyebrows when they glance at the stopwatches.
So, exactly
what will the 2015 Mustang GT's target be this time? The Porsche 911, the Jaguar
F-Type, or the new BMW M4??? If
not one of these then what? I recently read
another blog post where the author was saying that the 2015 Mustang would be
moving up and punching in a different weight class, well the new Pony had
better be hitting the weight room or “juicing up” as they say, because the
class of cars being mentioned in the same sentence are packing some massive
punches! But I must warn you, if you
choose to look at bang for the buck as your gauge, go ahead and get the 2015
Mustang before you read any further because the price tag on the other cars
being mentioned will give you a big time case of sticker shock!
Let’s look at a few for comparison;
2015 Porsche 911 Targa 4S, 3.8L Flat Six Cylinder, 400HP, and 0-60 time
of 4.2 sec, approx. base $116,000
2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe, 5.0L, Supercharged
V8, 550HP, and 0-60 time of 4.0sec, approx. base $90,000
2015 BMW M4, 3.0L, Twin-Turbo Inline Six Cylinder, 425HP, and 0-60 time
of 4.0 sec, approx. base $70,000
Now I know what you are saying……Wow,
at an MSRP of $33,000 for the 2015 Mustang GT (most likely as tested closer to $40,000), I can buy two or more for the price
of the cars on this list, and you would be correct. But you have to consider the quality and craftsmanship
in each brand and as with all things, the brand status!
I think that as long as Ford has been producing
the Mustang they have certainly continued to build on the knowledge and
expertise that has kept this pony car trotting at a good pace.
Yes this year Ford is celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the iconic Mustang and that’s a big deal, but some folks may ask
why? I hear people say “It’s just
another car…..what’s all the fuss about?”
Any vehicle manufacturer that can say they have produced one model for 50
years or more is quite an accomplishment.
After all this milestone has not been reached by very many automotive
companies.
I’m willing to bet that after the dust settles on
all the reviews and first drives that the critics will once again be raving
about the little pony car that Mr. Ford and Mr. Iacocca brought to life.
Soon enough we will know the
question that everyone is asking, just how good is the 2015 Mustang going to
be?
Times are a changing and I don’t mean the Bob Dylan song
from the 60’s, I’m talking about the Zero to 60 times of the cars on the road
today.
Let me ask you a serious question……have you looked closely
at the times of how fast cars are today?
I’m not talking about the high-dollar exotics that fetch
millions. Some of the average daily
driver type cars on the road today are laying down some serious numbers in the
Zero to 60 and the quarter mile categories.
Lyrics in the song put it this way:
The line it is drawn, The curse it is
cast, The slow one now, Will later be fast
As the present now, Will later be past,
The order is, Rapidly fadin',
And the first one now, Will later be last, For the times they
are a-changin'.
The
slow one now, will later be fast may have given us a hint of
what he was talking about in the catchy little tune, but some have suggested
the meaning of this song was simply the faster moving culture and the paradigm
shift that was occurring during the 1960’s.
You can listen to the song and decide for yourself, but I’m about to
enlighten you as to the blinding speeds on the street today.
Volvo has a new 4 door car set to hit the streets in 2015
that blew me away with its stats. The
2015 Volvo S60 T6 Drive-E sedan boasts about its twin forced induction and
rightly so, it comes equipped with a turbo and
a superchager! If that did not get your
attention then please keep listening……it has a 2.0 liter direct injection four
cylinder engine that puts out 302 HP and 296 ft. lbs. of torque. But wait for the punch line…….Car and Driver
magazine tested this car at 0-60mph of 5.4 sec. and a ¼ mile track time of 14.0
sec. flat @ 102 mph! By the way this car
as tested was just under $48,000, so we are not breaking the bank here too bad.
(photo courtesy of Motor-trend)
Let’s see how this car stacks up against some well-known bad
boys who ruled the streets just a few years ago (you will be surprised at the
numbers*)
Dodge Challenger R/T
426 Hemi (1970) Zero to 60 = 5.4 sec.
Porsche 928 GTS 5.4
liter V8 (1991) Zero to 60 = 5.4 sec.
Ford Mustang 428 Cobra
Jet 7.0 liter V8 (1968) Zero to 60 = 5.5 sec.
