Modified 2020 Mustang GT500 Blasts Its way Into the 9s
With a few engine tweaks, a different exhaust, and new tires, this modified GT500 gets well below the 10-second mark at the strip.
To Ford, the 2020 Shelby GT500 is the peak of Mustang performance. You can’t get a more powerful Mustang from the factory. To the aftermarket, it’s just a starting point. The modified GT500 in this video from That Racing Channel is a perfect example of just how much higher speed junkies can go with the ultimate ‘Stang.
In stock form, the GT500 has impressive stats. Its supercharged 5.2-liter V8 pumps out a Hellcat-neutering 760 horsepower and a colossal 625 lb-ft of torque. According to Ford, the GT500 is “capable of mid-three-second 0-60 mph and sub-11-second quarter-mile scores.” Those are sweet numbers. By installing a few mods, the folks at Palm Beach Dyno, a company based in Boynton Beach, Florida, made that quarter mile figure even sweeter.
Under the hood, there’s a new 2.5-inch pulley. Palm Beach Dyno altered the fuel system to process octane-rich E85 fuel. It also ran a tune to make sure all of the stock hardware and new parts work together to shave seconds off the GT500‘s drag strip times. Aside from making those changes, the only other things Palm Beach Dyno modified are the exhaust system and the tires, which are now competition-grade Toyo Proxes R888s.
The results of those tweaks just get better and better at the strip. The GT500 roars away from a standstill and trips the sensors at the end of its lane 10.12 seconds later doing 145 mph. With just that first pass, it’s well into the 10-Second Club. It has no intention of staying there, though. The GT500 doesn’t just shave off a few tenths with its second run, it brings its time down to 9.99 seconds, although its trap speed also goes down slightly to 144.77 mph.
The GT500 knocks another huge chunk off with its third trip down the track. This time, it only needs 9.74 seconds to complete the quarter mile and does it at 144.27 mph, setting a new record for the 2020 GT500.
You know what they say about records. That’s right. They’re meant to be broken and that’s exactly what this GT500 does to its own record. It makes its final dash its best one, flying to a 9.70-second finish at 144.57 mph.
That means this Mustang is beyond Challenger Hellcat fast. It’s Demon fast. Under ideal conditions, Dodge’s uber Challenger is able to finish the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds, but only at 140 mph.