Exterior The 2010 Mustang is more of a refresh than it is a new Mustang, and while the 2010 Ford Mustang GT and the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 both clearly reflect those changes, the GT 500 adds an aspect of functionality to the aggressive new look. The most obvious difference between these two Mustangs is the front fascia. The 2010 Mustang GT has a front end design similar to the previous generation, with two massive driving lights mounted in the flat black grille, flanking the running pony that was also redesigned for 2010. Along the bottom of the 2010 Mustang Shelby GT 500's front fascia, there is a large cooling opening also finished in flat black, and that trim wraps around to the wheel openings. The 2010 Mustang Shelby GT 500 puts function before form, making sure that the 540 horsepower engine is kept as cool as possible.
The Mustang Shelby GT 500's driving lights have been moved to the lower fascia area directly below the headlights, and in their absence the upper grille area features a shape that helps to funnel cool air into the engine bay. The only obstruction on the grille of the Ford Mustang GT500 is the silver Cobra badge, as the Shelby model doesn't feature the running pony. The lower fascia area also has a design to help funnel air through the Mustang GT 500's large front mounted intercooler, and the unique GT 500 hood contains large vents to help channel the hot air out of the engine bay. Along with channeling the air, the upper grille design offers better aerodynamics than the 2010 Mustang GT, as the Ford Shelby GT 500 grille comes to the top of the front fascia and the hood meets the back of the fascia, where the Mustang GT hood hangs out over the sunken-in grille and driving lights.
The 2010 Ford Mustang debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2008 showing off a new, sleek exterior, and Ford unveiled the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 at the Detroit Auto Show a few months later. The 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 received similar changes in styling as the Mustang GT, but Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) took the refresh a step further but inside and out. The 2010 Mustang GT is expected to have an MSRP around $33,000 and the Shelby GT500 will likely cost around $45,000, so what differences account for that price gap?
Drivetrain The Mustang faithful hoped for a big jump in power from the 2010 Mustang GT to accompany the aggressive new look, but with only 315 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque the 4.6L V8 received only a minor improvement. The 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, like the previous GT500 models, boasts of being the most powerful production Mustang ever made. That claim is backed up by the 540 horsepower supercharged 5.4L V8, using tuning improvements from the 2008 Ford Mustang GT500 King of the Road. The 2010 Mustang GT offers a five-speed manual or automatic transmission, while the Mustang Shelby GT500 returns an improved 6-speed manual transmission. Although there are optional differential choices, a 3.31 rear-end is standard in the Mustang GT. The 2007 Mustang GT500 offered the same 3.31 ratio, but thanks to the improved transmission, the 2010 Mustang GT500 now has a 3.55 gear, giving the car better low end acceleration without hurting fuel economy.
The restyling effort for the 1971 Ford Mustang
brought about a bigger Mustang from the previous year in every aspect;
width, length, height, and wheelbase were all enlarged, as well as the
weight. There was still no Mustang GT (and there would not be one for
some ten more years), but there was the fastback Mach 1 offered with
both a 302 or 429, as the Boss 302 and Boss 429 were dropped to make
room for the Boss 351. The Mach 1, packed with the 429 producing 375
horsepower, was the most powerful model sold in the US in 1971 due to
the lack of a Shelby Mustang for the American market.
The Ford Mustang was restyled again in 1969: 4
headlights, 4 inches longer, and half an inch wider. There were three
new trim packages offered for the Boss, Mach 1, Grande, and GT, all
performance models except for the Grande, which was intended as a sort
of luxury Mustang. There was also a special edition economy model with
a 250 cubic inch six cylinder called the Mustang E, but they were very
limited (50 units made).
Another big year for the Ford Mustang, 1967 marked the first redesign of the model. The body lines were slightly changed, with a new grille layout and new non-functional body colored side scoops in front of the rear wheels. Also, the rear roofline of the fastback was extended all the way to the back of the car, giving it a full fastback look. While this redesign helps to set the 1967 apart from the previous models, it was fairly subtle and was actually not the big news that year. The Big News was the introduction of the new high performance Ford Mustang GT 500 and, with it, the introduction of big block engines options: the 390 cubic inch and 428 cubic inch V8s.
