8 Years

Remember 2004? 

Things sucked.

Bush was president – again,

Gas prices topped the once unthinkable $2/gal mark, 

And I had to close down my totally bitchin’ Myspace account – how was I supposed to make new friends on a social network with no ‘poke’ function!?

Luckily though, things weren’t so bad for us hoons. Honda was still making sports cars, Porsche brought us the exquisite Carrera GT, and Ford’s Special Vehicle Team delivered another year of the glorious ‘Terminator.‘ Known to most as the SVT Cobra, it was the mightiest of Mustangs with its 390 horsepower supercharged 4.6L V8. 

It became the undisputed king of the pony cars – although the fact that the Camaro and Trans Am were both dead, and the Challenger had been out of the picture since the beginning of the disco-era might have had something to do with it . . .

Fun fact: Yes, there was a second-gen Challenger made between '78-'83, and yes, I've chosen to negate it, like most things
made in the 80s.

So what was a 390 horsepower Mustang to do with itself besides mock its embarrassingly slow little brother? 

Enter Subaru’s blue and gold rally rocket:

Unleashed onto the shores of North America in 2004, Subaru’s WRX STI was a potent machine. Even though it had 90 fewer horsepower, the Subaru's AWD system and light weight gave it enough of an edge to outrun Ford’s boosted muscle car at the strip and the track (HotRod Magazine). To the horror of muscle car fanatics everywhere, it was beginning to look like there might actually be a replacement for displacement.

Fast-forward a few years to Car and Driver’s 2011 Lightning Lap competition though, and the tables have turned. The new Mustang lapped Virginia International Raceway a full second and a half faster than the STI – worth noting here, is that this was the base Mustang. Yes – the log-axle, V6-powered, secretary’s Mustang just beat the turbocharged, Terminator-killer of yesteryear. Could you imagine if a base Mustang had beaten an STI in 2004? All of NASIOC would still be trying to un-bunch their Monster-brand panties.

Over the last 8 years, Ford’s Cobra has grown up into Shelby’s 662 horsepower, 200-plus-mph monster. Even the GT and V6 models are both up 100 horsepower from their 2004 brethren. Meanwhile, the STI has picked up an impressively stagnant 5 horsepower – woof.

AR