Summary

• The GT500 Mustang, born from Carroll Shelby’s imaginative and prescient, boasts a robust supercharged V-8 engine for top efficiency like by no means earlier than.
• Despite its spectacular energy and track-ready design, the GT500 suffers from a restricted driving vary attributable to its massive engine and small gas tank.
• With the GT500 ending manufacturing, the brand new Dark Horse Mustang takes its place, providing track-focused efficiency and enhancements over its predecessor.

One of essentially the most thrilling badges that may grace the physique of a Mustang is the GT500 badge. It began with one of many largest legends within the motoring world, Carroll Shelby. He began with the GT350, the last word Mustang of the time, however as quickly because the Mustang’s platform was massive sufficient to suit a big-block V-8, the GT500 was born.

While there hasn’t been a GT500 for the final whereas, the final technology, which ran from 2020 to 2022, was one of many purest examples of contemporary American muscle. With an enormous engine underneath the hood, Ford had created one of the quickest, most powerful Mustangs that historical past has ever seen.

One of the most important downsides to the 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 was its driving vary. We check out all of the elements, together with its beastly engine, which contributed to this monster burning a lot gas so shortly.

In order to provide the most recent and correct info doable, the information used to compile this text was sourced from the Ford and Shelby American web sites and different authoritative sources, together with Car and Driver and the EPA.

The 5.2-Liter Supercharged V-8 At The Heart Of The GT500 Is A Powerful Gas-Guzzler

One of the most important elements within the gas financial system of any automotive is its powertrain. While many modern-day producers have been anxious about emissions, choosing pressured induction as a substitute of displacement, or just electrifying their vehicles, Ford had different concepts. Regardless of that, the Mustang has many trims to cater to completely different wants.

Performance Specs

(Source: Ford and Car and Driver)

The latest GT500 has an enormous supercharged engine outputting a ridiculous quantity of horsepower, much more than the previous model. This 5.2-liter behemoth was dubbed the “Predator” engine. Muscle vehicles have at all times been fast off the road, however the GT500 beats most of its friends to the 60-mile-per-hour mark from a standstill.

The 2022 Ford Mustang GT500 is without doubt one of the quickest muscle vehicles ever constructed and wasn’t simply designed to sort out a drag strip. Ford precision-engineered the GT500 to be a observe beast, simply as Carroll Shelby would have needed. In Car And Driver’s lighting lap event, the GT500 managed to beat tons of six-figure unique vehicles round a observe.

Fuel Economy And Range

(Source: EPA)

While Ford’s Mustang GT500 won’t be the heaviest automotive on gas on the planet, with the likes of the Chiron beating it, its driving vary is definitely far worse. Of course, 14 miles per gallon mixed will not be essentially the most spectacular determine, however what actually makes the distinction is the scale of the Mustang’s gas tank.

The Bugatti Chiron has a gas capability of round 26.5 gallons, which is an absurd quantity of gas. Other massive exotics with worse gas financial system than the Mustang even have equally sized tanks. In comparability, the GT500 has a 16-gallon tank, which means that it hits empty quicker than some other gas-powered automotive on the market.

Ford Fits The GT500 With A Snazzy Interior

Despite being a automotive that’s clearly constructed to dominate on the observe, the 2022 Mustang GT500 is definitely fairly livable. Its inside is impressively fitted for a automotive that’s so low-cost in comparison with the supercars that it rivals by way of efficiency. It’s all of the little particulars that add up to make this one of the best Ford muscle cars ever built.

Key Features

The 2022 Shelby Mustang GT500 is surprisingly much like the mainstream Mustang on the within. There are a number of modifications right here and there however general, the design ideology and the area for passengers are very related.

Ford kits the Mustang out with a carbon fiber instrument panel and sportier-looking, Recaro bucket seats. The Mustang has a ton of fascinating options as normal, together with dual-zone local weather management, heated entrance seats, and a 12-inch customizable digital gauge cluster.

Interior Space

In phrases of area on the within, the GT500 is equivalent to the bottom Mustang. It options fairly normal ranges of area for a 2+2 coupe, with these within the entrance row having ample legroom and headroom and people within the again row being a bit squished. However, when you’re somebody who would not actually look after the rear seats, and also you need to save a little bit of weight, you may delete the again row fully. This does, nevertheless, require you to go for the costlier Carbon Fiber Track Package.

The 2022 Mustang GT500 Marked The fifty fifth Anniversary Of The Iconic Muscle Car

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has some of the prestigious histories of any sports activities automotive, not to mention a muscle automotive. 2022 marked the 55th anniversary of the legendary GT500 name and, as such, Ford produced a particular version model.

Heritage Edition

The Heritage Edition Package was provided on the 2022 GT500 to rejoice 55 years for the reason that inception of the badge. The bundle is impressed by the livery of the unique GT500 and is available in Brittany Blue with a alternative of Wimbledon White or Absolute Black racing stripes. There can be a hand-painted choice which added $10,000 to the price of the automotive.

This Heritage Edition was merely an look bundle, however it was an excellent send-off for the muscle automotive. While the Heritage Edition wasn’t precisely notably dear, and it wasn’t a restricted run, it is not a very uncommon instance, however collectors nonetheless will treasure what may need been the ultimate run of the GT500.

King Of The Road Edition

While the Heritage Edition wasn’t notably uncommon, the limited-run King Of The Road version is more likely to develop into a future traditional. Shelby American provided the bundle to a restricted variety of clients, solely 180 in complete, as a celebration of their sixtieth anniversary. The MSRP of this bundle was $54,995 and might be constructed on any 2020 to 2022 Mustang GT500.

The bundle took the already monstrous GT500 and pushed it to its limits. While it used the identical 5.2-liter V-8, Shelby American urged the engine alongside to provide round 900 horsepower. The bundle additionally made the automotive lighter, partially by changing tons of the automotive with carbon fiber. We would assume that the 900 horsepower model would have a decrease vary than the bottom GT500, however there are not any official figures to assist this.

The Mustang GT500 Is Dead And In Its Spot Stands The Dark Horse

The Mustang GT500 noticed a tragic and unlucky finish with the 2022 mannequin yr. While there’s no telling whether or not or not the badge will make a fabled comeback, it’s gone for now. Instead, there’s a new track-focused Mustang main the pack, with a brand new name-calling within the new period for Ford’s family muscle automotive.

Dark Horse Performance

(Source: Ford and Car and Driver)

The Ford Mustang Dark Horse is the latest Mustang and stands on the prime of the efficiency charts for now. While it could not provide the ability or the roaring acceleration that the GT500 did, it still prides itself on being track-focused. It comes kitted with nearly each piece of Ford efficiency tools that you possibly can probably need. Brembo calipers and an energetic valve efficiency exhaust are simply a number of the enhancements Ford has remodeled the common GT.

For these wanting a track-only expertise, Ford has launched the track-only Dark Horse R which goals to make observe racing extra accessible to the on a regular basis individual. It is race-ready from the second it will get delivered, and it is possible for you to to race it in a sequence run by Ford across the nation.