GT500 Takes On the ‘Best Track Weapon Sports Car Ever Made’
Long gone are the days of Ford versus Ferrari, yet the dream of a high-performance Shelby GT500 is alive and well.
Back in the Sixties, automotive icon Carroll Shelby was hard work with Ford to the beat the pants off of Ferrari where it mattered most: Le Mans. At the same time, the Blue Oval had introduced a new pony to its stable, the Mustang. While the pony did well in the beginning, it wouldn’t be long until Dearborn would tap Shelby to deliver the goods, in the form of the GT500.
Today, the days of Ford stabbing Ferrari in the heart are long gone. However, the legend of the Shelby is as strong as ever. YouTube channel ISSIMI Online brought journalist Jason Cammisa out to California to drive the all-new GT500 against some stiff competition.
“In the 1960s, after having already established himself as one of the fastest race car drivers in the world, Carroll Shelby became the go-to guy to take any car that was ‘meh,’ and turn it into something amazing,” said Cammisa. “Through the years, the name Shelby has been plastered all over the sides of cars, some of which, shall we say, maybe took advantage of the Shelby name, more than took advantage of the Shelby engineering genius.”
Cammisa adds that if the 2020 GT500 lived up the Shelby name, would it do so regarding performance, or marketing? The first Shelby GTs of the Sixties relied on the performance side, to the agony of most Mustang fans. Said fans wanted a race car, but not an actual race car. The GT 500, on the other hand, brought the power without sacrificing comfort, though it couldn’t turn as well as the 350.
“This is the new GT500,” said Cammisa. “And if history were to repeat itself, why, this would be a fat cow. Well, it did, and it is. It just took a DNA test. Turns out it’s 100% fat bitch!”
Cammisa notes the Mustang’s heft makes it the perfect car for the streets. Yet, five decades of engineering provided Ford the tools to make it a roaring death machine on the track. The insane amounts of power, stopping ability, and cornering prowess allow the GT500 to put all of its 760-horses to the ground better than most lower-power rides can.
“Let’s talk about this whole ‘fast’ thing, shall we?” said Cammisa. “That is fast. That’s a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. It has 717 horsepower, none of which can ever make it to the ground. Which is why the more powerful Demon and Redeye versions are no faster unless you’re on a prepped surface. Which we’re not.”
The GT500 easily plants the horses on the ground at launch against the Dodge. The result is a time of 11.4 seconds at 132 mph. The Dodge arrives 0.3 seconds later at 126 mph.
“Ferrari calls this the 812 Superfast,” said Cammisa. “And they meant it. Thanks to a 9,000-rpm, 6.5-liter, 789-horsepower V12, it is, by some margin, the quickest-accelerating, front-engine, rear-drive production car in the world, ever.”
Sure enough, the 812 lived up to its name. The car ran away from the Mustang from the get-go. With all the important weight over its rear tires, the Ferrari beats the pony to the line in 10.5 seconds at 138 mph. The orange horse matches its previous record, but in last place.
“Tempting though it is to go down the Ford versus Ferrari road, I need to point out that that rivalry happened only on the race track,” Cammisa said, “in places like Le Mans, where I need to point out that Ferrari hasn’t won since.”
Porsche has though.
“Where race cars are concerned, it’s not only the winningest manufacturer at Le Mans, it also makes this, the GT3 RS,” said Pobst, “the best track weapon sports car ever made.”
Yet, the GT500 held its own against the Porsche, keeping up with the green bomber around every corner and straight. That’s before Pobst takes the wheel to deliver comparative lap times between the two terrors.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a virtual tie,” said Cammisa. “Less than two-tenths of a second separate the Mustang and the Porsche. I love that we live in a world where Mustang can compete against the 911 GT3 RS, and not just in terms of lap time, but in terms of how they feel.”
For Cammisa, the GT500 “feels good” against all of the machines it battled in the California desert. In short, Ford made a sports car out of the Mustang, one that lives up to all of the legendary Shelbys.
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