HOW SHOULD FORD INTRODUCE THE COYOTE V8?
[Get the latest “Truth With Speedzzter” here]
The biggest news in Ford Performance for 2010 is the introduction of the Coyote V8 in the 2011 Mustang.
The Coyote reportedly corrects the narrow bore center problem of the 1992-Present Modular V8 and should make Ford more than competitive with GM’s LS and Chrysler’s Gen III Hemi.
But how should Ford hammer this point home?
Heads up racing.
Nothing will get potential customers talking up the Coyote better than shutting down the current popularity king of the late model V8s – GM’s LS.
And no better place for such an assault exists than the Car Craft Magazine Engine Swap Drags on Sunday March 28, 2010, at SpeedWorld Dragstrip in Arizona.
This new event will be for heads-up racing of 1991-1955 model American street cars (no tube frames, decals or imports). Only two classes will run (power adder and naturally aspirated), although other classes will be running at the track that day (a good back-up plan if Ford wanted to run some Ford Racing Cobra Jet Mustangs on the track the same day for "comparison purposes.")
The winner gets an ocean of free publicity in Car Craft Magazine, and likely in other Source Interlink Media publications, as well as on YouTube and the internet.
The timing of the event perfectly coincides with the expected launch of the Coyote V8.
The early buzz suggests that Mustangs defaced with GM LS V8s are the hot set up. That should make the blood of guys like Ford Racing’s Brian Wolfe and Jack Roush boil.
It would likely take operating outside normal corporate channels, but entering a few old Mustangs powered by hopped-up naturally-aspirated and supercharged/turbocharged Coyote test engines could yield a public relations bonanza for Ford.
As a hedge, some Modular Cobra Jet engines could be swapped into back-up cars.
A modest effort with 3 or 4 cars ought to be enough to guarantee a ton of favorable magazine coverage. If Ford were to use trusted contractors and existing eligible cars, the cost could be literally peanuts!
And a Coyote win would put the engine on the gearheads’ map better than $1 million dollars worth of advertising.
Some guys, such as Paul Svinicki of Paul’s High Performance Inc. say that the Modular is on par with the LS. But that’s not the popular perception. And if the Ford powers-that-be miss this opportunity to “represent,” the LS-is-Best perception will be reinforced in the minds of hundreds of thousands of Car Craft readers.
Some naysayers will claim that running Coyotes in old Mustangs will do nothing to spark 2011 Mustang sales. Nothing could be further from the truth. V8 buyers will want to know early if the Coyote has got the chops to beat the LS. And they’re smart enough to figure out that if a built Coyote runs hard in a Fox-Body, then it can be made to run hard in a new 2011 Mustang.
Come on Ford Racing . . . Just do it!
[Get the latest “Truth With Speedzzter” here]
The biggest news in Ford Performance for 2010 is the introduction of the Coyote V8 in the 2011 Mustang.
The Coyote reportedly corrects the narrow bore center problem of the 1992-Present Modular V8 and should make Ford more than competitive with GM’s LS and Chrysler’s Gen III Hemi.
But how should Ford hammer this point home?
Heads up racing.
Nothing will get potential customers talking up the Coyote better than shutting down the current popularity king of the late model V8s – GM’s LS.
And no better place for such an assault exists than the Car Craft Magazine Engine Swap Drags on Sunday March 28, 2010, at SpeedWorld Dragstrip in Arizona.
This new event will be for heads-up racing of 1991-1955 model American street cars (no tube frames, decals or imports). Only two classes will run (power adder and naturally aspirated), although other classes will be running at the track that day (a good back-up plan if Ford wanted to run some Ford Racing Cobra Jet Mustangs on the track the same day for "comparison purposes.")
The winner gets an ocean of free publicity in Car Craft Magazine, and likely in other Source Interlink Media publications, as well as on YouTube and the internet.
The timing of the event perfectly coincides with the expected launch of the Coyote V8.
The early buzz suggests that Mustangs defaced with GM LS V8s are the hot set up. That should make the blood of guys like Ford Racing’s Brian Wolfe and Jack Roush boil.
It would likely take operating outside normal corporate channels, but entering a few old Mustangs powered by hopped-up naturally-aspirated and supercharged/turbocharged Coyote test engines could yield a public relations bonanza for Ford.
As a hedge, some Modular Cobra Jet engines could be swapped into back-up cars.
A modest effort with 3 or 4 cars ought to be enough to guarantee a ton of favorable magazine coverage. If Ford were to use trusted contractors and existing eligible cars, the cost could be literally peanuts!
And a Coyote win would put the engine on the gearheads’ map better than $1 million dollars worth of advertising.
Some guys, such as Paul Svinicki of Paul’s High Performance Inc. say that the Modular is on par with the LS. But that’s not the popular perception. And if the Ford powers-that-be miss this opportunity to “represent,” the LS-is-Best perception will be reinforced in the minds of hundreds of thousands of Car Craft readers.
Some naysayers will claim that running Coyotes in old Mustangs will do nothing to spark 2011 Mustang sales. Nothing could be further from the truth. V8 buyers will want to know early if the Coyote has got the chops to beat the LS. And they’re smart enough to figure out that if a built Coyote runs hard in a Fox-Body, then it can be made to run hard in a new 2011 Mustang.
Come on Ford Racing . . . Just do it!
Labels: 2011 Mustang, Brian Wolfe, Car Craft Engine Swap Drags, Coyote V8, Ford Racing, GM LS V8, Hemi, Modular V8, Paul Svinicki, Roush
posted by Editor at 15:49
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