Ford still has not released performance figures for the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 other than to say horsepower exceeds 700 and torque exceeds 600 lb-ft.
But engineers are eager to point out some of the tricks needed to harness all that power and ensure the most-powerful Mustang to date can handle turns as well as going straight. The process involved salvaging a GT350 to use as a buck in wind tunnels, thinking out of the box, printing 3D parts, bringing supercomputers to the track, and doing a lot of work on cooling and aerodynamics.
The GT500 is billed as the quickest-accelerating street-legal factory Mustang to date, but actual numbers won’t be released until closer to the sale date because engineers are still working to squeeze every last ounce of power out of the hand-built 5.2-liter cross-plane V-8 engine with a 2.6-liter supercharger and Tremec dual-clutch seven-speed automatic transmission.
Ford still has not released performance figures for the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 other than to say horsepower exceeds 700 and torque exceeds 600 lb-ft.
The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 goes on sale later this summer, joining the GT350 in the showroom now in a one-two punch consumers have not have seen before at a Ford dealership.
Ford used its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Michigan, to print 3D parts which engineers took by the bin to race tracks for testing, sometimes making changes in the pits for blind tests to get feedback from the drivers.
To meet an ambitious aero goal, they went through 20 different hood vents and 15 different splitter wickers, and added underwing features to channel the air under the splitter extender (there are patents pending). In the end, the target was met and in some areas exceeded—but Ford is not releasing the drag coefficient yet, Titus said.
For cooling, the front opening takes up the full face of the car to hide the two large radiators. It has a metal mesh grille to let more air in; it is thinner than the injection molded plastic grille on the GT350.
There are six heat exchangers, a unique water-pump impeller, and a second thermostat that sends coolant to the auxiliary radiator. The auxiliary thermostat is borrowed from the diesel-powered F-Series pickup that needs cooling when pulling a heavy load up the Davis Dam.
