Lots of cars have angry eyebrows. Not that many cars have the moves to back them up. But the 2020 Shelby Mustang GT500 does and its very angry indeed. Even when painted in a jovial shade of safety-cone orange, the leering face bristles with vents, scoops, spoilers, and splitters. The very first second you fire it up you realize that the multi-mode exhaust has no fewer than four settings but they only range from antisocial to jet-engine. It wasnt built to make friends.It was built to be the ultimate performance Mustang. And with 760 horsepower, its far and away the most powerful Mustang ever built. Two of Steve McQueens rowdiest 1968 GT390s would still need a Mustang II stacked on top to equal the power of the mad supercharged 5.2L V8. Remember those this is your brain on drugs ads? Well this is your 5.2L GT350 Voodoo engine on copious amounts of boost. The bones of the same captain-insane-o flat-plane-crank V8 that we adored in the GT350 has been treated to a healthy dose of Roots blower which pushes 12 psi of go-fast squeeze through the mill. It makes 620 lb.-ft. and will rev out to 7,500 RPM. The engine is a treasure. We will be talking about this engine 25 years later as one of the mechanical greats. It revs, it pulls, its linear, and boy is it mean. The idle has an off-key warble like a V10 Viper thanks to the cross-plane-crank breathing through one intake plenum. Its everything you loved about the GT350 motor but with more of everything everywhere.Coupled to this engine exclusively is a paddle-shift-equipped seven-speed dual-clutch Tremec automatic. I can hear the pitter patter of #savethemanuals typers already, but honestly, the average human and buyer will not be able to shift fast enough to keep up with 760 hp. The shift points come at you faster than the music notes in Guitar Hero when you try to play Iron Maiden at full difficulty. The paddle is an honestly welcome companion to the GT500 engine and the shifts are absolutely fierce when you need them to be. Otherwise, it seems content to waft you along and seamlessly shift around in traffic. Its a very good transmission. Every bit as good as that transmission is the suspension tuning. The GT500 is fully aerodynamically optimized and that combined with just honestly good suspension engineering make the GT500 not as scary to drive as you might think. The magnetorheological suspension is not too harsh and jouncy on real roads. Sport mode is just about perfect for fast driving. The steering lacks feel compared to what youd find in a Porsche 718 or even across town in a Camaro. But the weight feels right and the entire package inspires tons of driving confidence. And youll want confidence when youre piloting 760 hp around.When you slap the accelerator down in a Hellcat, all kinds of amusing and terrifying things happen. The tires light up and the car goes sideways no matter what speed youre already doing. Its fun in the same way that base jumping is. But the Mustang simply rears up on those 315 section tires and explodes forward. Mat the gas at any speed above first gear and it just moves out like no muscle car youve ever seen, accompanied with a wild banshee wail. Lots of muscle cars have big power but the GT500 lets you use that power pretty much anywhere. 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Clayton Seams The cabin is nothing to write home about. You sit in a pair of nicely-shaped Recaros but those are the only seats youll find inside. The rears have been replaced with a little bit of foam. The GT500 is a true two-seater. Though it may cost a full $94,675 in Canada, the door panels, dashboard pad, and console are made from the very same materials youd find in a humble four-cylinder Mustang. But if youre buying this car, you know exactly where your money has been spent. Your money went to fund all the amazing pieces that transform the Mustang into a 100-percent capable track car. And frankly, I dont know where youd find more performance capability for under $100,000.Despite its angry face and its back-off exhaust tone, the GT500 is actually friendly to drive once you wrap your head around the sheer speed of it. Its the GT2 RS to the GT350s GT3. The manually-shifted GT350 is more pure and is the true drivers car of the two. The GT350 also has just that extra little bit of hard-edge sound thanks to its sky-high 8,200 RPM redline. Which is the better car? Well, frankly, the GT350 may be ticket fast but the GT500 is jail fast. The 350 is ideally suited for canyon carving and fast road driving. And while you can canyon carve the GT500, it wants for something more. The GT500 deserves a racetrack to be let loose on, and a big one at that. Then you can show all the other cars how angry it can truly
Origin: First Drive: 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Shelby
