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Ford has launched the most powerful Mustang it has ever made, the new Shelby GT500 model, at the Detroit motor show. Lowered onto the show stage by a virtual helicopter (seen by the audience through the use of VR goggles and it says much about the modern motor industry that once upon a time Ford would have used a real chopper...) the Mustang Shelby GT500 uses a 5.2-litre supercharged version of the venerable Coyote V8 engine with a massive power output.
A massive power output which they won't tell us about yet. Ford is playing its cards close to its corporate chest (doubtless looking for another slice of the publicity pie once the hubbub of the motor show has died down) and will tell us only that the hottest 'Stang develops "more than 700hp."
That makes it a head-on, dragstrip-ready rival to the likes of the Dodge Challenger Demon and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. And, if you're feeling generous, all manner of European exotica.
Named for Carroll Shelby, the famed Texan racer and car tuner, who created the original Ford-engined Cobra, the GT500 also gets the seven-speed DCT paddle-shift gearbox from the Ford GT supercar. You also get custom-made Michelin tyres, the biggest brakes ever fitted to a US-market coupe, and a hyper-aggressive bodykit. "Carroll was always working on the next faster Shelby, I think he would love this Mustang more than any other," said Jim Farley, Ford president, global markets. "A takedown artist, the new Shelby GT500 will surprise supercar owners with its Ford Performance racing tech, supercharged engine and visceral swagger."
The 5.2-litre engine gets a Roots-type supercharger that, all by itself, displaces 2.65 litres. It has an air-to-liquid intercooler tucked neatly in the V8 engine's 'vee' and he aluminum alloy block features weight-saving wire-arc cylinder liners and high-flow aluminum cylinder heads, plus larger forged connecting rods, improved lubrication and cooling passages. Beneath that, a structural oil pan adds strength, reduces vibration, and features a patented active baffle system to keep oil where it's needed.
The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, built for Ford by specialist firm Tremec, can shift gears in just 100 milliseconds, and the car comes with driving modes including normal, slippery, sport, drag and track, and features line-lock and rpm-selectable launch control through selectable Track Apps.
Magneride adaptive dampers are standard, of course, while those front brakes, supplied by Brembo, are scarcely-credible 420mm across. You can buy a Handling Pack too, which gives you adjustable suspension top mounts and a 'Gurney Flap' rear spoiler for added downforce, while for the truly hardcore, an available Carbon Fiber Track Package features exposed 20-inch carbon fibre wheels with half-inch-wider rear wheels (11.5-inch across), custom Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, adjustable exposed carbon fibre GT4 track wing and splitter wickers with integrated dive plane. The rear seat is deleted to reduce weight.
As standard you get 20-inch alloys and a massive rear wing, as well as a unique front styling treatment that should ensure nothing dawdles in your way in the fast lane for long. Inside, there's an exposed carbon fibre instrument panel, suede door liners, Recaro racing seats, the 12-inch digital instrument cluster and the eight-inch SYNC3 infotainment system, and a Bang and Olufsen stereo. Which you probably won't be able to hear over the shrieking V8.
"With its supercar-level powertrain, the all-new Shelby GT500 takes the sixth-generation Mustang to a performance level once reserved only for exotics," said Hermann Salenbauch, global director, Ford Performance vehicle programs. "As a Mustang, it has to be attainable and punch above its weight. To that end, we've set a new standard among American performance cars with our most powerful street-legal V8 engine to date, plus the quickest-shifting transmission ever in a Mustang for all-out precision and speed."