The much awaited Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is here, and its arrival has made it the most powerful Ford vehicle to date with “more than 700 hp” to play with.
The most powerful Ford ever really needs an exterior design that clearly flexes its capability, and as a result, the Ford Mustang‘s exteior has been substantially beefed up. The front end is more aggressive, with a more pronounced air dam, front splitter, redesigned grille, and wider front and rear tracks. Two optional packages are available. The Hanlding Pack adds adjustable strut top mounts and a spoiler with a Gurney flap. The more hardcore options is the Carbon Fiber Track Pack, which adds 20-inch carbon wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, and an adjustable exposed carbon fiber GT4 wing.
The interior has been spruced up as well. The optional Carbon Fiber Track Pack adds exposed carbon fiber on various places in the interior, including the instrument cluster, Recaro sport seats with leather and suede inserts, while the rear seats are removed.
But what’s truly interesting about the Shelby GT500 is its powertrain. The supercharged 5.2-liter V8 uses the same block as the naturally-aspirated Shelby GT350, albeit with a massive 2.65-liter supercharger, bigger than what is found in the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, but just slightly smaller than the Challenger SRT Demon. Ford did not reveal the specific details of the engine, saying that it produces “over 700 hp.” Mated to a Tremec 7-speed dual clutch transmission, sending power to the rear wheels via a unique carbon fiber driveshaft, the Shelby GT500 can sprint from 0-100 kph in the mid-three seconds and a quarter mile of under 11 seconds. The dual-clutch transmission can change gears in under 100 milliseconds, and comes with a number of modes, which includes normal, sport, drag, and track.
Numerous upgrades have also been made to the rest of the vehicle to better handle the power. The Shelby GT500 comes with revised suspension geometry, next-gen MagneRide dampers, and a new electronic power steering unit. Massive 420 mm two-piece rotors with six-pot Brembo calipers effectively scrub speed from the Shelby GT500 even after brutal use in the track.
The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will go on sale this fall in the US, with final engine specs to be revealed in the coming months.
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