Prototype Shelby ‘Green Hornet’ Mustang restored, unveiled at SEMA
One of two notchback coupe Mustangs that both Ford Motor Company and Shelby American used as prototypes, the other being Little Red. Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson unveiled the newly restored Green Hornet at SEMA with Shell and Pennzoil. A one-of-two Shelby EXP500 prototype has made its just-off-a-restoration debut at SEMA 2019.The vehicle started life as a Lime Gold-painted testbed for Fords Mustang California Special, and featured a few distinct features that set it apart from the regular notchback coupe.Marchal fog lights were fitted to the grille; spin-and-click hood pins were installed on the vented hood; the rear tail panel had a larger spoiler; and the taillights were replaced with units from a 1965 Thunderbird.Once Ford had gotten its use out of the Mustang, they sent it over to Carroll Shelby to tinker with. Shelby immediately painted the vehicle in a wild metal-flake green paint and replaced the 390-cubic-inch V8 with a 428-c.i. unit with Conelec fuel injection. An in-house designed six-speed automatic and independent rear suspension was fitted to top it all off. All the changes meant the vehicle saw a zero-to-96-km/h time of just 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 252 km/h (157 miles per hour).Shelby American only built two notchback coupe versions of the GT500, and this green example is the twin to “Little Red,” a hardtop lost for years and just recently found.The cars name, incidentally, came from Bill Cosby the Billy Cosby. Cosby had been a long-time friend of Shelby, and when he first took a look at the Mustangs wild green colour, he dubbed it The Green Hornet, taking inspiration from the favourite superhero of the animated characters in Fat Albert.The vehicle was presented at SEMA 2019 by its owner, Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson auctions, and
Origin: Prototype Shelby ‘Green Hornet’ Mustang restored, unveiled at SEMA
2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 goes, stops quickly in a straight line
The 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang in new Grabber LimeFord Ford is still keeping a few secrets about the upcoming Mustang Shelby GT500, but we now know the zero-100-zero time, and its wild.Although this metric is rarely used, the new GT500 with its 760 horsepower and 625 lb.-ft. of torque, can sprint to 100 km/h from a standing start and back down to zero in just 10.6 seconds.Most of this is due to the 5.2-litre supercharged V8 engine, but there are other factors at play here. The Michelin Sport Pilot Cup 2 tires help get all the power from the engine onto the ground without smoking the tires, and the available carbon fibre wheels keep rotating mass to a minimum. Thats all well and good, but the time wouldnt be as impressive if the GT500 didnt stop well, but the 16.5 inch brakes on the front wheels Ford says theyre the largest of any domestic sports coupe certainly help. Another critical factor in the search for the quickest times is what actually sends the power from the engine to the rear wheels. With the GT500, a dual-clutch automatic is the only option, but in Sport mode, it can over-torque shifts for uninterrupted power delivery similar to old-school power shifting, where the gas pedal stays firmly planted on the floor during shifts.The rear axle is a 3.73:1 Torsen limited-slip unit with stronger half -shafts. The 3.73 is actually quite mild, so its possible the GT500 could go even faster with a 4.11, or even a 3.90.While the numbers are impressive, it still is not a true zero-to-100 km/h time, leaving some numbers a mystery for
Origin: 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 goes, stops quickly in a straight line
Autocar confidential: Porsche eyes more diverse line-up, Shelby introduces limited-run sports car and more
This week’s snippets of automotive news include DS on why lights are crucial to car design, the continuing popularity of diesel for Land Rover, and where the T-Cross sits in Volkswagen’s revised global line-up. But first, how personalisation means very few Porsches are alike… More personal Porsches on the horizon Porsche produces 25,000 911 and 718 models at its Zuffenhausen factory annually, but with 39 variants and an ever-growing range of customised trim options, plant manager Christian Friedl says that it only produces identical cars “a maximum of two times per year”. The firm is set to introduce even more options, with Friedl claiming it will offer “the most personal car” possible. Illuminating design at DS How important are lights to a car? For DS, design director Thierry Metroz says they’re key to showcasing the brand’s refinement and technology pillars. “I have a specific team working only on lighting,” he