2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500's Shattered Carbon Fiber Wheel Is a Scary Mystery

Normally, we'd say you are right, but in the light of two successive incidents involving Ford's most powerful production car, we think you should probably wait a little longer if you were thinking about pulling the trigger on one, particularly if you're the superstitious type.

Here's what happened: first, there is the case of the blown engine. Granted, that didn't happen to a 760 hp GT500, but more like a 1,000+ hp GT500. Those extra ponies might be entirely relevant since the failure could be connected to the mods made to increase the power output. Anyway, it's still a Shelby GT500, and it still ended up on a tow truck, so it contributes to the model's horror week.

The information regarding the second incident involving a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is pretty scarce as well, but the images alone are enough to make the hairs on your hand stand up. It involves a car fitted with the optional $18,500 Carbon Fiber Track Pack, which, among other things made of the light stuff, also includes a set of 20-inch exposed carbon fiber wheels.

The benefits of lowering the weight of the wheels are massive for a performance-oriented vehicle such as the top-dog Mustang. Despite its chunkiness, the GT500 is a very potent track tool, something this clip of the beast on Hockenheim clearly demonstrates.

Manufacturers are always interested in cutting a vehicle's unsprung mass, and there's no more efficient way of doing it than fitting the lightest possible wheels. It's also why in-wheel motors aren't necessarily a good idea for EVs, despite eliminating the need for any type of transmission.

However, having carbon fiber wheels isn't free of perils. That's because as hard as the composite material is (five times stronger than steel and twice as stiff, they say) when it finally breaks, it does so spectacularly. An alloy wheel will dent, bend, and, if pushed too hard, break in two, but a carbon fiber one will crack open and break off in hundreds of splinters. That stiffness comes with a price, and that's a complete lack of flexibility.

A Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 was involved in some kind of accident that resulted in the complete annihilation of its front left wheel. The rest of the vehicle didn't seem to suffer any damage, meaning the car must have simply run over something big enough and hard enough to deform the low-profile tire and shatter the wheel.

That's another thing with performance vehicles that doesn't bode well for carbon fiber wheels: they tend to use these low-profile tires that don't do a great job of protecting the wheels. So, given how expensive and how fragile they are, is there any point in fitting them to a car, or is it more hassle than it's worth?

Well, it sure makes a lot more sense to use them exclusively on the racetrack where you know there's no pothole waiting for you 'round the corner and you're not forced to climb a curb if you don't want to. Besides, it's only there you'll be able to feel the difference they make. On the road, carbon fiber wheels are more about vanity than anything else.

Check out the video below to see the aftermath of the crash for yourself. Skip to the 3:25 mark for that particular section, or watch the entire clip to hear the thoughts of another Mustang Shelby GT owner (except in this case it's of the 350R variety) and fellow carbon fiber wheels user on the matter.