Ford Mustang GT500 unveiled – The baddest, most hardcore Mustang yet

Rumors has about the new GT500 has been going on over a year, but at the Detroit auto show Fords most extreme Mustang ever has been revealed, sort of.

The obvious competitor is the Camaro ZL1 1LE, but with a “pitiful” 650 horsepower it is nothing compared to the GT500 which will have over 700. We guess close to 800. The war over horsepower is getting ludicrous and we are not complaining at all. With a 5.2 liter, hand built, all aluminum, supercharged engine the car will go from 0-100 in the mid 3s. The quarter mile will be done in 11 seconds which seem awfully slow. Ford is clearly sandbagging.

Gone is the manual transmission and the Tremec transmission will shift in under 100 milliseconds. However, if the demand is high enough, Ford will also make a manual, and who would not want to row gears in a car like this? The power will go through a carbon fibre propshaft and different modes including normal, drag race and track will work full time to keep the GT500 on the road.

The chassis has been revamped with lighter springs and active dampers. The brakes are now 6 piston calipers from Brembo and the tyres will be Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. From the outside, the biggest change can be seen in the front with an almost completely open grille and a low hugging splitter.

The car will be available in two different packages. A less extreme version which only has a fixed rear lip spoiler, but the biggest and baddest GT500 will have wider wheels and the rims will be in carbon fiber (holy moly). It will also have a huge adjustable rear wing, a functional splitter and no rear seats. Pictures surfacing on the internet has also shown possible active aero. But we will let that go unsaid.

Ford is stepping up their game and showing what the Mustang is really capable of. It will however be unlikely to be sold in Europe, but we are praying that it will. It is time that the Americans make cars that can both perform (or maybe even outperform) and be legal to be driven on the same roads as the Europeans.   

Pictures: Ford