The Ford Mustang debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair to great public excitement, and the Ford Motor Company knew it had an instant success. While the Mustang has seen many changes over its long and prosperous history, there are few cars on the road today that draws attention like a classic Mustang. The definition of "classic" is defined by many state departments as any car or truck over 15 to 20 years old, but Mustang and vintage car enthusiasts commonly consider the 1964.5 through 1973 model years to be the true classic Ford Mustangs.
After comparing the 2010 Mustang GT against the 2010 Dodge Challenger, people may stop thinking of Dodge as: "Oh yeah, the car Al Bundy drives!" "Married with Children" stopped making new episodes years ago, yet the reaction that all too many people have toward Dodge is a negative one . This is regrettable because Dodge has turned out a few sweet vehicles since that sitcom stopped being made; the impressive new 2010 Dodge Challenger for example.
Exterior Ford was able to redesign the 2010 Mustang lineup to give it a far more aggressive look and many of those styling cues extend into the 2010 Shelby GT500. Ford also shaved 20 lbs off the 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 compared to the 2009 Mustang. The weight has dropped from 3,944 to 3,924 lbs, giving the 2010 models a power to weight ratio of 7.26 lbs per horsepower compared to the 7.88lbs/hp of the previous GT500s. The exterior of the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is nearly identical to the 2009 models in almost every dimension, but with the help of the new 'King of the Road' suspension tuning the 2010 sits over an inch lower than the previous models.
The 2010 Ford Mustang galloped into the public eye with an aggressive new appearance, but the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has received mechanical improvements to make this new Cobra better than the last.
Engine When the Shelby GT500 moniker returned to the Ford Mustang in 2007 with 500 horsepower, it was the most powerful production Mustang ever sold, and the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 builds on that. The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500's 5.4L Dual Over Head Camshaft V8 makes use of a similar supercharger and intercooler setup as the 2009 models which made 500 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. However, using tuning adjustments that Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) developed when building the 2008 GT500 King of the Road, the 2010 GT500 makes a whopping 540 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque.
Ford Mustang GT and Chevrolet Camaro: if you were asked to name two American musclecars, chances are they would be the first two out of your mouth. In the current climate, there are as many reasons as you can think of for buying Ford, Chevrolet, or anything American. First, it helps an economy that pretty desperately needs it right now. Second, it could very well help your own personal economy as US cars are a pretty affordable option in this day and age.
The Ford Mustang hit the streets in 1964
and was an instant success. The Mustang GT, G.T. 350, G.T 500, Mach 1,
Boss 302 and Boss 429 cemented the Ford Mustang name in the history
books of American motoring. But by the early 1970s, new horsepower
rating systems combined with emission concerns, a looming fuel crisis,
and rapidly increasing fuel prices, people were shying away from the
throaty gas guzzling V8s. Ford Motor Company was facing another
problem, the growing popularity of Japanese imports and their tiny cars
with highly efficient engines. All of these variables combined to
gradually decrease the sales of Ford Mustangs over the first few years
of the 1970's.
The original Mustangs were all about performance with a touch of
comfort, the Mustang II showed the obvious shift in market trends. It
was obvious from the release of the 1974 Mustang II that performance
was not a concern for Ford, and the performance market was not even a
consideration. While the removal of the big block V8's came as a
surprise, the engine lineup for the Mustang II was a complete shock.
Not only was there no big block V8, there was no V8 at all. The
"premium" engine (or highest performance engine) was a miniscule 2.8L
V6 offering up only 105 horsepower, and the entry level engine: 88
horsepower, 2.3L inline 4 cylinder. There was no Mustang GT offered,
but a new Mustang II buyer could choose from either a coupe or a
hatchback. The premium coupe was the Ghia, and this trim line replaced
the Grande as the luxury edition Mustang. The "performance model" was
still the Mach 1, but with 101 horsepower, it was a far cry from the
Mach 1 of the 1960's. The key points of this new Mustang II were
luxury, comfort, and the addition of items like the vinyl roof, and
more so, the rack and pinion steering setup, helping to bolster this
new luxury coupe image.
