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Could This Car Be the 2018 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 or the Rumored Mach 1?

The simple answer to the question posed in the title is that "it could be." The pragmatic answer, however, is "nobody knows." 
2018 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 or 2018 Ford Mustang Mach 1 20 photos
Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
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For now, let’s presume that this is a Shelby GT500 that happens to be propelled by a long-rumored and much-hyped twin-turbo engine. A lot of people claim that the next-generation Shelby GT500 will cross over from supercharging to turbocharging, mostly because there’s a sticker on the windshield that reads TT-0081. I’m sorry to burst these people’s bubble, but TT doesn’t refer to the engine on this occasion.

TT, in Ford slang, stands for Tooling Trial, not a designator for twin-turbo. Furthermore, check the front wheels. I’m sorry for a second time, but those wheels are exactly the same as the ones that were equipped to an early Shelby GT350 mule the carparazzi snapped way back in 2014.

If you look closely to the front fascia, you’ll also spot the current tri-bar headlights lurking underneath the camouflage, as well as a big bulge hood. Could the engine underneath be supercharged? Could be. The real question is, is a supercharged version of the 5.2-liter Voodoo V8 from the GT350? Could be. Still, my gut feeling tells me the GT500 will have a dedicated powerplant based on an existing engine family, in the same vein the Trinity V8 was.

Our spy photographers told us that they “recollect the tell-tale burble of the GT350’s unique flat-plane crank, so it’s possible, perhaps likely, that the powertrain contains the basics of the GT350’s high-revving, 5.2-liter V8.”

At the same time, let’s turn back time to 2013, to when Dave Pericak told Car Magazine “The 5.8-litre supercharged engine? We’ve not excluded it from fitting. Modifications will have to be made, but will it go under the hood [of the S550]? Yes, it will.” I am just as confused as you are, which is why we should agree about two things.

2018 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 or 2018 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
One: the next-generation Shelby GT500 will have a V8 under its hood, not the twin-turbo V6 from the 2017 Ford GT. Two: most probably, it will be a supercharged V8. Next up, I’d like to point out that this pony is equipped with a half roll cage, not a proper roll cage like the GT350 mule spied two years ago. Mind you, I don’t keep my hopes up for an even more track-focused variant of the GT350R. It just can’t happen.

Could that Steeda-like, shoddy-looking rear wing be a clue as to this being a mule for the oft-rumored Mach 1? It could very well be, but I’m not sure of that either. All I can tell is to look very, very carefully to the right-hand side of the wing. Can you see some writing there? It reads John Pfeiffer. Who? A quick search on LinkedIn returns the following result: “Advanced Technology Supervisor at Ford Motor Company.”

Prior to this position, Pfeiffer was SVT Senior Engineer - Vehicle Engineering. Before that, he was Ford GT Performance Development Engineer. The bottom line is that the name scribbled on that ridiculous wing is that of a Ford Performance employee with the SVT school of thought. For this reason alone, it’s safe to assume tha whatever this will morph into a very exciting car.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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