said. “We have six exterior designers, and five only for the lighting – it’s so important.” Shelby’s long-awaited second series Shelby has updated its only bespoke model, the 20-year-old Series 1 sports car, to create the Series 2. Available with Ford-based big or small block V8s, just four will be built each year, priced at $350,000 for a carbonfibre body or $850,000 for custom-made aluminium. Diesel not dead at Land Rover Diesel still accounts for 80% of Jaguar Land Rover sales in the UK, says boss Rawdon Glover. “Diesel will continue to be relevant and remains a viable choice for customers,” he added. Volkswagen’s new global flagship SUV The new T-Cross will be a “cornerstone” of the Volkswagen global SUV line-up, says chief operating officer Ralf Brandstätter, with different regional versions to be built in Spain, China and Brazil. Market demands mean the Chinese and South American versions will be
Origin: Autocar confidential: Porsche eyes more diverse line-up, Shelby introduces limited-run sports car and more
News Roundup: Boat on highway causes waves of puns, 2020 Shelby GT500 gets priced, and Rivian keeps on poaching
Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.A police photo of a boat blocking a Toronto highway has turned into a national caption contestCaption? This boat ended up on #Hwy407 at Dixie Rd tonight. No one hurt. #HappyCanadaDay pic.twitter.com/rDU3sePzJ7 Sgt Kerry Schmidt (@OPP_HSD) July 2, 2019When Ontario police got a call about a boat blocking a lane-and-a-half of traffic on the GTA’s 407 ETR Highway on Canada Day, they knew just what to do: Snap a photo and post it to Twitter, obviously. The OPP’s official Twitter account shipped out a photo of the mid-size motorboat beached in the left lane, calling for the public to caption it. And the public, Driving.ca’s commenters included, did not disappoint. There were a ship-ton of boat puns, some fun Photoshop work, and a few solid references to Gilligan’s Island, which it turns out is still the most relevant piece of nautically-themed pop culture. The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500’s price tag nears six digitsFord has released pricing for the upcoming Mustang Shelby GT500, the most powerful Mustang ever made. The 2020 Shelby GT500 will go for $94,675 in Canada, which isn’t what the kids would call ‘el cheapo’. However, it’s a lot of car, with “the most torque-dense V8 ever,” according to the brand, good for 625 lb.-ft. of torque alongside 760 horses. Should you care to spend even more on mechanized muscle, Ford is happy to accommodate. There’s the Carbon Fibre Track Package that adds bare carbon-fibre 20-inch wheels and racing tires, a GT4 adjustable wing and more; or, for a little less, the Handling Package with a Gurney flap rear spoiler and front splitters. A hearse driver with a corpse in back argues right to use HOV laneA headline out of Nevada is serving as a reminder to funeral employees that if you’re going to use the HOV lane, your passenger has to have a pulse. When Nevada highway patrol pulled over a Dodge Grand Caravan traveling in the HOV lane with what appeared to be a sole occupant in the vehicle, they were met with an interesting argument by its driver. There was a passenger, the local funeral home employee told the officer—they just weren’t in a seat, rather in a casket in the back. Clever, but not technically legal. The driver was let off with a warning.What do truck nuts really say about a driver? There are many offensive and unnecessary ways to decorate your car, from the classic bumper sticker to gawd-awful accessories like headlight eyelashes, but king among them in terms of outrageousness are the truck testicles, a.k.a. TruckNutz. Now, columnist Lorraine Sommerfeld isn’t a fan of most car decorations, believing decor should be saved for the home, but she’s especially turned off by the dropping sacks that adorn the rear hitch of some of the world’s least discerning driver’s vehicles. So, if you own a set of TruckNutz and have an actual good reason why you feel the need to set them swinging from your F-150 – other than “balls, tee hee” – she wants to hear from you. We all do. Rivian can’t stop, won’t stop poaching employeesThe race to the world’s first long-range electric pickup truck is a hungry one. In an attempt to fight to the top of the pile, EV startup Rivian has been steadily leeching employees from automotive and tech competitors like Tesla, Ford, McLaren and especially Faraday Future. Since last spring, the Michigan-based company has doubled its number of staff, with nearly 50 engineers and other staff coming over from the struggling EV brand Faraday Future, many of whom had been furloughed by the company. The latest big hire made by Rivian, however, was of an Apple employee. Mike Bell, who helped bring the