2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 – First Look - Performance Technology

Performance Technology - 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 – First Look

If I ever looked around and thought one day I will look back on this era and reminisce about it as a golden age. Oh hey the 2020 for Mustang GT500.

Ford's never been shy about offering special renditions of the Mustang. But this is arguably the most special. First the performance credentials. 0 to 60 in the mid threes and sub 11-second quarter-mile acceleration. Jeepers, it must take massive power to facilitate such stellar propulsion.

How does more than 700 horsepower sound? Actually with track hawks and demons and hellcats. 700 horsepower cars are a little less spectacular than they used to be. Still 700-plus horsepower Mustang is awfully sweet if you could see it back there.

Bruising all of that power is a hand-built aluminum supercharged 5.2 liter v8 sporting an air to liquid intercooler. Specific figures haven't been announced but honestly with more than 700 horsepower it's academic the GT500 will be plenty powerful.

And now some controversy traditionalists might be norm, the choice of transmission. There is no manual rather a 7-speed dual clutch that Ford claims can shift in less than 100 milliseconds.

So I like shifting gears as much as the next person but where lap times are concerned it's hard to be the dual clutch. Just ask the Ford GT.

Even though it lacks a third pedal the GT500 will feature a lime lock mode for a definitely legal close course not at your cars and coffee burnouts.

There's also a launch control feature as well as a range of drive modes like normal, sport, drag and track. At this point you're probably wondering if the GT500 can shed all that speed it builds. The answer can be found ... well behind that guy in that wheel there.

There, those are massive two-piece 16.5 inch rotors teamed with six piston Brembo calipers. Those coupled with the substantial grip of 20 inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4s or optional Sport Cup 2 tires should yield deceleration that's quite literally eye-popping. While crafting the ultimate Mustang Ford decided to go buck wild with the carbon fiber via a carbon fiber track package that the leads the rear seats and adds carbon fiber wheels front splitters and an adjustable rear wing.

There's also a standard carbon fiber driveshaft that perhaps with some maneuvering we can see ... nope. It's under there somewhere. I'm sure. Elsewhere the exterior has been crafted to improve downforce and shed heat from the engine and brakes so yes the huge grill louvered hood and various aero touches are justified inside. The GT500 looks properly racy with carbon fiber bits and available Recaro racing seats featuring safety harness pass throughs, so yeah you can take it to the track.

We don't know how much it'll cost you at Ford dealers in the fall of 2019, but we do know it'll cost more than it's $60,000 GT350 sibling. Plus dealer markups on top of that, good luck.

Monstrous power is dazzling but what's so compelling about the 2020 GT500 is that it's not a one-trick pony you could take it to the drag strip racetrack and use it for a parking lot smack talk or inadvertently skidding across the median leaving your local cars and coffee and another wise quiet Sunday. The GT 500 does it all at supercar speeds so if you see it leaving your local car mate, maybe give it a little extra space.