The image above may be filed under “cool” and “a classic”, but we have to explain that the Shelby GT500 is not actually all that keen on baking donuts, as we noticed during our review.
In fact, a mere Mustang GT may just be a more suitable tool for such shenanigans. Sure, the 662 horses are more than ready to fry the rear tires, but the latter are not exactly your average rubber. The Shelby touches the road via Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G:2 tires.
All they want to do is grip, so they didn’t quite like being bossed around by the optional Torsen limited slip differential on our tester. Then there’s the psychological factor - you can’t be all that comfortable with turning such expensive rubber into donut material.
Speaking of going past the limits of grip, if you turn the electronics off, the Shelby GT500 can do this up to and including third gear. The fun part is that the current setup of the car is the tamer one out of the possibilities the engineers had during the development phase.
They calmed the 2013 model down with stuff like a 3.31:1 final drive and a hefty .50 overdrive sixth gear. By the way, these are just a small part of the massive upgrade process brought before we'll get to see the new-genearation Shelby.
For example, the power jumps from 550 to 662 hp and, to match the increased muscle, the brakes have been upgraded too. Alas, the stoppers are not 100 percent up to the job, since they don’t offer that swift initial response. The stopping power is convincing though.
As for the handling, the live rear axle reaches its limits once you head out to grab the final slice of performance. In order to keep things safe, you’ll have to stop at eight out of ten. It’s not like you’ll be alone though, as the aforementioned Goodyear rubber, along with the optional Bilstein adaptive dampers provide a surprising level of grip.
When you do run out of grip and start steering with the throttle, things are not predictable, as you’ll be able to read in our 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 review.
All they want to do is grip, so they didn’t quite like being bossed around by the optional Torsen limited slip differential on our tester. Then there’s the psychological factor - you can’t be all that comfortable with turning such expensive rubber into donut material.
Speaking of going past the limits of grip, if you turn the electronics off, the Shelby GT500 can do this up to and including third gear. The fun part is that the current setup of the car is the tamer one out of the possibilities the engineers had during the development phase.
They calmed the 2013 model down with stuff like a 3.31:1 final drive and a hefty .50 overdrive sixth gear. By the way, these are just a small part of the massive upgrade process brought before we'll get to see the new-genearation Shelby.
For example, the power jumps from 550 to 662 hp and, to match the increased muscle, the brakes have been upgraded too. Alas, the stoppers are not 100 percent up to the job, since they don’t offer that swift initial response. The stopping power is convincing though.
As for the handling, the live rear axle reaches its limits once you head out to grab the final slice of performance. In order to keep things safe, you’ll have to stop at eight out of ten. It’s not like you’ll be alone though, as the aforementioned Goodyear rubber, along with the optional Bilstein adaptive dampers provide a surprising level of grip.
When you do run out of grip and start steering with the throttle, things are not predictable, as you’ll be able to read in our 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 review.
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