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2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 vs Shelby GT500
Don’t look now, but the retro-styled pony cars from the Detroit Three have now been around long enough that it’s almost time to start getting nostalgic for the first examples of the breed. Ford kick-started this genre with the bold retro styling of the fifth-generation Mustang, which was unveiled way back in 2004 and went into production for the 2005 model year. Ford’s success with its new/old ‘Stang inspired Chevrolet and Dodge to relaunch their dormant pony cars along a similar throwback theme: A reborn Dodge Challenger (inspired by the original 1970 Challenger) debuted for 2008, and a revived Chevrolet Camaro (which put a new-age spin on 1969 Camaro cues) followed for 2010. The Challenger has been soldiering on with clever updates to that same basic platform ever since, while the Mustang and Camaro both received redesigns—for 2015 and 2016, respectively—that continued with heritage-inspired design.
The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 goes sniffing for challenges on track or strip through a big grille and ducts that cool the engine, transmission, supercharger, and brakes. Shown here is a GT500 set up for drag racing with downforce-enhancing front-splitter wickers and rear-spoiler “Gurney flap” removed. Special tools for these parts are included with the car; so are instructions for optimal front camber settings.
If Ford Mustang and Shelby marketing chief Jim Owens is happy about anything, it’s this: “There is no better time to be a performance-car enthusiast than right now,” he says. No doubt he feels that way because for 2020 his stable of steeds has a new leader, the 760-horsepower Shelby GT500. It is, Owens notes, the fastest street-legal Mustang ever, either in a straight line or lapping a road course.
1987 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z
What price, performance? That’s the question sporty-car shoppers were forced to ask themselves when considering the purchase of a 1987 Dodge Daytona. And by price, I’m not talking about money.
2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Just how many ponies does a pony car need? Well, certainly not 760 ….
That will undoubtedly raise the eyebrows of my fellow enthusiasts, to whom “too much power” is a phrase bordering on blasphemy. But honestly, it’s really hard to make use of that much power on the street … at least, for very long.
2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 in Race Red
2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
Class: Sporty/Performance Car
Miles driven: 339
Fuel used: 22.7 gallons
2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
DETROIT—No more teasers: Ford has officially taken the wraps off the latest top-line high-performance version of its two-door sporty coupe at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will boast a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 producing more than 700 horsepower, which will make it the most powerful street-legal Ford ever.
Dodge Lancer Shelby
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the August 2015 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Carroll Shelby tweaked an incredibly diverse group of cars in his long career. Many of them are coveted high-dollar collectibles, but a much smaller subset provides interesting candidates for a set of cheap wheels. Consider the 1988-89 Dodge Lancer Shelby, a second attempt to modify Dodge’s K-car-based four-door hatchback into a European-style sport sedan.
Particularly from the windshield forward, the new Ford Shelby GT350 is far removed from its Mustang origins. Not only is the front-end sheetmetal actually aluminum, but styling is revised and the engine is modified to produce substantially more power than the one used in the Mustang GT. Shown is the race-focused GT350R version, which can be identified by its red (rather than grey) grille badge and taller rear spoiler. This is one serious track car that still manages to be street legal.
Most people will likely look at the Ford Shelby GT350 and think “Mustang,” but those in the know will recognize it as something far more special than that.
Shelby GT350 Mustang
After Ford introduced an all-new Mustang as a 2015 model, it was only a matter of time before hotter performance versions showed up. Ford unveiled one of the first of those at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show: the Shelby GT350. The name should be familiar to even casual Mustang fans: Legendary race-car- and performance-car mogul Carroll Shelby produced a series of performance Mustangs in the Sixties that remain some of the most sought-after pony cars of all time.
This 1970 GT-500 is one of only 286 produced.
Note: This article is reprinted from the April 2014 issue of Collectible Automobile
Carroll Shelby’s—and ultimately Ford Motor Company’s—dream of building a super Mustang had been realized in full well before the last snake-badged “ponycars” were retailed in 1970. Starting in 1965 with an improved 289-cid V-8 and suspension, brake, and chassis enhancements, the GT-350 became an instant Sports Car Club of America class champion. That the white-and-blue fastback-body Shelbys looked so much like mass-market Mustangs made them great “halo” cars.
