Yahoo Autos 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 at Lightning Lap 2021
Lap Time: 2:44.6
Class: LL3 | Base: $92,595 | As Tested: $94,760
Power and Weight: 760 hp • 4067 lb • 5.4 lb/hp
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, F:305/30ZR-20 (103Y) FP R: 315/30ZR-20 (104Y) FP
For more than a decade, deputy editor Tony Quiroga has strapped on his chaps and wrangled Ford's hottest Mustangs at VIR, but with the pandemic keeping him in California this year, Quiroga could only offer advice: "Bring underwear," he said. "Lots and lots of underwear." And then he hung up laughing.
Sphincter-clenching moments are part of the deal with the 760-hp Mustang Shelby GT500, the most powerful production car Ford has ever made. The supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 outmuscles a rogues' gallery of exotica, including the Lamborghini Huracán Evo, the Porsche 911 Turbo S, and even the McLaren 765LT. But those exotics have a couple of distinct advantages over Ford's relatively affordable badass. They're lighter, and they mount their engines behind the cabin, giving the rear tires more bite. And the Lambo and Porsche transmit torque to all four wheels.
Like a race car, the GT500 takes time to learn. Brake hard off the straight and dive into Turn 1 and the gooey Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber wrapped around carbon-fiber wheels holds the pavement at 1.16 g's. Exiting that long, flat corner is tricky in rear-drive cars with a ton of horsepower. The Ford rep on hand suggests, "If it'll take a quarter-throttle [on corner exit], it'll take all the throttle." Yeah, sure thing, crazy. But we try it and somehow the GT500 allows us to floor it earlier than we ever would've thought possible. The engine's rage churns into the rear tires, the GT500 hooks up, and then it explodes out of the turn.
Between the corners, the Predator V-8 lives up to its name by devouring every straight with supercar-grade acceleration. The speedo flips through digits quicker than the National Debt Clock. The GT500 torpedoes down the front straight, reaching a peak velocity of 161.9 mph. We arrive at the uphill esses at a palpitation-inducing 142.7 mph.
