Betting on SVT Futures:
Ford's new hands have big plans for in-house tuner brand

BY: Bob Gritzinger
DATE: 2-14-05

Maybe all the fretting, all the online chatter, all the enthusiast gnashing of teeth about the future of Ford’s Special Vehicle Team is unwarranted. Maybe we are just seeing a lull in production at that granddaddy of domestic in-house performance tuners.

“I hope so, or else I’m out of a job,” says Ford engineer Hau Thai-Tang, the newly named director of SVT, replacing SVT icon John Coletti who retired at the end of 2004.

Something tells us Thai-Tang, the Vietnamese native who recently completed his self-described dream job—as chief engineer on the 2005 Mustang development team—won’t hurt for work anytime soon. But whether that work focuses on future SVT vehicles, and what form those products might take, remains to be seen.

Rest assured, though, Thai-Tang and his boss, Ford product creation vice president Phil Martens (himself a relative newbie, having just taken control of the product leadership position at Ford after the Dec. 1 retirement of engineering whiz Chris Theodore), are saying the right things.

Martens will admit he was getting upward of 15 letters a day from alarmed SVT faithful after Coletti’s retirement announcement. But his answers to them:

“SVT is actually bigger, staff-wise, than ever before.”
“We see SVT growing to about five products.”
“SVT is, and will remain, a Ford-branded product.”
“The core of every SVT program is its powertrain; second is chassis dynamics.”
“The next-generation Cobra will be the best one ever.”
Martens, who approved the next SVT Cobra a day before we interviewed him in January, pointed to the Mustang as an example of a product engineer­ed from the outset with an SVT version in mind.

SVT products need to be created as part of a model plan, instead of being develop­ed after the main product line has left the drawing board, he says. That way it will prevent embarrassing program delays (see SVT Lightning) or cancellations, and allow Ford to use SVT as a launching pad for new performance technologies, says Martens.

That’s fine when it comes to finances and product planning, but doesn’t a large portion of SVT’s success lie in its indepen­- dence from the mother ship? Or are they starting to learn lessons about integration from upstarts at Chrysler Street and Racing Technology and GM Performance Division?

Martens says SVT will remain a stand-alone operation, at least physically, but the team will now enjoy a direct line of communication to the product development office. “We really need to bring SVT back to its roots, into the mainstream of product development, if we’re going to take SVT to the next level. SVT needs to be an integral part of product development.”

So what can fans expect? Martens says SVT will maintain its core of high-performance V8-powered rear-wheel-drive vehicles. It will expand into inline four-cylinder cars as well. And it will break ground venturing into all-wheel-drive performance models. Turbo- and superchargers also figure prominently. And SVT will draw heavily on lessons learned developing the Ford GT, from its racing experience, and with engineers who bring cross-systems expertise.

Thai-Tang says under his stewardship he aims to make sure SVT core values of performance, exclusivity, substance and value remain intact. “It’s easy to build a strong-performing $100,000 car,” he says. “It’s a lot harder to do a strong-performing $20,000 car. You have to be a lot more creative.”

Martens admits even when you put all the pieces in place, you still must have “the moxie to develop the products—you have to have people with cars at the core of their essence.”

One of those guys, SVT papa Coletti, wishes his successors the best: “We’ve laid down a lot of rubber, and I hope the company will continue to do that.”

Lookin’ Live

When Ford rolls out the SVT Cobra version of its all-new Mustang at the New York auto show in March, take a peek underneath. If our sources are right, your prying eyes will spy a live rear axle—not an independent rear suspension, the setup that would be in keeping with the suspension on the outgoing model, and is therefore anticipated by the SVT Cobra faithful.

Ford execs are officially mum, including product chief Phil Martens, who said as recently as the Detroit auto show that no decision had been made on the Cobra’s suspension. Hau Thai-Tang, chief engineer on the 2005 Mustang and now SVT chief, did hint we can expect the next Cobra to surpass 400 hp (we hear 450 hp) and hit a price of about $40,000. The SVT Cobra goes on sale in 2006 as an ’07 model.

Excerpt from www.autoweek.com

Looks good an all, but what REALLY makes me cringe in that article is the new commie they have running SVT, "Hau Thai-Tang". There goes the American Pride neighborhood.

Yea did you see though we was also the one who designed the new mustang...

Jeremy

yeah plus the job that man has requires skill in engineering and design and id say he proved his skills in the 05 stang...plus looking at the new imports perhaps a foraign designer is what american cars need...i mean you can get the best of both worlds. this is the kind of open minded expansion ive been waiting to see...but thats just one american car ouners opinion.

p.s. i plan on ouning an 07 cobra

this is the cobra i saw...and expect to see...ha

EDIT: Edited by Tom to Fix Image Link

I like that pic much better than the one in the article. Now, if they can only keep it affordable so everyone at Car Weekend can own one...

Matt that is the same picture I saw as well. However I think that is a photoshop of what some one will think it looks like...

I think this kind of sums it up a little and explains where the above picture came from... How true the below quote is I dont know.

