‘Need for Speed’ Mustang Set to Hit the Track

But don’t except any video to surface of the car rumbling out hot laps.  The “Need for Speed” GT500, one of the latest in a long line of Mustangs to earn a starring role in a film, will only be serving as a pace car for the final 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Not that we’re belittling the car’s role down at Homestead. Closing out NASCAR’s Sprint Cut season is certainly worthy of accolades.  It’s just that we’d love to see the car get some real action on the track to better gauge its performance capabilities.

Since news first broke of the “Need for Speed” GT500, there’s been some debate over whether Ford might have been beefing up the car’s numbers.  Initial reports stated that it’s equipped with an all-aluminum supercharged 5.8-liter V8 producing 900 horespower. But more than a few have raised some questions on those claims, most notably Jalopnik in an earlier report.

Ford has since decided to focus on features such as the GT500’s custom wide-body kit, bespoke 2-inch alloys and dual hood intakes.

“Need for Speed,” which stars Aaron Paul as a street racer set on avenging the death of a friend, opens in theaters in March of 2014.