See the 2020 GT500’s ‘Predator’ V8 Production in All its Glory

It takes about three and a half hours to complete the 5.2-liter super 8-cylinder. Luckily, you can watch the process in 10 minutes.

When it comes to certain things, the end result is all that matters. We all use toothbrushes, but who really cares how they’re made? Who wants to know what goes into making a PVC pipe? It’s a completely different story with automotive enthusiasts. We all love cars so much that we’re fascinated by how they’re made. In this video from the YouTube channel Speed Metal Media, we get to see how the 2020 Shelby GT500’s supercharged 5.2-liter “Predator” V8 is created.

It takes place at Ford’s Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. According to Hot Rod, only one relatively small part of the 2-million-square-foot facility is used to create the Predator. It’s called the Niche Line. Since 1996, it’s been the birthplace of high-output Ford V8s, including the Terminator in the ’03 – ’04 Cobra to the Trinity in the last GT500. Now it produces the GT350’s flat-plane-crank Voodoo V8 and the GT500’s cross-plane-crank Predator. Using hand tools, special rigs, mechanical aids, and a support team of skilled craftspeople, one elite builder can start and finish a GT500’s power plant in under 210 minutes.

The footage above shows many of the highlights in the process, from the crankshaft being installed to one of the pistons and connecting rods being inserted into a cylinder to the cams being lowered into place.

Supporting builders use massive robotic wrenches to tighten pulleys. Valve covers are banged into place by hand before being bolted down by an impact wrench. Two workers use a mechanical device to lower the Predator’s 2.65-liter supercharger onto the engine. That blower remains covered by a protective shroud until it goes into a GT500 at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant.

Before that can happen, the entire V8 is tested at 45, 120, and 600 rpm to see if its ignition system, injectors, throttle body, and other components are operating properly.

In just 30 seconds, an array of cameras scans the assembled engine to verify that its wiring harness connections are sound. When a Predator passes all of its tests, it’s shipped off to the Flat Rock plant, where it’ll eventually go into a 2020 Shelby GT500…and break the heart and shatter the ego of some unlucky Camaro driver.

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.