first-gen iPhone to market, will serve as Rivian’s first CTO. The 2019 Mazda MX-5 is the same old Miata we love, only now with more powerFun. That’s the Mazda MX-5 Miata’s modus operandi. Always has been. That’s why, when the previous-gen MX-5 (aka the NC) hit roads with a bigger body and a less powerful engine, some fans were… we won’t say disappointed, but confused. This year, though, Mazda has decided to clear things up with a return to the nimble nature and a boost of 26 horsepower. The 2019 MX-5 Miata once again plays to its strengths with a spirited four-cylinder engine, spot-on chassis and a host of other performance upgrades that make this generation one of the G.O.A.T.s. As reviewer Nick Tragianis notes, “On a tight, serpentine road, the Miata is more of the same, but better.”The 2019 Ford Ranger narrowly misses Top Safety Pick award at IIHS crash testsIt was the darned headlights. Thanks to a “marginal” rating given to the lamps, the 2019 Ford Ranger just missed the Top Safety Pick at this year’s IIHS safety tests. But it still did pretty well, earning a “superior” for front crash prevention, “good” for five
Origin: News Roundup: Boat on highway causes waves of puns, 2020 Shelby GT500 gets priced, and Rivian keeps on poaching
The Shelby Mustang GT500 will cost almost $100k in Canada
The all-new Shelby GT500–the pinnacle of any pony car ever engineered by Ford Performance–delivers on its heritage with more than 700 horsepower for the quickest street-legal acceleration and most high-performance technology to date ever offered in a Ford Mustang.Ford Ford has just released pricing for the brand-new 2020 Shelby GT500, the most powerful Mustang ever built, and it isnt cheap.The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 costs $94,675 Canadian dollars a hell of a lot more than a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, or even a Chevy Camaro ZL1. The extra cash isnt just for another 150 added to the GT350, though; you get a whole lot of features that elevate it from mere muscle car to damn-near-supercar.The big news about the GT500 has always been the engine, and rightly so, because its a doozy. The 5.2-litre supercharged-V8 is the most torque-dense V8 ever, according to Ford. Basically, that just means its squeezed more power out of a smaller package with this drivetrain, in this case 760 horsepower and 625 lb.-ft. of torque.The engine is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission as the only gearbox available, which can knock off shifts faster than your hand anyway.If you want more added to your ridiculous car, Ford will allow you to pay for the Carbon Fibre Track Package, which adds bare carbon-fibre 20-inch wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires; an adjustable GT4 track wing; adjustable strut-top mounts; and front splitters on each side. Fordll also keep the rear seats for itself when you check that box. If youre more budget-minded, you can spec the Handling Package, which adds a Gurney flap on the rear spoiler, as well as the front splitters. The Recaro seats can also be added separately from the Carbon Fibre Track Package.Finally, if you fancy a comfier ride, you can add the Technology Package, which includes a BO sound system, six-way power-adjustable driver seat, heated mirrors, Sync 3 with navigation and cross-traffic
Origin: The Shelby Mustang GT500 will cost almost $100k in Canada
The 2020 Shelby Mustang GT500 will have 760 horsepower
2020 Ford Mustang GT500Ford The 2020 Shelby Mustang GT500 was revealed five months ago with the promise of extreme aerodynamics; a new dual-clutch gearbox; and an engine that would deliver more than 700 horsepower.So, sure, Ford warned usbut we didnt expect the final production engine to have almost 800 ponies.Yes, the new GT500 will make a ton of horsepower.Some 760 to be exact, and 625 lb.-ft. of torque to go along with it, which is leaps and bounds over almost everything else in the field.The top Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette and Dodge Challenger Hellcat all fall behind the new Shelby, save for the Hellcat Redeye. Even some exotics cant catch up, like the Porsche 911 GT2RS, and the Ferrari F8 Tributo. The all-new 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 will produce 760 horsepower and 625 lb.-ft. of torque, making it the most powerful street-legal Ford ever – with the most power- and torque-dense supercharged production V8 engine in the world. Ford Of course, it isnt likely the GT500 will be able to stack up to the likes of the Ferrari and the Porsche, but with a dual-clutch transmission that can shift in less than 100 milliseconds and aero that can provide almost 550 pounds of downforce, Ford looks like its gunning for the big boys once again.Ford uses the 5.2-litre V8 from the GT350 as a starting point (but not the flat-plane-crank R version) and adds a supercharger to give it the extra oomph. The extra power should help the GT500 run a sub-11-second quarter-mile timeat least, thats what Ford says. The zero-to-100-km/h time is still not being revealed, but were sure it isnt too high.Pricing has still not been released, but if we know Ford plans to overdeliver on the horsepower, perhaps itll also give the 2020 Shelby GT500 a nice
