It's basically a Lotus nowadays.
Photography by Chris Tropea
Since we already had our 2006 Mustang in the shop fixing the brakes and swapping fluids, why not put it on the scales to find out just how much weight this S197 gained–or lost–in the nearly 20 years since it rolled off the assembly line?
The Ford media kit lists a curb weight for an earlier Mustang GT, like ours, at 3483 pounds, but what would the Intercomp SW777RFX Wireless Professional Scale System say?
Drum roll, please.
Virtually spot on with factory specs: 3478 pounds.
Later, after we prepare our Mustang to SCCA Club Spec rules, we’ll be sure to put the car back on the scales–for science, of course.
It's basically a Lotus nowadays.
Our 2005 GT 5 Speed weighed in at 3,475 with 4 Point Watson Roll bar and rear seat delete.
YRMV
And this shows how much weight modern cars (even 20 year old ones) have gained. When I got my '71 Dodge Coronet (think crew cab '71 Charger, it's the same chassis), I threw it on my corner scales for grins (and because I planned to make it handle far better than stock). So comparing 1971 Coronet specs vs this 2006 Mustang GT. The Dodge is 19 inches longer, about 4" wider, about 3/4s of an inch lower at the roof, and 11" more wheelbase. All iron (including intake) small block V8 with an automatic, heavy bench front seat...
3478lbs with a half tank of fuel and slightly better F/R weight bias (54/46 even) than the '06 Mustang GT.
To be fair, I was VERY surprised by those numbers... I thought the Coronet would be much heavier and far heavier in the front.
If you look at modern Chargers (the current equivalent) the comparison is even worse... they're between 700-900 lbs heavier and smaller in every dimension (except wheelbase, 2" longer).
Safety gear and all the modern conveniences are HEAVY.
My first reaction is how fat the Mustang is, but then I'm driving a MINI that's close to 2700 pounds. The days of small cars under a ton have been gone for decades, but I remember them fondly. The upside is the fat MINI is a nicer travel vehicle than my 1970 Corolla ever dreamed of being. there's still something to be said for minimalist vehicles though.
In reply to rennkafer :
What else can you legally pull out of the car to save weight? Trunk trim pieces? Rear seat delete?
In reply to Noddaz :
Depends if and what roll cage they throw in. A 6pt means you can basically strip the car.
FWIW The Mustang DRIVES BIG
Noddaz said:What else can you legally pull out of the car to save weight? Trunk trim pieces? Rear seat delete?
CSM rules say interior trim and rear seats can come out if you put a 6 point in, but the idea is roughly weight neutral.
RacingComputers said:Our 2005 GT 5 Speed weighed in at 3,475 with 4 Point Watson Roll bar and rear seat delete.
YRMV
This gives me hope that my Champ Car build will be under 3100lbs.
Displaying 1-10 of 10 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
