Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible Honolulu HI

BY TONY SWAN

Disappointment is invariably related to expectations. The higher they are, the greater the likelihood the object of those expectations won't quite measure up. Do you hear Shelby GT500 convertible disappointment impending? You do. But let us hasten to add that these aren't major disappointments. In fact, for the most part, we simply want to, shall we say, square GT500 expectations with reality.

Based on our July comparison test, pitting a Shelby GT500 coupe against a Corvette, we'd already relaxed our performance expectations for the convertible, even before it rolled into our parking lot. For example, since our GT500 test coupe wasn't any quicker than the old SVT Mustang Cobra, there was no reason to believe the convertible, weighing in 112 pounds heavier at 4008, would do any better. And it did not, thus fulfilling our slightly diminished expectations, although we found that in this area our expectations hadn't been diminished quite enough. At 4.8 seconds to 60 mph, the convertible was 0.3 second slower than the coupe, which ain't really slow, but the disparity was progressive. The convertible was 0.8 second slower to 100 mph — 11.1 versus 10.3 — and also slower through the quarter-mile: 13.4 seconds at 108 mph versus 12.9 at 112. This is more than we expected for a 112-pound difference, and we think our test car's supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 was a tad soft, a suspicion enhanced by a nasty ticking noise coming from the engine. Exhaust leak? Or...?

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