«The Stage 1 engine looks like a great supercar compromise,» Motor Development concurred. «Energy is all there for street running, particularly when you put your foot in it and open all 4 barrels. Downshifting acceleration really places you back in your seat. One distinct characteristic of the engine seems to be its smoother idle with a big cam. It is not almost as tough as comparable supercars with comparable grind cams.»

The intriguing turbo-four naturally garnered much «buff book» consideration. Said John Dinkel in Street & Monitor: «The TRX turbo would seem to be an enthusiast’s delight. I just hope that the design compromises dictated by prices and the fact that Ford couldn’t begin with a completely clean sheet of paper don’t wreck that dream…. There’s little question the new Mustang has the potential to be one of the best sport coupe Ford has ever constructed, but in some respects [it] is as enigmatic as its predecessor.»

The redesign increased general measurement but added little weight, and that was more than offset by extra commonplace energy. The base V-6 was now a torquey 245-cid job with 210 bhp, but enthusiasts gravitated to the ever-in style GT, which claimed 300 ponies from a muscled-up 281-cid V-8. Combined with the stiff new platform and a completely reengineered chassis, Hydraulic solution the GT was a dream drive — and an irresistible performance purchase at round $25,000 for the fastback coupe and a few $4,800 more for the convertible that arrived for 2006.

The calls for of Le Grande Epreuve depart little time for savoring one’s triumphs, and so it was for Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari after their historic achievements of 2004. «It was positively a fabulous season,» Schumacher told reporters in January 2005. «Not just because we were so successful, but in addition because of the environment within our team, which is extremely good … Method One is a workforce sport.