Supercharged 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang Review: 200 MPH and 662+ horsepower!

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Video: 2013 Ford Mustang commercial (includes GT500)
 View more Ford GT500 video clips here
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2013 GT500 Shelby Mustang summary: The classically styled Ford Motor Co. SVT 2013 Shelby GT500 Mustang 4 passenger coupe includes a 5.8-liter 662-hp supercharged 32-valve front-engine rear wheel drive V-8 connected to a HD six-speed manual transmission and is one of the most exciting Mustangs Ford has ever produced.

The 2013 Shelby GT500 supercar is among the quickest (with a 3.5 second best 0 to 60 mph / 97 kph time), and fastest (with a top speed of over 200 mph / 322 kph), automobiles in the world. Actually, the GT500 has the most powerful "series" or mass production V8 in the world, though there is the limited Koenigsegg Agera R exotic car from Sweden who's 5.0L V8 twin-turbo engine puts out 1140 hp (caradvice.com.au points out). The Agera R price would equal one GT500 with well over a million US dollars in performance upgrades.

The high-performance Ford GT500 "Blue Oval" muscle car is ready, willing, and able to incinerate the rear tires on a whim, but, the driver can also switch on an improved traction management system that nearly eliminates wheel slip. The 2013 GT500 went with 285 wide rear tires, instead of a larger contact area, mainly because bigger tires would not fit into the current configuration: SVT Chief Engineer explains (video). 

Ford GT500 durability: Aggressive road and track testing has shown the 2013 GT500 to be an extremely reliable automobile under the most abusive conditions. This upgraded Shelby was obviously designed for durability and long term reliability, to go along with the ungodly amount of tractable power available in this road warrior. Ford stands behind its Shelby GT500 muscle car with a 3 year / 36,000 mile basic, and 5 year / 60,000 mile drivetrain (and roadside) vehicle warranty.

Deep Impact Blue Metallic 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang car picture.
One of the meanest muscle cars of all time. Period.

View the 2013 Ford Mustang colors in video (all examples are available on the GT500): Grabber Blue, Performance White, Deep Impact Blue Metallic (another in D.I. Blue), Race Red, Red Candy Metallic Tinted Clear-coat, Black, and Sterling Gray Metallic. Stripes and seat accent colors: Black, White, Blue, and Red.

Ford GT500 Mustang Frame and Rear End: The frame on the current model Mustang was designed for a solid rear (or live) axle, vs. the independent rear suspension (IRS) types, and it remains in place on the 2013. These beam type (live) axles increase unsprung weight, but are extremely stout and durable. Many vehicles depend on the weight and rigidity of solid (live) axles in high torque traction situations like the new Chevy COPO Camaro drag racer having the factory IRS swapped out for a live rear axle which is very similar to the Mustangs. If you want a factory solid rear axle muscle car though, this is it, because Ford will be moving to an IRS (independent rear suspension) on future 2014+ Mustangs and the other muscle-cars have already done so. For comparison, a solid rear axle would be similar to driving around with a set of dumbbells strapped to your independent rear suspension as far as unsprung weight goes, but this is historically how muscle-cars were built. Make no mistake though, this is the modern muscle-car we want parked in our driveway. It's a classic to the core.

The solid rear axle on the 2013 Ford GT500 muscle-car is one of the highest performance production live rear street car axles in the world. It's available with a Torsen limited-slip differential, and includes 3:31 rear gear (60+ mph in 1st gear), which is up from the previous year's 3.73 final drive. The transmission is a 6-speed only; No automatic transmission choices are available for the GT500.

One of the great things about the Ford Shelby GT500 is its rivalry with the ZL1 Camaro. Which is better? That all depends on what you're looking for, but one thing is for sure, Ford, Chrysler, and Chevrolet are cranking these cars up to, and well beyond, historic performance levels in these new modern muscle-car speed-wars, and that benefits anyone with a need for speed. Motor Trend recorded a 1:38.7 lap around the Laguna Seca raceway with the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 which was faster than a 2012 Mercedes AMG SLS, a C63 Black Merc, and a 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera; also the GT500 was just slightly slower than a 2012 Audi R8 GT and a Lexus LFA. Not bad for an "old school" style American metal muscle car!