2013 Ford Mustang GT: Motoramic Drives

It hasn't been long since I last removed my race helmet, pulled off my gloves, and leaped out of my 650-hp IndyCar. I'm used to speeds in excess of 230 mph and I'm in my element sliding a 1,600-lb missile on wheels through a bend just inches from a concrete wall. One of my jobs, as a race car driver, is to evaluate a car's performance at triple-digit speeds and find its true essence.

My most recent mission: To evaluate the all-new 2013 Ford Mustang — on the city streets of Portland, in the rain.

Growing up, I had a poster of the 1968 Mustang on my bedroom wall, and used to imagine being hurled around the hairpin streets of San Francisco by Steve McQueen in "Bullitt." It's the world's icon for muscle cars, and for 2013 Ford's tweaked the modern Mustang design that draws from that '68 pony car with a dollop of 21st-century aggression.

I felt like I was holding back a great white shark from a feeding frenzy.

Ford's engineers have kept pace with the pony car wars by raising the power from the 5-liter V-8 in the GT to 420 hp from 412, while the 3.7-liter V-6 keeps its 305 hp rating from last year. This year's model also sports a 4.2-inch LCD screen featuring Track Apps, which allows the driver to monitor performance measures such as g-forces, acceleration times, and other novelty items that sound wonderful but aren't particularly useful in the real world.

As I climbed into the GT, I was assailed by enough plastic to keep a Beverly Hills surgeon in business for years, with flimsy latches concealing storage bins. The rest of the interior seemed far better finished, from the suede-and-leather seats to the panoramic sunroof. But if I'm buying a new suit at Nordstrom's, why would I finish it off with a pair of Faded Glory flip-flops from WalMart? Clearly some corners had been cut to keep the price tag on the top-end GT to a reasonable $42,075; the base GT starts at just $34,300.

But pressing the start button and hearing the V-8 roar showed that no expense was spared when it came to the engine. The torque twists the car as you rev; I felt like I was holding back a great white shark from a feeding frenzy, desperate to be unleashed.

So, I did just that.