Cammed 2020 GT500 Takes on Hennessey GT350 in Epic Drag Race
Despite its 200-plus horsepower disadvantage, a GT500 proves that transmission choice makes a big difference.
By now, most Mustang fans are quite familiar with Kundan Nasir and his YouTube channel, StangMode. Mostly because Nasir owns a couple of awesome cars – a 2020 Shelby GT500, and a VMP supercharged 2018 GT. Until recently, his GT500 was pretty much stock, but it recently received a new set of cams, and Nasir has been eager to test it out. And what better way to do that than by squaring up with a Hennessey Shelby GT350?
Hennessey offers what they call the HPE850 package for the modern day GT350 that adds a supercharger, throttle body, new injectors, and a few additional bits to boost output to 858 horsepower and 673 pound-feet of torque. This particular car has also received a few extra upgrades, as Nasir reveals, and now it makes roughly 1,000 horsepower.
Meanwhile, Nasir’s 2020 GT500 received a significant boost in power from new cams and a tune from Palm Beach Dyno. On 93 octane pump gas, the car laid down 772 horsepower and 551 pound-feet of torque, which is 90 more hp than the car made in stock form. That’s obviously a lot less than what its opponent is throwing down, but the GT500 also has a dual-clutch transmission. The GT350, on the other hand, is of course equipped with a manual.
The other kicker here is the fact that the GT500 is running E85. So it should easily be over 800 horsepower at the wheels. Interestingly enough, the the GT350 jumps out to an early lead in the first bout. But the auto-equipped Shelby makes it a race and cuts the lead to around a half car by the end. The Hennessey ultimately traps at a higher speed, however – 156.02 miles-per-hour versus 152.87.
“That was a really good race,” Nasir said. “He was pleasantly surprised the 500 was on his tail a little bit.” It was such a close race, they decide to go again. But this time, the GT350’s friend slips behind the wheel to see how big of a difference the human element makes.
The answer to that question is, unsurprisingly, a big difference. The GT350 once again traps at a higher speed of 156 to 153. But the GT500 edges it out at the end. “It looks like I held her off,” Nasir said. “I might have left before she did, but it was a pretty good race. I’m very happy. This is the first revision, so we haven’t really refined the tune yet.”
This Shelby has thus far proven to be quite the straight-line beast. And we can only imagine what will happen once the tune gets sorted out and bigger mods eventually make their way under the hood.
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