Origin: The 2020 Shelby Mustang GT500 will have 760 horsepower
Ford designed the Shelby GT500’s stereo to help the engine sound perfect
2020 Ford Mustang GT500 Most gearheads enjoy a loud and raucous exhaust. Some of them are more pleasant to the ear than others. An Italian V12 at full trot is an aural delight with few equals, for example. Same goes for the traditional growl of an uncorked American V8 on this side of the pond. With its 700-plus horsepower and aggressive styling choices, Ford’s new GT500 is bound to check a lot of the correct boxes in terms of performance and looks. It also needs to sound right, which is a bigger task for engineers than most people realize. In a sit-down with top brass of the GT500 team, the crew at Road Track found out just how much goes into achieving that perfect exhaust note. At play is an active noise cancellation system, a gee-whiz piece of kit that deploys an armada of microphones and the car’s stereo system to eliminate unwanted noises. It won’t quell the whining noise from your passenger, but it will erase tones and pitches that could ruin the signature V8 bark. At play are something called secondary harmonics, a term which generally refers to the din created by the likes of moving belts or weird induction noises. Once the mics have picked up these offensive sounds, an opposing frequency is played through the Shelby’s speaker system get rid of it. Noise-cancelling is nothing new – in fact, you probably own a set of noise-cancelling headphones – but the way in which Ford is deploying the technology is unique. Instead of taking a blanket approach, the Blue Oval team is selecting very specific sounds to eliminate. This also beats the old-school approach of adding sound deadening, which also muffles the good stuff and adds weight. An interesting tidbit of this system is that it disables itself when someone opens a door. Those who’ve experienced the technology say the difference in sound is vast and much more pleasant with the doors closed. Winding down the windows doesn’t affect anything, though, so GT500 drivers should feel free to do so in every tunnel they
Origin: Ford designed the Shelby GT500’s stereo to help the engine sound perfect
Four rare — and original — Shelby Cobras heading to auction next month
1967 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C RoadsterHandout / Mecum Mecum will auction off four rare (and original) Shelby Cobras next month from the estate of late car collector Steven Juliano. Per MotorAuthority, the snakes up for auction will be a 1967 427 S/C Roadster and a 1966 427 Roadster, plus a 1965 289 Dragonsnake and a 1964 289 Roadster. The ’67 S/C ticks all of the boxes of what you’d expect the classic Cobra to be, fitted with the outrageous 427 cubic-inch Ford V8. Side pipes, hood scoop, roll hoop, and wide hips are all present. On top of that, it’s an S/C model, short for Semi-Competition. Only 31 of these vehicles were converted from race cars into street spec, making them an extremely rare beast — especially this one, with only 10,760 miles on the clock. The second car is a 1966 model-year Cobra. It’s also fitted with a 427, but lacking the side pipes, hood scoop, and roll hoop — all of which makes it almost rarer and more unique than the S/C. It traded hands in the U.S. a few times before heading to Japan in 1987, where it was kept in perfect shape until 2010, when Juliano acquired it. The oldest Cobra here is a 1964 Factory Stage III outfitted with a 289 cubic-inch V8. This race-spec snake is the only one in the world built for street use, and was originally finished in Princess Blue before the first owner sent it back to the factory to be repainted in Ford Rangoon Red. It is considered to be one of the most highly optioned Cobras of its day. The last Cobra is a real doozy, a 1965 Dragonsnake, originally built by Shelby for drag racing and one of only six to have that distinction. It was specially ordered in yellow by brothers Don and Mike Reimer to match their Thunderbird tow vehicle. This one is also a Factory Stage 3 car. Each Cobra is estimated to sell around the US$2 million mark. The auction will take place between May 14 and 19 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Take Our
Origin: Four rare — and original — Shelby Cobras heading to auction next month
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