Even with all the emission regulations-generated uncertainty regarding the muscle car genre's future, the next year should to bring us the seventh-generation Mustang, with the S650-codenamed pony set to land as a 2023 model. Meanwhile, we can enjoy an X-ray of the aftermarket industry's impact on the now-aging Gen VI 'Stang, which comes in the form of a drag race.
The velocity battle before us brings together some of the fiercest members of the S550 Mustang generation, namely a GT with the ten-speed automatic delivered by the latest major revamp and, of course, the GT500 mack daddy.
The wild horses got together at the Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida in what can be described as a 2,000+ hp battle. The GT500 is the development car of tuner/builder Palm Beach Dyno, sporting its CX1100 package. As its name implies, it takes the 5.2-liter Predator V8 to 1,100 horsepower at the wheels (1,250 crank hp), with a ported blower sporting a billet lid from Jokers Performance leading the long list of mods. Oh, and here's the thing battling a McLaren 765LT.
And while the TCM (Transmission Control Module) of the GT500's dual-clutch tranny does allow some parameters to be remastered, the build still runs on the stock clutches.
As for the GT, we're looking at a 2019 unit nicknamed Black Mamba. And a venomous snake this is, with YouTuber Stang Mode, who runs the machine and brought this adventure to us, having had the 5.0L Coyote dialed all the way to 930 wheel horsepower. Using the good old 15% drivetrain loss (the machine features the ten-speed auto), we come to the conclusion that the crankshaft number sits close to 1,100 hp.
Both Mustangs feature smaller rear wheels shod in drag-friendly rubber to help with the launch, but since the GT can pull a 1.4-second 60-foot time and the GT5000 takes 0.1s longer for the task, it was decided that the first would get off the line after the second, as you'll notice at the 7:28 point of the video below.
Sure, messing with the reaction times wouldn't influence the elapsed time, which determines the actual winner (the clock doesn't start ticking until the vehicle sets off), but the idea was to make the battle visually appealing.
With that out of the way, the pair could also engage in a clean quarter-mile adventure. Mind you, things didn't exactly go as planned for either of the parties, as shown after the 10:53 timestamp.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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