Shelby GT500 with 1100 HP Takes on McLaren 765LT in Drag Race
Despite being totally different kinds of cars, this Shelby GT500 and McLaren 765LT put on one heck of a show.
Now that the S550 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has been out for a while, we’re seeing folks extract more and more power from its already quite powerful 5.2-liter Predator V8. Florida tuner Palm Beach Dyno has been right at the forefront of that movement, as well as just helping to make Mustangs of all kinds as fast as possible. But this video from Brooks Weisblat of Drag Times puts their mighty 1,100 horsepower Shelby GT500 to the ultimate test as it takes on a shiny new McLaren 765LT in a drag race.
For those that aren’t familiar with the latest and greatest McLaren hypercar, suffice to say, the 765LT is insanely quick out of the box. Drag Times has already squeezed a 1.8-second 0-60 out of the car and has run a 9.30-second quarter-mile thanks to its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, which produces 755 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque.
In the other lane, we have PBD’s Shelby GT500, which has received a host of mods that have also enabled it to run a best quarter-mile time of 9.1-seconds. They include a ported blower, race gas, and other things that can’t be mentioned here, apparently. It’s certainly a nice matchup for the McLaren, and there also happens to another 765LT on hand with a tune in case it isn’t.
In the first race of three, the two cars come out fairly evenly across the first 60 feet, but the GT500 pulls away for a 0.16-second margin of victory. The McLaren gets its revenge in race number two, however, winning by a hair – just 0.1 seconds. The third race is also extremely close, as the 765LT loses with a 9.45-second pass compared to a 9.35 for the Mustang.
These outcomes hinged greatly on reaction time, as both drivers cut a perfect light on one occasion and red-lighted on another. “All right Ken, wow, that was way more fun than I expected,” Weisblat says. “First of all, you cut a perfect light the first time. You had me the whole time in the second race and I was able to edge you out. In the last race, both of us knew it was all about the light so we both red-lit. Obviously, your car’s faster, but racing is racing.”
These ultra-close results are even cooler when we consider how different these two cars are. One is a highly modified, affordable track monster, while the other is an ultra-expensive, stock hypercar. And yet, the two duke it out at the drag strip with incredibly similar results.
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