How much would you be willing to lose to buy a DH?

[AZ_Ryan]

I've asked a similar question elsewhere:

Cost to get out of a BMW M2 and into a DH would be around $17K including tax and title.

That is quite a lot, but on the other hand I'm at an age where this may be my last new car, and it's almost definitely going to be one of the last 500 HP NA V8s available with a manual transmission.

I do, however, have a bit of an issue with the fact that the interior is built and finished the same as an Ecoboost with lots of trim rattles and the "carbon fiber look" vent housings, and that I've yet to find a Ford dealer that treats you well for sales or service.

Not like I stare at the vents, but it's pretty obvious once you notice it.

Would you do it? It's insane to lose $17K, but it would be even more later as my current vehicle depreciates more and DH prices inevitably go up over time.

I once had a line on a GT, but after feeling the Tremec that became a non-negotiable for me if I switch into a Mustang.

Desired config: Grabber or Adriatic, hood stripe delete, no handling package, floor liners with mats, and I'd get the extended warranty from Granger.

Use case: Just a fun weekend/pleasure driver, no track visits. I'd get a GT if I could option it with the Tremec but I'm a manual transmission zealot.

I would ask you this - if you are worried about justifying the cost, why buy a track car if you aren't going to track it?

As for the Tremec, I owned one and its a great transmission. But having driven both the Tremec and the Getrag, I can't say it was THAT different, especially for street driving. On the track give me the Tremec, on the street the Getrag is perfectly fine.

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[MidwayJ]

Here's the story:

I cancelled the GT because I felt the M2 was the better choice, and the dealer I had ordered the GT from and four other local dealers all told me if I wanted a DH, it would be a 2027 because they got an allocation for one per model year and theirs was already spoken for. They had a 2024 DH in the showroom, but it had the 10 speed.

Fast forward to stopping in a different dealer 100+ miles away as I was just driving by and saw they had a 2025 DH on the lot (that had Recaros so I wouldn't have bought it anyway) and I got to feel the Tremec.

As a manual junkie, I loved that; the car I just sold was a 2002 S2000, which I loved to pieces but got sick of having to troll junkyards online whenever I needed parts that Honda had stopped making a decade ago and for which there were no third-party alternatives (mostly HVAC parts like blend doors and the like.)

Now, coming from a Porsche Cayman S in the past, I really value the precision and corner carving ability the M2 brings to the table, and I really have no regrets about making that purchase. I would have purchased another Cayman if they weren't all more than $100K now and Porsche hadn't already stopped 718 production.

But now that I know a DH is obtainable, if I want to pivot back I need to do it now before the M2 depreciates any further and before I have to drop another $1500 to get license plates for it by mid-February.

I'd probably need to order one, as I would like a blue (Grabber or Adriatic), no Recaros, no Handling Package, and preferably with the hood stripe deleted so I don't have to have it removed after purchase. I love the DH, but the hood graphics scream 22 year-old to me.

So it's not as simple as my heart wants the DH, it's more like I don't want to regret not getting it, but I'm trying to not throw big money at the problem and regret not keeping the M2 when the DH handles like the bigger, heavier car it is on curvy Rocky Mountain roads fifteen minutes away from me, no matter how much fun it is to hear the V8 roar.

That canyon carving is something the M2 does in spades and it doesn't sound all that bad itself, and the turbo keeps it from losing as much power as the DH since I already live at 5600' and most of my drives are at altitudes of 8000' and above, which saps the power of a NA engine rapidly.

Sure the M2 has a lot of plastic under the hood that would be expensive to replace, but it's not like the Coyote doesn't have a fair amount of plastic under the hood itself, nor is a DH headlight any cheaper to replace than the M2's.

Just as an aside, the GT I ordered went into production on 1/12/2026 and still shows as just "in production," so something seems to be holding it up.

I wasn't trying to be critical. Mostly making fun of myself for feeling like I was out of touch every time I come back to this forum. I understand why your appreciation for mountain road driving makes the M2 appealing.

 

[COBill]

I wasn't trying to be critical. Mostly making fun of myself for feeling like I was out of touch every time I come back to this forum. I understand why your appreciation for mountain road driving makes the M2 appealing.

That's OK, it was a fair question.

Once you see the sequence of events, it makes a lot more sense.

