2010 Ford Shelby GT500 Vehicle
If you wanted the baddest Mustang available in 1967, you would’ve checked out the then-new Shelby GT500, which had a 428-cubic-inch (7.0-liter!) V8 that made a (conservatively rated) 355 hp. Back then, however, horsepower was rated differently. In today’s numbers, that big V8’s output would equate to about 300 hp. Forget about the ’60s, though. Today you can walk into your Ford dealer and drive out — sideways if you so choose — in the 540-hp, 2010 Ford Shelby GT500, which will humiliate any of its illustrious forebears while still paying homage to their iconic styling. And thanks to this year’s substantial revisions to the suspension and tire fitment, the 2010 Shelby GT500 also does quite well going around corners, too.
In addition to a newfound penchant for uncoiling a twisty road, this year’s Cobra-festooned leader of the Mustang herd also gets cosmetic tweaks that refine the retro styling with beefier rear quarters and sequential rear turn signals. Less glamorous but more important changes occur within, where the cabin boasts much-improved materials, leather/suede upholstery, dual-zone climate control and Ford’s useful voice-activated Sync system. Oh, there are also another 40 horses under the hood — for an incredible total of 540 hp — thanks to tweaks that include a cold-air intake, a less restrictive exhaust and more aggressive ignition timing.
This is a seriously fast car — digest the following numbers if you can. The GT500 can charge to 60 mph in just 4.3 seconds and obliterate the quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds. These are times that are usually associated with high-dollar exotics wearing prancing horses and raging bulls — not a coiled-up snake — on their snouts. And unlike last year’s version that had to be muscled through corners, the latest Shelby GT500 is much more at ease when the road gets twisty. Though this pony is still saddled with an antiquated solid-axle rear suspension and a less-than-ideal weight distribution, the latest GT500 boasts crisper turn-in and a more confident feel through the curves thanks to revised suspension tuning and new tire compounds.
As in the good old days, this muscular Mustang has worthy rivals from Chevrolet and Dodge in the form of the 426-hp Camaro SS and 425-hp Dodge Challenger SRT8. Those two competitors may not be quite as ridiculously quick as the Shelby GT500, but they offer much lower price tags — some $13,000 lower in the case of the Camaro SS. That said, the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 still represents a bargain for those who seek supercar performance along with the cool looks, sounds and presence of a cherry late-’60s Shelby Mustang.
See more detail photos: 2010 Ford Shelby GT500
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options: The 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 is a high-performance variant of the Mustang. As such, it seats four and is available in coupe and convertible body styles. The GT500 comes standard with 19-inch alloy wheels (18s on the convertible), high-performance Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires (255/45 front and 285/35 rear), Brembo brakes, hood-mounted heat extractors, a front air splitter, a ducktail-style rear spoiler, air-conditioning, cruise control, leather/suede-upholstered sport bucket seats with Cobra logos, a power driver seat, the Sync multimedia voice-control system and an eight-speaker audio system with a six-CD/MP3 changer and satellite radio. The GT500 convertible also comes with a power-operated soft top. Both the GT500 coupe and convertible have “GT500″ side stripes, while the coupe also has racing stripes over the nose and tail. Ford offers a stripe-delete option for buyers who prefer a less ostentatious look.