2020 GT500 Mustang Is the Most Expensive Muscle Car on the Market

Ford’s new Shelby GT500 Mustang starts at $73,995 and climbs to just under $100,000 with only a few option packages.

Since Ford Motor Company announced that the 2020 Shelby GT500 Mustang would deliver a bone-jarring 760 horsepower, the big question has related to price. With the current Shelby GT350R topping out in the low-$70k range, it seemed likely that the GT500 would start somewhere in that range and with the first bits of official pricing information spreading across the internet this morning, we know that the new model does, indeed, pick up where the GT350 lineup leaves off.

To be more specific, the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang has a starting price of $73,995, including $2,600 for Gas Guzzler Tax and $1,095 for Destination fees. That makes the new GT500 the most expensive Mustang by a pretty comfortable margin, but it also makes this Mustang more expensive than the Camaro ZL1 1LE or the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye.

In other words, the 760-horsepower Mustang has the highest starting price in the segment, but based on the few option prices that we have thus far, the new Shelby will also be the most expensive car in the segment when all loaded-up, costing nearly $100,000.

2020 GT500 Mustang Pricing

We do not have the full pricing schedule from Ford Motor Company yet, but a handful of official numbers have been released. As mentioned above, the new GT500 starts at $73,995 with the unavoidable Gas Guzzler Tax and Destination fees, so that is the true out-the-door price without any other options.

However, once you start adding options, the price skyrockets. Most notably, the Carbon Fiber Track Package adds $18,500 to the bottom line and while it is an elaborate upgrade package inside and out, that is one seriously-expensive option package. The key to that big price is the unique carbon fiber wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2tires, but it also comes with Recaro bucket seats, the big carbon fiber rear wing, carbon fiber dive planes up front and carbon fiber interior trim, among other things. Just adding this package lifts the price to $92,495.

Next, if you want to make a slight improvement in handling, the GT500 Handling Package costs $1,500, including removable front splitter end plates, adjustable strut mounts and a Gurney flap on the standard rear spoiler. It is unclear right now whether you can combine the Handling Package with the Carbon Fiber Track Package, as the Gurney flap seemingly only applies to the standard rear spoiler, but the other items would likely work with the Carbon Fiber Track Package features. Adding this on top of the Carbon Fiber Track Package, if applicable, brings the price up to $93,995.

Finally, we know that the GT500 comes with an option Technology Package that costs $3,000 and if you want a black painted roof or twin stripes running across the top of the car, each of those options costs $695.

So, if you get the Technology Package, the Handling Package, the Carbon Fiber Track Package and a set of stripes, your 2020 Ford Mustang GT500 will top out around $97,690.

Competitor Pricing

On the base end of pricing, the 2020 Shelby GT500 starts $9,300 more than the Camaro ZL1 with the manual transmission or $7,305 more than the ZL1 with the automatic transmission. If you check every single box for the Camaro, including the 1LE package and every dress up option inside and out, it tops out around $78,460, so the Mustang is almost $20,000 more than the best-performing Camaro.

Compared to the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye with 797-horsepower, the GT500 is only $555 more to start and when all loaded up with the widebody package and all of the interior options, the Mopar muscle car tops out just over $96,000, so it is in the same basic ballpark as the Mustang.

Again, we only have these few 2020 Shelby GT500 pricing figures for now, but once all of the other option and accessory prices are announced, there is a good chance that a fully-loaded Mustang with 760-horsepower will cost over $100,000.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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