About two months ago, we shared a video of Shelby announcing the new GT500. There was a nice CGI video giving sneak peeks of the car, nothing concrete, but it definitely generated some excitement! Not to mention the video ending with “700+ Hp”. Since the images of the car were only CGI, people weren’t 100-percent sure on how the finished product was going to look.
As of today, Ford gave another reveal at a special “Ford Uncovered” media event in Michigan, where Ford revealed a front-facing picture of the GT500. While it still looks like an image, rather than an actual photograph, we’re excited to see a very aggressive front fascia that looks very much like the images we saw in the video from January.
So, what else are we looking forward to? There’s the 700+ (emphasis on the “plus”) horsepower number that’s been dangling in our faces. However, we don’t have the exact numbers as of yet. The main competition, the Camaro ZL1 and the Challenger Hellcat make 650 and 707hp respectively, so they will probably have to play catch-up. What about the Dodge Demon? We know that the Jim Owens, Ford Performance Marketing Manager said in a video we shared about the GT500 back in February, prominently said “Venom Kills Demons”, so we know that the Dodge Demon weighs in at 840hp, but it’s pretty heavy.
If the GT500 comes in at 750-780, it will be more than enough to handle the Mopar. The same goes for the ZL1 Camaro. As far as motivation goes, we’re still guessing at weather the Coyote powerplant will be blown or turbocharged, although my personal guess will be that Shelby will make sure their flagship will have its distinctive “whine” from a hefty blower under the hood! Why mess with a good thing?
What are they going for, as far as scope of performance? Are they going for something that’s strictly for the drag strip? The GT500 in the past has been more of a hot rod, rather than a corner carver—a job that’s relegated to the more track-ready GT350/GT350R, so I wouldn’t look for it to be a road race car as it would be in competition with the GT350 and Shelby doesn’t need to fight itself.
We’re definitely looking forward to the full unveil of the Shelby. I can’t say that we’re patient, we seriously can’t wait! Shelby, hurry up!
Living in Richmond, Tx, PJ Rentie has been in the automotive industry for more than 30 years. This former Assistant Editor at Vette Magazine also spent time with companies like NOS, Edelbrock, Hillbank Motorsports, Classic Industries, and was an automotive instructor for Cypress College for ten years. In his spare time, PJ hopes to one day bring his Fox Body Mustang out of the back yard and back onto the street!
