The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has proved its worth at the drag strip countless times by going up against some equally powerful muscle cars from Dodge and Chevrolet, and the occasional blue-blooded model, among others. But have you ever wondered how it stacks up against the Mustang Mach 1?
Sure, you may argue that the latter is less powerful, with its 5.0-liter V8 kicking out ‘only 470 hp (477 ps/351 kW) and 410 lb-ft (556 Nm) of torque. The engine is hooked up to the same six-speed manual gearbox from the Shelby GT350 and it is also available with the ten-speed auto that features an upgraded torque converter and unique calibration. In dry conditions, the 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) sprint takes a little over 4 seconds with the auto ‘box, and just under 5 seconds with the stick shift.
That is obviously not enough to pose a threat to the bad Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, but the one depicted in video down below does feature a few upgrades under the hood, including the 3.0-liter supercharger, longtube headers, upgraded fuel system, and a few other goodies. When it hit the dyno last year, it supposedly revealed that it has 824 hp (836 ps/615 kW) and 594 lb-ft (805 Nm) of torque with E85 in the fuel tank, and that is definitely something to write home about. But is it enough to teach a quarter-mile lesson to the GT500?
The latter is still the most powerful production car ever made by Ford, with its supercharged 5.2-liter V8 engine pushing out 760 hp (771 ps/567 kW) and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm). The thrust is delivered to the rear wheels through a dual-clutch seven-speed automatic transmission, and from naught to 60 mph (0-97 kph), the stock GT500 needs just 3 seconds. On a good day, in perfect conditions, and with someone skilled sitting in the driver’s seat, it is a 10-second car down the quarter-mile, so it does have the ability of giving some supercars a run for their money in a straight-line sprint, every now and then.
So, if you had to place a bet on this drag race that recently took place at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, which one would get your vote? Is it the tuned Mustang Mach 1 or the stock Mustang Shelby GT500? Mind you, it could go either way, despite the power difference between the two, so you may want to take a moment and think about it. So, which one do you think is faster down the quarter-mile? This would be a good time to work that keyboard in the comments area down below, and hit the play button on the video that follows right after. The action starts at the 0:16 mark.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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