It's just the prospect of getting the M2 its plates for $1500+ that makes this a short fuse decision for me.

I would ask you this - if you are worried about justifying the cost, why buy a track car if you aren't going to track it?

As for the Tremec, I owned one and its a great transmission. But having driven both the Tremec and the Getrag, I can't say it was THAT different, especially for street driving. On the track give me the Tremec, on the street the Getrag is perfectly fine.

It's not that I'm buying a track car per se, rather I want a car that handles like a track car because that will then handle the way I want it to day to day, especially driving in the foothills of the Rockies.

Getting the Tremec would save me the additional expense of having to install a short shifter on the MT82.

The M2's throws are much longer than even the MT82's, but there's not much you can do about that in the M2.

It's the short, sharp, almost gated throws that make the Tremec appealing to me, especially coming out of an S2000 with it's rifle bolt accurate and short throws; other than the S2000 the Tremec reminds me a lot of the actual gated shifter on the Audi R8.

 

[exm]

My 2 cents from my perspective. I am not planning to track it, but I might do that at some point. Additionally in my area they offer racing on one of our big parking lots near a public arena. Sounds like fun also. Finally, in my younger days I enthusiastically drove a Kawasaki ZX6-R Ninja motorcycle, so I'm really sucker for speed and tight corners.

Do i *need* a DH? Probably not. But at this stage in my life I would hate to keep on thinking 'What if...'

 

[Frogdog1]

This is really dramatic.

 

[fishinrich]

It's only money.

If you can afford it and it's what you want do it.

If I had more garage space I'd have a Shelby Cobra (not a real one) in there.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Additionally in my area they offer racing on one of our big parking lots near a public arena. Sounds like fun also.

That is called autocross. There are probably lots more around you if you look. It has been a popular automotive endeavor for decades now.

 

[Paul's stable]

Well if the transmission is what’s holding you back, just get the GT… the tremec isn’t all that, it’s not like it’s got a real T56 spec tremec in it.

I have a "real" T56 Magnum in my 06 GT and the 3160 Tremec in my Dark Horse. Love them both and I find the 3160 shifts like a dream at 7000 rpm. They are both better than the MT82 in the Mustang GT.

 

[COBill]

Good news is that I test drove a GT today and really, it didn't handle all that much worse than the M2, but I noticed that for all the exhaust sound and drama you really didn't have a lot of power down low, you really needed to (exceed break-in recommended RPMs) to feel the power come on.

However, I also noticed this one didn't have the rear seat rattles with the exhaust in Sport, it just had a really annoying seat belt rattle behind my left ear.

 

[ChitownStang]

I would ask you this - if you are worried about justifying the cost, why buy a track car if you aren't going to track it?

As for the Tremec, I owned one and its a great transmission. But having driven both the Tremec and the Getrag, I can't say it was THAT different, especially for street driving. On the track give me the Tremec, on the street the Getrag is perfectly fine.

Ryan, we can’t take your opinion on the Getrag seriously since we know you think the 10-speed is a good transmission….
Hahahaha… just kidding

 

[Farmer Fran]

A DH? nothing. While I love my car and the S650 there is nothing that special about a DH to lose anything. It is a fantastic car, not that fantastic.

Now I will piss off some people, if you want to "lose" money there are better cars for the same money that are "better". ZL1 for example, C8...

 

[ChitownStang]

A DH? nothing. While I love my car and the S650 there is nothing that special about a DH to lose anything. It is a fantastic car, not that fantastic.

Now I will piss off some people, if you want to "lose" money there are better cars for the same money that are "better". ZL1 for example, C8...

Better impractical cars, sure

 

[Farmer Fran]

Better impractical cars, sure

correct-ish

 

[ChitownStang]

correct-ish

And fuck Chevy,
I’d never own one. Much rather have the M2

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Good news is that I test drove a GT today and really, it didn't handle all that much worse than the M2, but I noticed that for all the exhaust sound and drama you really didn't have a lot of power down low, you really needed to (exceed break-in recommended RPMs) to feel the power come on.

However, I also noticed this one didn't have the rear seat rattles with the exhaust in Sport, it just had a really annoying seat belt rattle behind my left ear.

Was the GT a PP, and have you driven a DH yet?

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