We’ve seen all sorts of high-end machines being set loose at the track against the clock with skilled drivers holding the wheel, but a Ford Mustang?
Actually, this isn’t your average American muscle car, but the range-topping Shelby GT500, which has more power than some blue-blooded exotics.
Now, we all know that the ‘Stang isn’t the most tamed vehicle out there, yet in the hands of an experienced driver, it can be proper track tool. SportAuto’s Uwe Sener, for instance, completed a lap of the Hockenheim GP behind the wheel of the Shelby GT500 in just 1:54.60.
What does that mean? That, on the same track, it is just as fast as the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, according to FastestLaps, as well as the Corvette C8 and Porsche Cayman GT4.
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Further up the chart sit the 2020 Audi R8 RWD and the BMW M5 Competition F90, both with 1:54.20, and the McLaren MP4-12C Spider and the older ‘Vette Grand Sport, with 1:54.10. The McLaren Senna is still the unofficial king of the Hockenheim GP, having posted a mighty impressive 1:40.79.
So, the Shelby GT500 is just as quick as the lightweight DBS and new C8, but what models did it manage to beat? That would be the BMW M2 CS and Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabrio, which posted a 1:54.90 and a 1:55.00 respectively, and the McLaren GT, Honda NSX and Porsche Taycan Turbo S, which lapped the course in 1:55.10, 1:55.30 and 1:55.60.
Available from $72,900 (MSRP), the Mustang Shelby GT500 uses a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 making 760 HP and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) of torque that is mated to a Tremec 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It can hit the 60 mph (96 km/h) mark in 3.5 seconds from a standstill and run the quarter mile in less than 11 seconds.