Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Jaw-dropping, record-setting
Shelby GT500 billed as most powerful street-legal Ford ever
It is billed as the fastest and most powerful street-legal Ford vehicle of all time. It has the most power-dense supercharged engine in the world. The 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 pumps out a staggering 760 horsepower and roars to 60 mpg in just a few rapid heartbeats — or 3.3 seconds.
Grown men, veteran car guys, drive this iconic speed freak and are reduced to impromptu reactions like “zoweee!” and “My gawd!” Forgive them, this beast can leave folks speechless.
But there’s more to this GT500 than raw power and speed. Armed with something called magnetorheological dampers, simplified to MagneRide, this pony has sports car-like agility and has been called the best-handling Mustang ever.
On a road course, and equipped with an $18K track package, it knocked off a comparably equipped Porsche 911 and Mercedes GT-R by a full second. Yeah, it means business.
The Shelby GT500 is new this year, but you’ll
remember the nameplate from 1967, when legendary racer and designer Carroll Shelby brought his Cobra performance to Mustang. (The nameplate was used again briefly in 2013 and 2014).
The 2020 edition looks menacing: cobra emblem in the grille, large front air intakes and hood vents, wide racing stripe and carbon fiber wheels. A big rear wing helps keep the GT500 grounded. It also has the traditional LED sequential turn signals, dual exhausts with quad tips and an even bigger cobra on the rear panel.
Generating the speed and thrills is a 5.2-liter, hand-built V-8 engine. Aided by an Eaton supercharger pumping 12 psi into the cylinders, the engine puts out 623 pound-feet of torque. Allocating the power is a Tremec 7-speed dualclutch automatic transmission, the only tranny available.
For those already screaming, “No manual?!” know that this DCT is a phenomenal piece of engineering. Shifts are twice as fast as any human could manage, and downshifts are crisp and quick. So you can focus on hitting the apex or just staying on the road. There are cool magnesium Paddle shifters, at least.
If you must have a stick, the equally agile Mustang GT350R is the way to go. It has 234 fewer horses and costs about the same as the 500.
OK, so the GT500 is powerful as a bull and agile as a Florida panther on the track. But can this bad boy be tamed well enough for everyday driving? Well, yes, it’s remarkably docile. Flip it into Normal drive mode and it softens the suspension and steering and soaks up the bumps for a comfort ride.
Even the exhaust note can be quieted around the neighborhood so you can sneak home late at night. Four modes — Quiet, Normal, Sport and Track — keep the GT behaved in all drive situations.
If fuel economy is an issue, well, you shouldn’t be shopping a muscle car, huh?. EPA estimates 12 mpg in town, 18 highway and 14 combined.
Notable: Those figures will cost you $2,600 in gas guzzler tax.