In a world of high powered American muscle cars, Ford was a little behind its competitors. First, the 707HP Hellcat was released by Dodge, the 650HP ZL1 by Chevrolet and the highest powered Mustang up until now was the Shelby GT350 making a measly 526HP compared to all these heavy hitters. But that’s over now.
Meet the new GT500, the highest powered Mustang to date, making 760HP from it’s supercharged 5.2-liter “Predator” V8.
That makes it more powerful than the ZL1 Camaro, and the original Hellcat, but the newer Hellcat Redeye with 797HP still beats it out. 60 mph comes in 3.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in about 11 seconds. Top speed is limited to 180 mph, falling short of the Camaro at 190 and the Redeye all the way at 203, most likely due to the aero features, which are designed to produce as much downforce as possible. The power goes to the rear wheels through Ford’s new Tremac seven-speed DCT transmission which is the quickest ever fitted to a ‘Stang, shifting in under 100 milliseconds. Unfortunately, no manual is offered on the newest high powered muscle car.
With redone suspension, a new power steering unit, and absolutely huge 16.5 inch rotors help the GT500 cope with all that supercharged power writhing under the hood, and giving it the largest front brakes on any American sports coupe. But what about the price? It’s not cheap. With a starting price of $73,995 and many more dollars to spend in options. The Handling Package adds adjustable strut top mounts, removable splitter end plates and a Gurney flap for $1,500 and the Technology Package upgrades the sound system, blind-spot warning, rain sensing wipers, navigation and Cobra logo-projecting puddle lamps for $3,000. But that’s not all my friends, the most expensive package of them all is the $18,500 Carbon Fiber Track Package, which gives the GT500 Michelin Cup 2 tires, an ajustale carbon wing, a rear seat delete and dive planes up front. With this package, you could buy a nicely speced Fiesta ST which is plenty fine for me, but its America, the land of excess, and I don’t blame them for that.
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