From the IMBOC (International Mustang Bullitt Owners Club) Forum: See original post here
From an extremely reliable inside source at SVT (who is best friends with my sister's husband), this is supposedly the gospel of a lot of what we will see in the new Cobra. This car is already scheduled to debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January of 2006 with delivery available in mid (May/June) 2006 as a MY2007. Prototypes that are on the streets today are almost indistinguishable from other SN197's other than tires and exhaust note. There are a couple using unorthodox hood arrangements but these are supposedly not the cars with the drivetrains we will see. Here is what I was told will be the heart and soul of the next Cobra. Time will tell...

Motor: 5.4 Supercharged, 3 valve heads (with HUGE valves), forged internals similar to the 4.6 (Crank, rods, etc), modestly rated (under rated actually) ~465 HP/495 lb ft Torque, using a twin screw S/C similar to that on the Ford GT but pullied differently, hence the lower HP. This motor was supposedly made official (in house only) just in the last few days. It will NOT be rated the equal or even close HP-wise as the Ford GT exotic for exclusivity reasons. It will have more restrictive intake/exhaust systems than the Ford GT which is partly to blame for the lower performance numbers. Also, a cold air induction system will purportedly being looked at as an option but may be standard if it can get past the bean counters.

Transmissions: 6 speed manuals standard with a heavy duty 5 speed auto (the tranny used on the Ford Superduty but programmed/geared differently) as an option in late '07 or the '08 M/Y.

Suspensions: A re-engineered, heavy duty IRS will be an option with a modified 3 link/panhard bar-live axle setup as the standard rear axle. SVT will be going for the Road Race buyer as well as the straight line racer with both axles optional. However, the Axle options are not set in stone as of the moment but look highly likely to be approved. The Cobra will be lowered about 1.5" from a stock GT.

Bodywork: The retro theme will continue with a serious nod to the '67 Shelby. The fenders may be flared more than the standard '05 but that is not for certain as of now. The ducktail will be factory installed. Also, no convertible is planned for now but no reason was given other than concerns over chassis reliability due to the torque volume.

According to "John Doe" (he does not want to get 'relieved' of his assignment), only 3 of the Cobra protos built so far have the S/C'd 5.4 in them. There are actually 6 or 7 on the streets now, not all at the same time but there are similarly painted versions of different cars. There are also supposed to be three Protos with 6+ liter motors in them, 2 with blowers, one that is N/A but these will not be used in the next generation Cobra.

Supposedly, the 6+ Liter motors (he does not know the precise specs on them) are a Hurricane based engine with radical camming and a "first for Ford style of fuel delivery." I have no idea what he means by that and he would not elaborate to my sister either - apparently he was only repeating what he was told.

Tires: Alledgedly, the 5.4 S/C'd cars are running 315's on the rears, 275's on the fronts using 18" rims. Similar setups are on the other Protos. However, the 315's may only be optional with 295's being the standard fare.

Performance: The 5.4 S/C'd cars have been clocked in the very low 12's (12.10-12.25) in the quarter at nearly 120 mph and have been traction limited, according to "John". They are also supposedly able to pull over 1 G in handling.

Per "John", SVT is also adding enormous brakes and will be using an air cooled Intercooler, opting away from the water cooled version used previously due to reliability concerns (?). Other touches will possibly include some form of active/adjustable suspension as an option but he did not know much about it.

Supposedly, we should expect a price to be in the very high $30k range (base price - 6 speed, live axle, base tire/wheel combos) according to his sources in the know.

Also - prototype Mach 1's are also on the streets. These are supposedly running N/A'd 5.4's, tuned for 370hp with the 6 speed transmissions for now and debate still ongoing about which auto to use. None of the proto Mach's are running the Shaker hood to keep them cloaked to spying eyes. This car is supposed to appear for the '06 M/Y with some final tweaking to be set in stone by Jan/Feb 2005.

"John Doe" is considered to be an extremely reliable source. He said that Ford will rely heavily on already built/designed components rather than exotic pieces.

He also said that Ford is hoping to stymie the rumored F-body's comeback sales numbers with more powerful engines in the V6/GT Mustang in M/Y 2007 cars, perhaps as high as 20% increases in HP/Torque with 10-12% increases in fuel economy. If true, we could be seeing 320/325 HP GT's in 2007! Purportedly, GM is planning to use detuned LS2's in the F-bodies and Ford wants to head them off early with upgraded 3v motors.

You can also find all sorts of rumors and pictures HERE

Or

Click HERE to see a video of the above car in action. Pretty neat stuff, bad filming but I would probally be actin like these two guys if i saw this on the road.
Jeremy

We can just hope that he was born in America and kept a native name. Even if he can't speak a word of english he still did a great job on the design.

well bottom line is we know it will look a lot like that b/c its along the same design lines as all the previous cobras

Here's a new bit of info:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/18/Autos/ford_shelby_gt500/index.htm?cnn=yes


(There are also some pictures linked in the article)

Those pictures are beautiful. I will so be saving my money to get my hands on one of these in a couple of years...

Jeremy

OK, lets be realistic here Jeremy... if you started saving now, you may be able to buy the 2037 Cobra.

That is what I was refering to.... By then it should be real pimp...