mk6medic
Go Kart Champion
It's all point of reference. I called the 4.6 GT a dog because it is. Let's call a spade a spade. The new Coyote motor 5.0 GT makes the 4.6 look like a joke. Even the new V6 equals the old 4.6 V8 in output.
I don't think the GTI is fast in the least, but it's not marketed as fast muscle car like the GT is.
My reference over the last ten years (before my commuter GTI) were 11 second four cylinders (Evos) with fantastic handling, traction, and braking stock. The power was cheap to address in the aftermarket. The pre-Coyote GTs had none of those three things stock, and have solid axle. Dogs. Junk. The new Mustangs still are solid axle, but are freaking awesome on track. Not dogs. Not junk.
AWD and RWD are 2 different monsters. And you could easily make a "dog" 4.6 Mustang run 11's with fantastic handling, traction and braking. The power and everything else was cheap for Mustangs. don't talk modified vs unmodified.
Evo's are badass, no matter what generation. You can't really compare anything to them, even an STI. It's just not fair.
And again, in 2005, no matter how the Mustang was marketed, it was fast brand new vs most brand new cars of that year. There were tests conducted that had them running 4.9 0-60, repeatedly. There weren't a ton doing that, save for ones that were $$$.