https://youtu.be/wecVzPzf8R4
Ford says “over 700 hp,” but we won’t know exactly how much power until later this year.
Update: This post has been updated with live images.
The last several years have been a boon to automotive enthusiasts, as automakers find new and creative ways to shoehorn more and more power into their cars. The
Dodge Challenger is the poster child for this movement. It started life with just 425 horsepower, but variants like the Demon have nearly doubled that number. It’s the same with the
Chevrolet Camaro and
Corvette. And now, the
Ford Mustang is
joining in on the fun with the
2020 Shelby GT500.
153 Photos
The first GT500 since the Mustang ditched its solid rear axle, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this car, despite its debut at today’s
North American International Auto Show. For example, while Ford confirmed that it will carry a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 and
a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the Blue Oval is playing coy on total output.
At a backgrounder last week, the automaker told
Motor1.com that the GT500 would
pack over 700 horsepower, but said it was still fiddling with the car’s powerplant and wouldn’t have a final output figure until fall of 2019. Ditto with the torque output. The rumor mill, though, seems pegged on around 750 horsepower and over 700 pound-feet of torque. As for Ford, the company is promising a sub-11-second quarter-mile time, while the GT500 should be able to get to 60 in the mid-three-second range.
Wild Mustang:
2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500: Everything We Know
2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 Vs. Challenger Hellcat, Camaro ZL1
What we do know is that this powertrain isn’t some old hunk of iron with a blower attached to it. Ford engineers flipped the 2.7-liter supercharger upside down and somehow tucked the intercooler between the cylinder banks, all in a bid to lower the center of gravity on the all-aluminum mill. There are high-flow aluminum cylinder heads and forged connecting rods and a trick oil pan with active baffles to keep the engine lubricated through high-G turns – this is a thoroughly modern engine. It also sounds thoroughly angry. Check out the B-roll above, and be sure to turn the volume up.
The same is true of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Complete with a rotary shifter, the new Tremec gearbox is the only available option available for consumers. But why no manual? The answer is both simple and predictable. In fact, it’s the same reason that
Ferrari and
Lamborghini have abandoned manual gearboxes, and why the new
Porsche 911 is launching with a two-pedal setup first – the automatic option is faster. According to
Ford, the Tremec seven-speed can execute upshifts in just 100 milliseconds, which is incredibly fast.