2003 Chevrolet Corvette vs. 2003 Ford SVT Mustang Cobra

Behold, the epitome of current born-in-the-USA musclecar drop-tops made by Ford and GM. We're talking about high-horsepower, lotsa-torque, kick-in-the-pants convertibles.

God bless America.

Ever since these automakers brought forth the original versions (1953 for the Vette and 19641/2 for the Mustang), convertibles have been a large part of their respective market domination. Model-year '03 has been significant for both, and each is on the verge of change. The Corvette celebrates 50 years as you read this, and the next-generation model (C6) is well past the drawing board stage. Mustang has outlasted its former rivals, Camaro and Firebird, and the first completely new version of Ford's ponycar since 1979 is also currently under development.

In celebration of the Vette's five decades, there's a special edition that offers Anniversary Red paint, Magnetic Selective Ride Control, shale interior, champagne-colored wheels, and 50th-Anniversary badging and embroidery throughout.

Ford's niche-line chestbeater--SVT--has tweaked the venerable SN95 platform into the most powerful Mustang Cobra ever produced: 390 supercharged horsepower and an equal amount of twist to the rear wheels. It has 40 more ponies and 15 lb-ft of torque over the Vette--but does it translate to the pavement?

Now that you're primed for the performance numbers, take a cold shower. We'll get to them later. The first question is how do these ragtops stack up? Answer: Closer than you think.

Unlike most European convertibles, American-made iron still suffers from cowl shake and leaky tops. The Corvette and Cobra are hugely improved over their predecessors, but hit a patch of rough pavement and the windshield still sways--one oscillation for the Corvette and two for the Mustang. Putting them through the car wash, both leaked a few drops at the A-pillar seals. But the leakage isn't enough that you'd get soaked in the rain, either.

Cruising and communicating while riding topless with your significant other can often be a challenge, but both of our players passed the open-cabin conversation test with flying colors. As a two-seater, the Vette would seem to have less wind buffeting than the Cobra, but the Ford's aero package is slightly better, with less sensation of wind at speed. Both cars posted 73 dB at 60 mph on the decibel meter with the top and windows up and 88 dB with everything down.

Top materials have improved in the past decade, and Ford and GM's foldaways are first rate. Both are cut from weather-treated cloth and are fully lined with heated glass rear windows. Of the two, the Vette's manually operated top takes more time to lower at 10 seconds: Release both header latches and push the front of the lid up. Get out of the car and release the hard tonneau latch with the button behind the driver's seat. Lift the rear of the top up and swing the body-color tonneau open, then drop the assembly into the exposed truck area, latch the tonneau into place, and you're set to go.

Getting the Cobra to alfresco mode is a 6.6-second stoplight dream: Just unlatch the twin header locks, depress the top switch, and it's electrically whisked into the well. The semi-hard tonneau is a compression-fit design--one person can install it, but it's easier with an extra pair of hands.

We like the built-in hard cover that gives the Corvette a finished look, but going topless also means sacrificing a few inches of trunk space, which is regained when the roof's in place. The Cobra's top resides in its own well, cutting into useable trunk space, but that space remains constant, whether the top is up or down.

Roof up, the Corvette's trunk is generous at 13.9 cubic feet--plenty of room for a couple of golf and overnight bags. If you're planning on using the Cobra for a long-weekend trip, we suggest wrinkle-free clothing and soft-sided luggage. With 7.7 cubic feet of storage area, the back seats will probably get more use as a package tray, rather than passenger seating.

The Cobra's interior design has grown long in the tooth and is in serious need of the forthcoming '05 upgrade. Grain and color matching of plastics is good, but it still looks at least five years old, fresh from the factory. Unlike the near-perfect shifter feel in the Corvette, the Cobra's T56 stick feels like it came straight from a '56 F-100 pickup--long throws to third and fifth gears literally have you stretching out of the seat to get the shifter into the gate. We like the Cobra's silver-faced gauges with sharp red pointers, and electroluminescent lighting provides a cool glow to the instruments when the stars are out. On the down side, the Mustang's seat/wheel/control relationships are all out of whack, and the ergonomics show their age.

On paper, the Cobra's supercharged 4.6-liter/390-horsepower/390-lb-ft DOHC V-8 looks to defeat the Vette's normally aspirated 5.7-liter/350-horse/375-lb-ft OHV V-8. But, given the Fords' 532-pound weight disadvantage and rear-wheel hop, the Corvette proves slightly quicker off the line. The Cobra lagged just 0.14 second to 60 mph and 0.10 second and 0.01 mph covering the quarter mile.

Since both cars wear nearly identical rubber and ride on four-wheel independent suspensions, we anticipated a fair fight through the slalom cones. Again, the Corvette prevailed at 2.3 mph faster. The Chevrolet's lower level of chassis flex, lower coefficient of drag, and 51/49-percent weight distribution allowed it to rotate more on its center axis, whereas the Cobra's twisty frame and 57/43 distribution got the rear swinging halfway through the run.

So which of these two American muscle drop-tops takes home the crown? It's a tough call.

The SVT clearly has the horsepower-to-dollar ratio in its corral--at nearly $18,000 less, as tested. The Vette has the performance and handling advantage; the Mustang's interior holds four.

While you could split hairs forever, reality is that Chevy people wouldn't be caught dead driving a hopped-up Mustang and Ford enthusiasts wouldn't buy a plastic Bow-Tie if it were the last set of wheels on earth. The true winners are those who buy these cars, and the prizes are the victories they claim at each stoplight. Until we can pass judgment on the next-gen Cobra, the Corvette remains King of the American drop-tops.