S650 GT @ Charlotte Auto Show

[jmstang66]

Every year me and my buddies go out to the Charlotte Auto Show, so this year was no different. I was even more excited this year because the S650 would be there. I tried to hold my judgement of the car until I saw it in person, but it was hard. Especially since the car in the reveal and in all of the pictures we have seen so far didn't wow me at all. To me it was and still is to a certain degree S550 v3.

Seeing it in person only cemented that initial thought to me. I worked my way from front to back every inch and taking it all in. Thoughts below:

Front - S550 (15-17) style headlights and an M3 front bumper.
Hood - Flat S550 (15-17) hood with a Camaro style vent.
Front quarters/doors/roof/apillars - S550 (15-17)
Rear Quarter - that hip is YUGE and I love it!
Rear - this is where it loses me. It looks like we had 4 different though processes here. The lower portion of the rear bumper is just awful. It comes up way too high, and from the side profile of the car sticks out too far. The taillights are just 'ok' for me. Not good not bad, just there. The trunk lid is also YUGE from the edge of the window to the end. This car definitely needs a spoiler to cover it. But just not this spoiler. Looks like it came off a Type R Civic to me. The trunk panel between the lights being body color is interesting, especially given the blacked out nature that surrounds the taillights, it just looks incomplete.
Interior - The car was locked so couldn't see in, but did see the screens from the front through the windshield. This by far is the most controversial part of the car for me so I was hoping to at least have the windows down. So for now, I'll still hate it.

A fellow car dad was beside me and he is a current gen Camaro owner. We talked about Ford being the only one offering an ICE V8 engine and Dodge and Chevy killing their muscle cars. He said to him he saw a lot of Camaro and Dodge influence in the new Mustang and said it turned him off, but the biggest turn off was the screens in the interior and that it could be out of any car and didn't scream Mustang. Another conversation had there was with a family friend who is the manager of our local Roush dealer. I talked to him for a long time about the '24. He says no GT500, nothing supercharged, and no RS3 out of Roush, not surprising as this is the first year of a new MY, but it almost sounded like he meant period. He also said that the '24s going around are just MY22's with different body panels - again not really surprising since the cars aren't out yet. But I thought these were interesting insights.

All just my opinions of course, but I'm hoping once they start hitting the road and people start modifying them I'll grow to like them but as of now, meh is all I can come up with.

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[because_murica]

Killer shots. And look, you're not in jail. Job well done all around.

As to supercharging - I would not be shocked if we don't see a supercharged S650 from Ford. I would be shocked, however, if none of the big third party tuners (Roush, Saleen, Shelby, RTR) don't offer supercharging packages as well.

 

[Twin Turbo]

Absolutely fantastic photos, thank you!

 

[OppoLock]

Another conversation had there was with a family friend who is the manager of our local Roush dealer. I talked to him for a long time about the '24. He says no GT500, nothing supercharged, and no RS3 out of Roush, not surprising as this is the first year of a new MY, but it almost sounded like he meant period. He also said that the '24s going around are just MY22's with different body panels - again not really surprising since the cars aren't out yet. But I thought these were interesting insights.

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. Did Ford decide to chop up the body in white? Because the roofline, rear fender, and C-pillar are integral parts of the chassis and are not simply swappable panels, so someone would have to explain the different roofline, hip, and up-kink at the base of the window. That would be hella-expensive on Ford’s end just to get some showroom models out there let alone on the scale of S650s we’ve seen in testing shots grouped together.

Which also leads me to doubt anything else he said about GT500 models.

Anyway, thanks for the shots dude.

 

[because_murica]

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. Did Ford decide to chop up the body in white? Because the roofline, rear fender, and C-pillar are integral parts of the chassis and are not simply swappable panels, so someone would have to explain the different roofline, hip, and up-kink at the base of the window. That would be hella-expensive on Ford’s end just to get some showroom models out there let alone on the scale of S650s we’ve seen in testing shots grouped together.

Which also leads me to doubt anything else he said about GT500 models.

Anyway, thanks for the shots dude.

Yea, with all due respect to OP's family friend, I think said friend may have misunderstood some information that was passed along to him. I think he believes that as S650 is nothing more than a refresh of S550, that Ford slapped on new panels on an older chassis. That is in essence what S650 is, however, the models running around are likely close to final production spec and not some Frankenstein cars.

I also don't think he's correct about GT500. We've gotten something indication from a couple of publications that there will be a GT500, just not the first year.

 

[Twin Turbo]

A 9 minute video for 1 minute of S650, but 1 minute's better than none, right?

 

[because_murica]

A 9 minute video for 1 minute of S650, but 1 minute's better than non, right?

Ah man, I can't stand this dude. Both of his mustangs belong to his mom from what I can tell.

 

[OppoLock]

A 9 minute video for 1 minute of S650, but 1 minute's better than non, right?

StangMode videos in a nutshell

 

[Twin Turbo]

Carolina Car Moms

 

[jmstang66]

StangMode videos in a nutshell

how dare you talk about stangmode like that!

 

[jmstang66]

Yea, with all due respect to OP's family friend, I think said friend may have misunderstood some information that was passed along to him. I think he believes that as S650 is nothing more than a refresh of S550, that Ford slapped on new panels on an older chassis. That is in essence what S650 is, however, the models running around are likely close to final production spec and not some Frankenstein cars.

I also don't think he's correct about GT500. We've gotten something indication from a couple of publications that there will be a GT500, just not the first year.

hopefully he was wrong. I didn't have a cat in the fight on that so just passing along what was told to me.

 

[Dragster]

All just my opinions of course, but I'm hoping once they start hitting the road and people start modifying them I'll grow to like them but as of now, meh is all I can come up with.

I went on Saturday and my reaction was the same as yours. Some cars look significantly different/better in person, but this looks exactly the same in photos as it does in person. Everything I didn't like about it in pictures still bothered me in person: the mix of gloss black and matte black on the front fascia and grilles, the gloss black of the upper grille that extends down onto the bumper (I really hate that look), the cheap looking hood vent, and the odd looking rear end. The car seems to have even lost character on the sides because everything is just kind of flattened out.

FWIW, I rarely even saw anyone else checking out the car. I posted in another thread how I watched a guy walk past it and remark "why is that on the stand? Oh, it's a '24" and he just kept on walking.

 

[OppoLock]

I went on Saturday and my reaction was the same as yours. Some cars look significantly different/better in person, but this looks exactly the same in photos as it does in person. Everything I didn't like about it in pictures still bothered me in person: the mix of gloss black and matte black on the front fascia and grilles, the gloss black of the upper grille that extends down onto the bumper (I really hate that look), the cheap looking hood vent, and the odd looking rear end. The car seems to have even lost character on the sides because everything is just kind of flattened out.

FWIW, I rarely even saw anyone else checking out the car. I posted in another thread how I watched a guy walk past it and remark "why is that on the stand? Oh, it's a '24" and he just kept on walking.

Interesting. Thing got swarmed when I was at the MIA auto show. The moment I asked to get escorted up to its platform other people started flocking to it lol.

I think it couldn’t look more different in person.

 

[jmstang66]

FWIW, I rarely even saw anyone else checking out the car. I posted in another thread how I watched a guy walk past it and remark "why is that on the stand? Oh, it's a '24" and he just kept on walking.

same. me and the Camaro guy were the only 2 looking at it, everyone else just kept going right past it to the Roush's..

 

[because_murica]

same. me and the Camaro guy were the only 2 looking at it, everyone else just kept going right past it to the Roush's..

I really don't think most of the general public will realize it's somewhat different from S550 - which makes the "it looks like a Camaro" comments all the more funny.

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