A new version of the Shelby GT500 is on its way, reportedly powered by a brand-new 5.0-litre version of the EcoBoost engine and with the Dodge Hellcat squarely in its crosshairs.
Ford and Shelby’s new Dodge-killer will produce up to 750bhp from its new engine according to comments made by Ford representatives, and will apparently make use of forced induction.
Lending weight to this is the fact that Ford has been spotted testing a 5.0-litre twin-turbocharged development mule, and it’s widely expected that this is the test car for the GT500.
New twin-turbo 5.0-litre EcoBoost
However, instead of using the 5.2-litre flat-plane crank ‘Voodoo’ V8 from the GT350 and GT350R, the new GT500 is instead rumoured to be powered by the first 5.0-litre version of Ford’s EcoBoost engine.
The reason is that while GT350 and GT350R are focused more towards track use and the Super Snake is a balls-out supercar-beating monster, the GT500 is the ultimate expression of the muscle car.
Loud, brash and vulgar, the GT500 is dedicated purely to good ol’ American straight-line performance, with the mule reportedly running quarter mile times of 10.96 seconds or less.
Quarter mile in 10.96 seconds
To give some idea of how fast that is, the GT500 development mule is quicker over a quarter mile distance than supercars like the Audi R8, Lamborghini Gallardo and the new Ferrari 488 Spider.
In order to push its performance figures above those of its biggest rival, the 700bhp Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, the GT500’s engine will make use of forced induction with its twin-turbo setup.
However, the GT350’s V8 is a high compression engine and running turbocharger boost into it would require significant changes, whereas the EcoBoost is designed as a turbo engine from the get-go.
Heavy use of lightweight materials
Ford has also invested heavily in lightweight materials like aluminium and carbon fibre, both of which were used extensively on the GT350 and which could also appear on the GT500 variant.
With a more intensive use of lightweight construction techniques, it’s possible that the GT500 could be both more powerful than the GT350 and with a lighter curb weight.
There’s no word yet on when the new Shelby GT500 could break cover, but it’s likely that more will be unveiled towards the end of this year or early next year at the latest.
