Thread: 2013 Ford SHELBY GT500: 662 hp & 631 ft-lbs tq! First Drive

EPIC AMERICAN WIN!!!

2013 Ford Shelby GT500, a gentler stampeding Mustang: Motoramic Drives | Motoramic - Yahoo! Autos

The 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 arrives late this year fresh from its third major makeover in the last four years, Ford's master chief in its battle for pony car dominance. Thanks to an influx of beefier hardware and clever software, the Shelby GT500's performance amazes in every dimension -- almost too much so.

There's no more fitting tribute in the wake of Carroll Shelby's passing last week than to note when Ford engineers vowed that the 2013 version of the street-rocket Mustang bearing his name would hit 200 mph, Shelby accused them of "bulls**ting" him. They told the truth.

The changes wrought on the 2013 Shelby aren't just the monstrous increase in horsepower from 550 hp to 662 hp with 631 ft-lbs of torque, making the 'Stang capable of a 0-60 mph time of just 3.7 seconds. The braking system scrubs excess speed with larger, 6-piston Brembo calipers. To shed weight gained from the bored-out 5.8-liter supercharged V8 engine, Ford installed a carbon-fiber driveshaft and a plastic fuel tank. The engineers worked tirelessly on multiple cooling systems and with Bilstein on an optional performance package, bringing the suspension and handling in line with the hefty increase in power.

The front end sports a more aggressive design and a grille-free opening that contains endless fairings and flaps, increasing front down force by 66% -- crucial in getting the car over 200 mph without reviving the Mustang as an airborne object. The rear end has the new for 2013 taillights and a not-so-subtle quad exhaust producing the bellow of a waking giant.

With my car fitted with the optional "Track Pack" that increases cooling even further -- and bumps the sticker price to $65,120 from the $54,200 base number -- I took to the Road Atlanta racetrack. I braced for a punishing ride that would make me earn my lap time, and instead found a companion as calm and eager to reward as a day-care teacher. There was no understeer to speak of, and the rear was planted on power down. The gear ratios from the beefed-up Tremec six-speed manual were so long that the car tricks you into thinking you're going slower than you actual velocity. The car will do 60 mph in just 1st gear, and I was still in 3rd at 140 mph. It felt, dare I say it, tame.

And I didn't want it to.

2013 Ford Shelby GT500I wanted to manhandle the car, holding my breath every turn, praying I would emerge from the other side without bending metal or myself. I worried that in their drive to wrangle this herd of wild horses, the Ford engineers had actually done their jobs too well.

The same was true when I hit the country roads. The 242 additional horsepower in the GT500 over the upgraded Mustang GT barely made its presence known -- in part because the GT500 only makes its maximum when the car "over revs" from its normal redline of 6,250 rpm to 7,000 rpm in eight-second bursts, and the tall gear ratios prevent the chiropractic snap you'd expect when nailing the gas pedal. As a cruiser, it projects all the coolness a Shelby should, but I wasn't there to prance about. I brought spare boxer shorts and I expected to need them.

The next day brought us to the drag strip, and there the spirit of Carroll Shelby emerged. The long gear ratios suddenly made sense, perfectly matched for the task of producing an 11.7-second quarter mile time, just a bit faster than the GT500's archenemy, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Credit Ford's launch control system, perhaps the best on any production car today, that lets drivers pick an engine start limit by 100 revs at a time to match the conditions on the track. It was far smarter than I was, and no matter how hard I tried with the traction control turned off, I couldn't beat the system.

69 Shelby GT500Carroll Shelby was famous for saying, "Whatever the competition comes up with, we're going to kick the hell out of them." In a drag race or lapping around the Nurburgring, the 2013 Shelby GT500 probably will. It's a car that Ford claim can do everything -- and back it up. It's a great car to cruise down the highway or over country roads. It can drag race with the best and can lap a racetrack like a car half its size. It's fantastic -- and yet I feel a little let down.

The Shelbys of decades past were many things, but like Carroll Shelby himself, "refined" wasn't one of their selling points. All the best of his muscle cars carried a madness that makes them magical. If you want to go blisteringly fast in a straight line and reign as the king of the stoplights, then buy this Shelby. But if you want your pony to provide a rush of adrenaline, the more unpredictable, wild Mustang GT will let you live at the limits for less money. With the GT500, you can leave your spare boxers at home.

It is unlikely customers will get their sweaty palms on one for less than $80k knowing the $$$ hungry stealerships.
Still a EPIC car by any and all accounts! The "Dollar per HP" war has gone nuclear! Winner = FORD.

I've actually owned 3 Stangs in my life and THIS by far is the most gorgeous IMHO... And certainly the most POTENT!

I can see myself in one exactly like the one pictured above. Hmmm....

Love this! Not a Stang guy, but this is a beast of a car and I'd definitely take one.

EPIC AMERICAN WIN!!!

that says it all right there

Ford has really been stepping it up and going in the right direction!

For 55k, you could get a ZL1 that comes stock with the 3 coolers that cost you an extra 10k on the Ford and you could send it off to Livernois Motorsports...

So its a 4 speed huh?...
Might as well be if they put retarded gearing in it to do 140 in 3rd.


For the money it doesn't seem to be a very good deal compared to the zr1 or zl1

The only thing I like on the Camaro over the Ford... Magnetic Suspension!
I can not get overt the instrument cluster inside Camaro. But the bodywork is on point.

Originally Posted by TheYoungConnoisseur

So its a 4 speed huh?

Might as well be if they put retarded gearing in it to do 140 in 3rd.

I may be missing your point? The gear ratios appear to be very good! Without those 5th and 6th gears, the car would probably get Veyron gas mileage.

^Yeah but seriously, your not going to be getting any kind of shifting pleasure from it. Its gonna drive like an electric car. Leave it in 2nd and 3rd gear ALL day long.

I just couldn't justify it to myself to spend that kind of coin a a mustang. Yes I know it's far from a regular mustang, but to me I feel like I'd rather buy a foreign car, albeit not as much hp/torque for the money but imo there are much nicer looking cars to be had.