Mitsubishi 3000 GT
(1992) Zero to 60 = 5.5 sec.
Chevy Camaro SS 396
Coupe/4-spd (1967) Zero to 60 = 5.6 sec.
Nissan Skyline R32 GTR
(1990) Zero to 60 = 5.6 sec.
*all
times from www.autosnout.com
Okay I hope that puts things into perspective as to just how
impressive the Volvo’s stats are….and remember I limited my list to cars under
6 sec. Trust me there were plenty of
fast cars that were slightly over 6 sec. that I will save the embarassment!
I just read where its rumored that Ford’s answer to the
newly released 2015 Dodge Challenger HellCat’s stats of 707 HP at 204mph, is going
to be a 2016 Shelby GT500 Mustang at 750 HP, but I guess time will tell if
those rumors are true...it does make you ask the question, “Where does it end”?
(photo courtesy of Motor-trend)
In case you were curious at the new Challengers stats, it
has an estimated time of Zero to 60 in 3.5 sec. and a ¼ mile time estimated at
10.8 sec. @ 126 mph.
With soaring performance, the F-TYPE R Coupe offers outstanding
levels of dynamic capability and control. Its 5.0 liter supercharged V8 engine
produces 550 horsepower, accelerating from 0-60 mph in just 4.0 seconds.3 The
F-TYPE R features an Electronic Active Differential, Jaguar Super Performance
Braking System, and Sport Suspension with Adaptive Dynamics.4
MSRP
From $99,000
Includes F-TYPE Coupe S standard features, plus:
o550 hp V8
Supercharged
o
o186 mph top speed3
o
o20 inch Gyrodyne
Silver alloy wheels
o
oJaguar Super
Performance Braking System with Red calipers
o
oSport suspension
with Adaptive Dynamics4
o
oSwitchable Active
Sport Exhaust with quad exhaust pipes
o
oConfigurable
Dynamics System
o
oElectronic Active
Differential with Torque Vectoring by braking
o
oPerformance seats
with leather facings and ‘R’ embossing
o
o3-spoke leather
flat-bottomed steering wheel with Ignis gear shift paddles
o
oDark Technical
Weave Aluminum console trim with ‘R’ graphic
o
oConfigurable
Ambient Interior Lighting with selectable palette
o
oDual Zone Climate
Control
o
oReverse Parking
Sensors4
o
oClimate Pack with
heated seats and heated steering wheel
o
oGarage Door Opener
o
oHD Radio™ and
Sirius Satellite Radio®
o
oMeridian™ 770W
Audio System
F-TYPE ENGINES AND PERFORMANCE
Power, agility and performance in a pure Jaguar
sports car.
It’s
been said that the third times a charm and I have to say this statement is very
true. I got the invite to attend the launch
party and unveiling of an all-new vehicle at Century (Jaguar Huntsville, AL). It was time for the F-Type roadster to meet
his older and more powerful big brother…..the 2015 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe. Century had just received two coupes for this
debut event and they were the stars of the evening. You could even say they were like celebrities
because everyone wanted a photo of the cars and then one with each car.
The
showroom was milling with 40-50 guests including several members from the North
Alabama British Motoring Society. The
buzz in the showroom from many of the car enthusiast was how much this car
resembled the classic E-Type from the 1960’s with its long nose and flowing
bubble rear end. (Trust me looks are where the comparisons stopped)
(Jaguars Hydroforming Lightweight Aluminum make this Coupe 80% more rigid than the Convertible)
As
the evening progressed guests were welcomed by General Manger-Century
Automotive Group, George Jones as he mingled with old friends and familiar repeat
customers. They could be overheard
reminiscing about the cars they had driven and current experiences they had
shared. As always the guest were treated
to food and drink as they strolled around the showroom taking in all the sights
and sounds of this new beast that
Jaguar was ready for the world to see.
During each of these events the Jaguar Huntsville salesmen are on hand
to answer any questions you have or sign you up for a test ride in one of the
many new cars on sale.
I've already read many of the early reviews and write-ups of this new car and I've heard words like; fearsome, loud, fast, intense, a turn-on, smooth, powerful, and
even sexy, so I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I was told that I was
going to get to experience driving this finely tuned machine for myself!
