Earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford revealed the upcoming 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Despite keeping most of the specs a secret, Ford did state that it would have “over” 700 horsepower, making it the most powerful street-legal Mustang ever built.
It’s predecessor, the 2013-2014 GT500, came from the factory with 660-horsepower and was the first production Mustang with a top speed over 200mph.
Fortunately, the veil has been lifted. Ford has announced that the 2020 GT500 will be powered by a hand-built, 5.2 liter “Predator” aluminum V8 engine with a 2.65 liter roots-style supercharger producing 760 horsepower and 625 lb. ft of torque. This should bring 0-60 times in the low 3 second range, which has yet to be tested.
Also, for the first time ever, Ford Performance is ditching their 6-speed manual transmission, and moving to a 7-speed, dual clutch transmission. It does not appear a manual transmission will be offered, however, it’s not something that should be ruled out just yet.
There is no question that as horsepower increases, a dual-clutch transmission will yield the fastest shifts, 0-60 sprints, and lap times. However, are they moving away from the true driving experience of the sports car?
Chevrolet is doing the same with the C8 and only offering it in a dual-clutch transmission. It appears American automakers are harping on efficiency, and only time will tell if this is going to hurt the driving experience for the enthusiast.
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What price point does the fastest production Mustang come in at? The GT500 will start at an MSRP of $73,995, and fully loaded will reach the $95,000 range.
Competing with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye, the GT500 comes in as the most expensive of the three. Whereas the GT500 trumps the ZL1 in power, it is still bested by the Hellcat Redeye which is produced with 797 ponies.
The last question, of course, is what do we think the fastest street-legal Mustang will do in the half-mile? Although it will have gobs of power, it will not be the lightest car out there either.
The DCT will help with fast shifts and efficiency, but will that equate to a fast half-mile time? We think, given the power, transmission, and weight, the 2020 GT500 in stock form will be in the 155 mph half-mile range.
However, by continuing to use a supercharged setup, tuners will likely be able to yield huge horsepower gains by simple bolt-on’s and pulley swaps. 160-165mph in the half-mile with simple bolt-on’s doesn’t seem too far off!