Jay Leno’s Garage Beats Asphalt into Submission with 2020 Shelby GT500
Jay Leno has driven about every sports car ever. Will the GT500 be enough to impress his refined and varied taste?
The GT500 is finally here and and one of the first people to pick up one of these soon-to-be performance legends is obviously going to be Jay Leno. Leno probably has owned more cool and unique cars than anybody else could dream of having in multiple lifetimes, so we are curious to see if this new flagship Mustang will be able to impress him.
While 760 HP is no joke and is the most power ever seen in a production Mustang, Leno probably can name 10 cars of the top of his head that he owns that make well more than that. Let’s see what the iconic car enthusiast thinks of this new toy, thanks to Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube.
To help explain some details about the new car, Dave Pericak, Director of Icons at Ford, joins Leno at his garage with a new 2020 GT500 in a sinister black paint color. “We’re pretty sure that Carroll Shelby would be proud of this car,” said Pericak, “It lives up to the original ideology that Shelby established for their performance vehicles.”
One thing we think that Mr. Shelby might not to be too happy about is that the car is not offered in manual and only with a dual-clutch transmission. Why? Well, this car is about performance first and last and manuals simply can’t keep up in this day and age.
Pericak states that in the past these GT500s were for the most part about straight-line performance, however, this generation is different. It has balance and can take a corner confidently, regardless of its big power. How does this manage this? Well, its safe to say a healthy dose of downforce and carbon fiber is involved. A front splitter, dive planes and the rear wing straight off the GT4 race car help keep the car glued during cornering with around 500 pounds of downforce. The optional carbon fiber wheels also are a key feature, which really increases the handling level of this Mustang by removing as much unsprung weight as possible.
The car features seven different coolers for things like the transmission, differential, and engine. The front area of the Mustang has been doubled in comparison to the GT350 to allow all of this cooling to be accomplished efficiently. The brakes are 20 percent bigger than a GT350 and are capable of handling 30 percent more heat. How does this car stack up during a drive? Well, we suggest you guys watch the full video to find out.
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