Courtesy of The Drive:  As the Matchbox toys of the automotive world, American muscle cars are ripe for experimentation—or exploitation—in the form of special editions. Get it right, and you end up with a Plymouth Superbird, a future collectible and classic. Get it wrong, and you end up with a 1998 Corvette Indy Pace Car, a purple-and-yellow poseur with as much class as a Franklin Mint collector plate.

The 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt is no Superbird in terms of investment potential; not least because Ford will build many more over a two-year run than the mere 135 Hemi Superbirds produced in 1970. But kudos to Ford for offering the Bullitt exclusively as a fastback coupe (no convertible) with a six-speed manual transmission, a vote for authenticity over incremental sales.

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Courtesy of Automobile: PONTIAC, Michigan — Ford has changes in store for the Mustang Shelby GT350 designed to upgrade its uber-pony/sports car with handling improvements for the 2019 model year. The mid-cycle upgrade features new suspension calibrations, a new wheel design, new tires, and improved aerodynamics, according to Mustang engineering chief Carl Widmann.

The new tires are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 measuring 295/35 front and 305/35 rear. These complementing new springs, anti-roll bars, and MagneRide suspension tuning, Widmann says, “for faster lap times.” The rear wing comes with an optional Gurney flap and the “blanking” in the grille—the blocked-out openings—has been optimized for better aero with sufficient cooling.

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Courtesy of MotorTrend:  3.3 seconds.

When we paired this dynamic pony-car duo earlier this year, the performance gap between the newly refreshed 2018 Ford Mustang with Performance Package and the Camaro SS 1LE (a fourth-place finisher in our 2016 Best Driver’s Car competition) was 3.3 seconds on our local Streets of Willow Springs handling circuit. The more powerful Mustang’s best lap was an impressive 1:23.97, but the torquier Camaro’s superior chassis delivered a blistering 1:20.67 lap, ranking it the sixth quickest production car on that circuit. As we noted, that yawning performance gap means these two cars probably wouldn’t be allowed to compete in the same class.

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