A bone-stock Shelby GT500 can be quite scary to drive if you don't know what you're doing. The beefed-up Mustang uses a supercharged, 5.2-liter V8 engine that churns out 760-hp and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) of torque. That can get you up to 186 mph (300 kph), given you've got enough courage and road ahead to go all out. Keep in mind that you'll also need about $90,000 for one that hasn't got that many miles on it.
Even with all that power, some people still feel the need to push things further. And if your bank account isn't against it, you can easily make your GT500 a whole lot faster. At Palm Beach Dyno in Florida, the recipe for 1,000+ horsepower GT500s seems to be rather simple. Over the past year, we've seen several of these vehicles doing dyno runs and churning out some pretty impressive sheets.
And on most occasions, the setup is fairly similar. The stock supercharger has to be ditched in favor of a more capable Whipple unit. Then, you need a few other upgrades, a few gallons of E85, and a good tune.
The Twister Orange GT500 we're looking at today will be doing several dyno pulls. This way, we get to see the difference in terms of horsepower and torque figures while running in different conditions. For the first run, we'll see how far a Whipple 3.8-liter supercharger can push things, with a 3.875-inch pulley and 93-octane at play.
The Predator V8 is still using stock headers but goes up to 823-hp and 600 lb-ft (813 Nm) of torque on the very first run. But you shouldn't judge this thing just yet. Switching to a 3.75-inch pulley and adjusting the fuel system brings the numbers up to 863-hp and 615 lb-ft (833 Nm) of torque. But it's time to get serious with this dyno test, and this time the Shelby will be using E85 for improved performance.
Right off the bat, the maximum power is now at 939-hp, while torque is up by another 43 lb-ft (58 Nm). But the guys have another ace up their sleeve as they bring out the 3.25-inch pulley. This time, the readings show an output of 1037-hp and 750 lb-ft (1,016 Nm) of torque, and that's still not the full potential of Ford's top-of-the-line V8.
If you're keen on going over 1,200-hp with your GT500, you'll need to upgrade your headers and race-port your Whipple supercharger. At that point, be sure to find a way to maximize traction when you're out driving, and don't forget about all the other chassis upgrades required to keep the car well-balanced.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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