We knew it was coming, and we’re sure the Camaro team did, too. Ford briefly teased the arrival of the 2020 Shelby GT500 Mustang on Monday and it will boast over 700 horsepower. Not only will that figure potentially dethrone the Dodge Challenger and Charger Hellcat, but it leapfrogs the sixth-generation Camaro.
Granted, things may change in two years. We still haven’t heard a peep on a sixth-generation Camaro Z/28, though such a car will likely come after the Camaro’s mid-cycle refresh. Right now, the Camaro tops out with the 2018 Camaro ZL1 and ZL1 1LE—both boast 650 horsepower.
Ford said the GT500 will include “innovative track technologies,” “performance hardware” and “aggressive and functional track-tuned styling” to name a few things. We don’t know what engine will lurk under the hood, but we do know it will be supercharged.
And with just this minimal amount of information, we can safely say the pony car wars will continue to heat up well into next decade.
Comments
If history repeats it’s self the GT500 will again be competing with the Challenger, straight line racing.
Will we again be denied a Ring time?
If you can’t make it turn, make it burn!
The last GT500 had 662 HP. It was widely criticized for having a sub-par chassis that prevented it from coming close to putting 662 HP to the ground.
Interested to see how this latest GT500 performs.
Yeah. The reason for all of those videos of Mustangs crashing wasn’t just the relative availability to inexperienced drivers. Those accidents are also the results of poor chassis construction/design and subpar suspension tuning, not to mention the fact that the Mustang never had an independent rear suspension until 2015. I believe that the GT500 will be the first Mustang that can handle over 600hp, but that means it required an overhaul of the suspension and chassis. I bet we’ll see it on the Nurburgring come Summer, and two days later we’ll see it spin out and hit a guardrail coming out of a corner.
The gt500 will have a cross-plane crank 5.2L supercharged V8. Same blower as the LT5, on a smaller displacement engine, but an engine that will rev a lot higher. It should make around 750hp, but it shouldn’t make more than 650lb-ft of torque. The GT500 will have gigantic steel brakes that are very similar to those on the ZL1, and it’ll run the Sport Cup 2 Tires. If they try and save weight with carbon fiber and aluminum, the price will go up a lot over the 350R. In typical mustang fashion, the chassis will suck and the car will be all over the place around a road course and will probably set slower lap times than a Corvette Grand Sport because of it. It’ll smash the quarter mile in 11-11.2 seconds, however. Expect the car to cost at least $70,000, probably closer to $80,000.
The Z/28 will be a beast of a car as well. We already know that it’ll receive Carbon Ceramic brakes and will likely utilize the amazing body of the ZL1 1LE. With the GT500 making over 700hp, a naturally aspirated engine will be tough to sell, no matter the lap times and drivability. I expect the Z/28 to use one of two engines: the LT5 from the ZR1 or the upcoming LT7, a Twin-Turbo DOHC V8 developed for Project ZERV. The LT5 will make more power than the GT500, but it’s just another supercharged V8. The LT7, however, could make even more power and torque with boost-by-gear to improve traction and Help the speedometer climb quicker at high speeds. And thanks to Chevy’s 1LE moniker, the Z/28 can be a driveable “DIE ROAD DIE!!!!!” Kind of car while the 1LE package sacrifices drivability for two seconds knocked off the timer per lap. Z/28 for the streets, strip, and track; Z/28 1LE for making everyone cry when they get passed for a third time by you in a single track session.
I just want to thank our troops for giving us the freedom to have 700hp+ factory built cars and the U.S. government for not being hippies and allowing us to drive them on public roads. In no other country could you possibly have such outrageous vehicles, at least not for the prices we pay.
Quinten, we are well aware of the mid-engine Corvette and it’s TT-DOHC V8.
I question the validity of supercharging a cross plane engine with it being inherently low on torque on the bottom end. Then potentially over-revving the super charger on the top end.
Could it be that they’re looking to underdrive the supercharger, I guess we will know soon enough.
When companies compete, the consumer wins! Muscle Car Wars Vol #2 is in full swing! I love it! It will be interesting to see if GM will have an answer (a la LT5 powered Camaro) or they’ll simply allow the ZL1 1LE to do the talking. Good stuff!