The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Makes an Insane 760 Horsepower

Photo credit: Greg Pajo - Car and Driver
Photo credit: Greg Pajo - Car and Driver

From Car and Driver

  • The new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500’s supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 engine makes 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque.

  • Ford had originally claimed “700-plus-hp” for this new top-dog Mustang, but it's clear now that that claim was conservative.

  • This makes the GT500 more powerful than the top 650-hp Chevy Camaro ZL1, although it can’t quite match the top Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye, which has 797 hp.

We’ve been waiting for these important numbers for a while now: Ford has finally shared the official power and torque figures for the new 2020 Shelby GT500 Mustang. Its supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 makes 760 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque. Wowza. That makes it the most powerful factory Mustang Ford has ever built, by a long shot.

That’s considerably more power than the 720 hp we predicted when the car debuted in January without any official numbers from Ford, although it’s a bit less torque than the 650 lb-ft we surmised this engine would churn out. But what really matters is that it beats its crosstown rival the Chevy Camaro. The most powerful version of that rival pony car, the ZL1, can only manage 650 hp from its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8. That being said, Dodge is still winning in the horsepower wars despite Ford's latest missile strike; the Challenger and Charger Hellcat Redeye pump out 797 horsepower from their supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine.

Photo credit: Ford
Photo credit: Ford

These power figures are a crucial puzzle piece in new Mustang Shelby GT500's story. We already knew that it will offer a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic as its only transmission choice, that it's claimed to run the quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds, and that its top speed will be governed at 180 mph. Standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires, sized 305/30ZR-20 in front and 315/30ZR-20 in the rear, will put all this power to the ground, while an optional Carbon Fiber Track package brings carbon-fiber wheels wearing Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 track tires, an adjustable carbon-fiber wing, a rear-seat delete, and dive planes up front.

Now the only number that remains to be revealed is the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500's starting price, which Ford will share in the coming months before the car goes on sale.

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