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18 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 23, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com EVERYTHING Auto your guide to everything auto in Oakville INSIDE: Pontiac inviels the new convertible G6 . . . . . .Page 16 Chevy Tahoe 2006 leading the way . . . . . . . . .Page 18 Nissan Altima excells against all others . . . . . . . .Page 21 Shelby GT500 Mustang takes the performance reins at Ford EVERYTHIN By Bradley Horn SPECIAL Even if we begin, as Sergeant Friday recommended, with "just the facts ma'am," Ford's new Shelby GT500 is quite the impressive piece. Not only does the retro rocket take over for the much-heralded GT as the Blue Oval's performance flagship, it does so at $132,996 less than the six-figure Ferrarifighter. Add to that the shear number of performance parts and principles from the soonto-be-retired, $184,995 GT that have made their way onto the $51,999 muscled-up Mustang, and you have arguably the hottest high-performance machine to come out of Ford this century. Billed as "the most powerful Mustang ever," the Ford Shelby GT500 (informally, the Cobra) comes to Canada this summer in both coupe and convertible ($56,099) models. We first took the wheel of the serpentine, supercharged stallion at a press event in California earlier this year. "A modern interpretation of the Shelby Mustang of the 1960s," the '07 GT500 started life as a run-of-the-mill Mustang GT -- just like the original. Hau Thai-Tang, former Mustang chief engineer turned director of advanced product creation and Special Vehicle Team, was primarily responsible for the car's metamorphosis. Add to his extensive Pony Car knowledge the number of former GT engineers that migrated to the Cobra program, as well as SVT engineers versed in motorsports, and of course the legendary Carroll Shelby, and you begin to comprehend how important the GT500 is to the Blue Oval's performance reputation. Not surprisingly, the core of the Cobra is its hand-built, blown engine --- at 330 cubic inches, it's the largest displacement motor installed in a Mustang since 1973. Here, more than anywhere else, the influence of the GT is evident. Like that "American exotic," the Shelby's DOHC mill is a 5.4-litre V8 from Ford's MOD engine family. The blocks are nearly identical, albeit the GT500's is cast in iron instead of the more expensive aluminum. The four-valve aluminum heads come straight off the supercar as well, optimized for high-flow. Because the Cobra is intended more as a daily driver, SVT engineers opted for a Rootstype Eaton supercharger instead of the screw-type found on the GT to deliver better mid-range power. Linked to an air-to-water intercooler, it delivers nine pounds of boost. The engine also sports unique connecting rods and forged pistons, along with a high capacity aluminum radiator and a dual-bore electric throttle from, of all things, Ford's 6.8-litre V10 F-Series SuperDuty truck. The valve covers, embossed with "Powered by SVT," also wear a placard signed by the engine's assembler in Romeo, Michigan. So what's the Shelby like to drive? In a word, visceral. Our tester was thankfully a low-key Tungsten Gray convertible -- a sleeper compared to the arrest-me-red coupes on hand, wearing the optional Le Mans stripes. Through the mountains and farmland east of San Francisco, there was plenty of empty roads to open up the GT500 and, as ZZ Top said, "She's got legs.". The big displacement V8 never seems to be at a loss for ludicrous amounts of torque, a fact that kept my survival instincts on high alert and the traction control on. Putting your foot down results in this baritone/soprano mixed engine note, a combination of the banshees' wail from the supercharger and the V8's bark (SVT tested over 40 exhausts to get the sound just right). The Cobra's only transmission is a heavy-duty 6-speed manual. It's an upgraded version of the unit that first appeared on the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, using a ceramic clutch. The shift action is precise, if not nearly identical to a regular Mustang GT's gearbox.Ford estimates the 0-100 km/h run "conservatively" at 4.5 seconds, and though no Continued on Page 22 Oak-land Ford Lincoln Compare FORD FUSION CHALLENGE Camry FORDwith ToyotaAc O FUSION Honda U US IF WE CAN'T SELL YOU A FUSION... WE WILL PAY Y0U TO BUY AN IMPORT!* purchase of a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord. Vehicle must be within 7 days, bill of sale and proof of ownership must be prov 570 TRAFALGAR ROAD, OAKVILLE · AT THE QEW · WWW.OAKLANDFORDLINCOLN.CA 1-866-398-4270