The
following week I was invited back down to the dealership to judge for myself if
the car could live up to these lofty terms being used to describe Jaguars new
coupe. Recent ads running on TV and the
internet used the catch phrase “It’s Good
to be Bad” and the villains boast about driving Jaguars……well it was time
for me to be bad and drive like a villain!
As
I pushed the start button on the Ultimate Black 2015 F-Type R Coupe to begin my
test drive I knew something special was about to happen. The exhaust note was even more powerful when
you are sitting behind the wheel……it begs you to blimp the throttle, and I was
ready to oblige!
Seriously this car revs
like a street bike and turns heads at every red-light. I opted to keep the active switchable exhaust
mode in “Sport” for my test spin (or should I call it test flight?). I overheard one of the salesmen talking about
how Ducati engineers had tuned the exhaust on this car which now explains the
powerful and unique sound it produced at will.
It was like music to my ears as it snarled, gurgled and popped as if it
was a ferocious lion waiting to pounce on any victim within striking distance.
(Did I mention that the Super Performance Brakes had 15" rotors?)
As
I hit the road I immediately noticed the comfortable ride this sport coupe
possessed which surprised me due to the fact that this is Jaguars most powerful
model ever. Usually the terms comfort
and most powerful don’t’ go together but Jaguar has seamlessly blended those in
this new car. The steering response was
quicker than any car I've ever driven and it felt as if you were on one of
those slot tracks that you raced your RC cars on as a kid……it ran like as if on
a rail. If you pushed it, the
acceleration and torque was seriously scary
and I loved every minute of it. Just
being in control of this much power and commanding the car to go where you
wanted was almost like flying a jet fighter.
All I needed was my Tom Cruise aviators and some Top Gun theme music playing on the Meridian 12 speaker, 16 channel Class D DSP amplified entertainment system!
Just to make sure I was taking full advantage of the experience, I
quickly adapted to the use of the steering wheels mounted paddle shifters. I felt like a Formula 1 driver blazing down
the streets of Monaco, but I came to my senses and switched on the fly back to
the automatic mode and never missed a beat.
Because
this car has just hit the showrooms, it was turning heads everywhere…..even the
soccer moms in mini vans stopped to see
what and who had just blasted by them.
The Black Bullitt as I coined
it was pure joy to drive and the only negative experience I had was having to
get out of it and turn the key fob back in.
Let
me give the technical crowd all the specs of the two cars on display at
Century;
·Engine: F-Type S Coupe (Super-charged 380hp V6)
F-Type R Coupe
(Super-Charged 550hp V8) with 502 lb-ft torque.
·Transmission: 8-speed
automatic with manual shifting mode
·Performance: S Coupe V6: 0
-60mph (4.8 sec)
R Coupe V8: 0-60mph (4.0 sec), both with a limited top speed
of 186mph!
·Base prices: V6 S Coupe $77,000
V8 R Coupe $99,000
Price as tested (V8 Supercharged 550hp) $104,625
with the following optional features:
·20” Gyrodyne Alloy Wheels-Black
·Panoramic Glass Roof
·Vision Pack 3: Adaptive & Intelligent Front Lighting
Front
sensors & rear parking camera
Blind spot monitor
Before
the evening came to a close I began to see how this new F-Type R Coupe has ignited
a spark among loyal Jaguar buyers and has piqued a strong interest in new car
buyers who are discovering this brand. I
noticed a poster in the showroom that had the British flag draped behind the
new F-Type R Coupe and the slogan said “Our New Crown Jewel” and it truly is a
jewel to behold. Jaguar is leading the
pack as they charge into a new generation of car enthusiast that want more from
their car than just a nameplate and a means of transportation, they want to
feel something each time they get behind the wheel. You can stand in the showroom all night long
and not get the rush or the experience of what I am referring to unless you
take a test drive.
The
sexy new look of this F-Type Coupe will draw you in but when you feel the
adrenaline of the power from under the hood of Jaguars newest cat, you will
start asking where do I sign the paperwork.
And if the new cars don’t draw you in maybe the award winning sales and service
department will. Jaguar Huntsville has
won the “Pride of Jaguar” award back to back in 2012 and 2013. This award is only given to the top 16
dealerships in the US based on customer sales and service satisfaction by
surveys and sales. Visit Jaguar
Huntsville today and experience the passion and soul of this car for yourself.
