I never said that the Mustang GT is better / faster than the SRT8 Challenger. NEVER! In fact, I seem to recall acknowledging in this very thread that the Challenger bests the GT in every performance category imaginable. But, the GT is close...and I'm willing to bet that it's certainly a helluva lot closer than many of us originally thought! In your comparison of the Cobra R to the Shelby GT500 all I have to say is this: The Cobra R stickered at $56-$57K back in 2000...it has no backseat, no radio, no soundproofing under the hood, etc.! It was built for two purposes - 1) To impress your buddies on Cruise Nights and 2) To be run on the track. Sorry, but it's not a street car. I would further argue that it weighs significantly less than the GT500. As for the `03 and `04 "terminator" Cobras...those things rule! No bout a doubt it. Personally, I'd love to see one go toe-to-toe with a GT500. My money would still be on the GT500.
On another note - I've been spending some time reflecting these past several days and have reached a very simple conclusion.
People are going to buy a Challenger because they specifically want a Challenger. I know that sounds pretty elementary, but here's my point: You're not buying this car because it's a better value than a Mustang...it's certianly not a better "bang for your buck" either! You're not buying a Challenger because you want to own a new player in the muscle car segment and this looks like a good option. Again, you're buying a Challenger because this is the car you want...the car you have dreamed about taking your first road trip in since it debuted way back in January 2006...the car you've spent endless hours of your employer's time researching and chatting on line about; the car that even your closest buddies now joke you are addicted to (and they're scared); the car that somehow finds its way into every car-related discussion you partake in; the car that won't look like anything else out on the road; the car that will turn more heads than you could ever imagine. I could go on and on, but these are some of my primary justifications for why I still plan on being the proud new owner of a Challenger!
ORIGINAL: RLSH700
A more accurate match up but the fact of the matter is until they are actually put up against each other, nothing is resolved. The Challenger is still being judged against manufacturer stats, against past test trials. Kevin, although I agree with you, please calm down a little. The thing that is significant is that manuals generally cost less than automatics, which proves to me that when the Challenger is truly in full production, it will yield an even larger cost advantage over the GT500.
Albeeno,I'm sorry but you are wrong. The Challenger does defeat the GT. If you don't believe me, put both of them on a track and see the results. The much higher top-speed, and faster acceleration times is what puts the Challenger into the GT500's category and out of the GTs. When you put both the GT500 and the Challenger on the track you will also see a more logical comparison, especially when they drop in the manual option for the SRT. What this tells me is that the GT500 should be way better, but isn't. Having 75 more rated ponies and 60 more rated ft-lbs along with being lighter should make this no contest, but the simple fact of the matter is they are still within the same league. Still a stalemate. The GT500 is simply not as good as either the 2000 Cobra R nor the 03-04 Cobra (nicknamed the "Terminator"), it has way more power than both yet the Cobra R is still faster and it can't seem to surpass the last Cobra and they have Shelby's help this time around.