When the 1975 Mustang II was released, it appeared to be the same car
as the previous year with the exception of the vinyl roof being
shortened to a half roof with a small rectangular opera window. The
coupe and hatchback were back with the option of the standard, Ghia, or
Mach 1. There was also some big news for gear heads...the rebirth of the
5.0L. Recognizing the need for a performance engine in their compact
performance car, Ford introduced a 5.0L V8 packing 140 horsepower to
the Mustang II; that engine would become legendary, but not for their
work in the Mustang II. This V8 gave the Mach 1 a respectable amount
of horsepower, and got the Mustang name back on the charts as being a
performance car, even though economy and comfort were still the main
goals of Ford Motor Company. There was still the option of either the
2.3L 4 cylinder or the 2.8L V6, for those who were truly more
interested in the look and feel of the Mustang II than they were with
performance. However, even with the 5.0L option, sales dropped by
almost 60%.
1977 offered very little along the lines of big changes aside from the addition of a T-Top roofline option, and some new, brighter colors. The trim lines back for 1977 were the base model, the Ghia, the Mach 1, and the Cobra II, with the same engine offerings as 1976, although the 5.0L Mustangs received a decline in horsepower, to 134. Nothing changed about the base model or Ghia (other than the aforementioned T-tops), but the Mach 1 received the addition of the Cobra II chin spoiler, a more linear grille, and four-way adjustable seats, giving the one time performance trim line a more luxury feel. The marketing campaign for the 1977 Mustang II keyed on the T-top option, since convertibles were still being scrutinized by the US Department of Transportation Safety Board. Even with the addition of the T-tops, sales took another hit, dropping by roughly 20%.
1978 offered the King
Cobra, featuring a vastly different body look than the Cobra II. The
front chin spoiler was replaced with a lower front fascia that ran
along the bottom of the front bumper, wrapping around the front end,
smoothing into the wheel wells. There was also a trim piece added to
the front of the rear wheel wells, giving the front and rear wheel
wells the same smooth, molded look. The loud Cobra II striping and
badging was removed for a more subtle "king cobra" logo on the rear of
the doors -- the Cobra logo remained in the middle of the grille.
Replacing the Cobra II stripes were a wild tribal looking graphic on
the hood and pin stripes galore, tracing just about every line of the
vehicle. Also on the hood, there was the addition of a rear facing
hood scoop brazened with a "5.0" logo, similar to the logos found on
the rear facing scoops of the Firebirds of similar years. The Kind
Cobra could be ordered as both a hard top and a T-top, but only as a
hatchback. Perhaps due to the King Cobra, or the addition of the
fashion accessory package, or perhaps people knew that this would be
the last year for the Mustang II and the last chance to own one, sales
numbers were up in 1978 with over 192,000 units sold, second only to
the first year of the Mustang II.
The 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 debuted at the 2009 North American International Auto Show after months of spyshots and speculation about the newest high performance Mustang. The two 2010 Shelby GT500s were perched on two elevated, lit platforms, with one Ford Mustang in Torch Red and the other Ford Mustang in Kona Blue Metallic. The physical refinements of the 2010 Ford Mustang are followed closely in the GT500 models, and thanks to the GT500-specific rear diffuser, rear spoiler, and front fascia the new Shelby has an even more aggressive look from the current models. The 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 is powered by a supercharged 5.4L V8, making 540 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque,making it the most powerful factory production Mustang ever offered.
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The 2010 Mustang is more of a refresh than it is a new Mustang, and while the 2010 Ford Mustang GT and the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 both clearly reflect those changes, the GT 500 adds an aspect of functionality to the aggressive new look. The most obvious difference between these two Mustangs is the front fascia. The 2010 Mustang GT has a front end design similar to the previous generation, with two massive driving lights mounted in the flat black grille, flanking the running pony that was also redesigned for 2010. Along the bottom of the 2010 Mustang Shelby GT 500's front fascia, there is a large cooling opening also finished in flat black, and that trim wraps around to the wheel openings. The 2010 Mustang Shelby GT 500 puts function before form, making sure that the 540 horsepower engine is kept as cool as possible. 
