2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Most Powerful Super Snake Mustang Shelby Ever Built
The Shelby GT500’s designers took the term “subtle” and tossed it out of the 12th story window of Ford's Dearborn headquarters. This Mustang looks mean as hell, and we totally dig it. The gaping front fascia, flashy carbon fiber wing, and 20-inch wheels (both part of the optional Carbon Fiber Track pack), and Skittle-like exterior paint options scream “look at me” in the best way. But this excessive styling serves a purpose.
The Shelby's new gaping grille sucks up 50 percent more incoming air than the GT350, its front fascia openings having more than doubled in surface area. With the Carbon Fiber Track pack, the GT500 also produces more downforce than any Mustang before it (up to 550 pounds at 180 miles per hour), and with wider haunches and trim-specific 20-by-11-inch wheels, more lateral grip, too.
The GT500's supercharged 5.2-liter V8 essentially borrows the same block as the GT350. Though, it adopts a more traditional cross-plane layout rather than the GT350’s flat-plane setup; the GT500’s crankshaft yields 90 degrees of rotation versus its Shelby sibling’s 180 degrees. Additional reinforcement comes by way of things like extended bolts, which help the engine cope with the forces involved in producing 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. That's a major improvement over the GT350's measly-by-comparison 526 horses and 429 lb-ft.