Ford's Fastest Mustang Ever: A 200mph Muscle Car

FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT 500
Courtesy Ford Motor Co.
Detroit automakers have recently been locked in a competition straight out of the 1960s: a race to create the fastest and most powerful muscle car. This summer, Ford takes the lead with the 650-horsepower Mustang Shelby GT 500. To break the 200mph mark, engineers departed from the muscle-car tradition of throwing a truck engine under the hood and calling it a day. Instead they redesigned the engine with lightweight materials, refined the car's aerodynamics, and installed driver-assistance systems that allow anyone to drive the Shelby as it's designed to be driven—aggressively.

650-HORSEPOWER ENGINE

The Shelby's 5.8-liter engine is the most powerful V8 in production. It's also 102 pounds lighter than its 5.4-liter predecessor. Engineers switched to an aluminum engine block, ditched the two-piece iron driveshaft in favor of a one-piece carbon-fiber unit, and replaced the heavy sleeves that guard the cylinder walls with a protective layer of atomized metal alloy.

DRAG RACING ASSIST

The key to quick off-the-line acceleration is to rev the engine as high as possible before engaging the clutch, without crossing the threshold where the tires will lose traction. The Shelby's launch control finds this sweet spot electronically. The driver presses a button to select an rpm limit, floors it, drops the clutch, and hangs on as the car begins its four-second sprint from 0 to 60 mph.
Read More at:
https://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2012-05/fords-fastest-mustang-ever-200mph-muscle-car

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