Shelby GT500 Rips off 10-second Pass Despite Subpar Conditions
Even with bad DAs and running on stock tires, the new GT500 is clearly set up for success at the drag strip.
It might only be a few months, but it seems like we’ve been waiting forever to get some solid performance numbers on the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500. Sure, Ford teased us by unearthing an ages-old 0-110-0 figure not too long ago. But we tend to live our lives a quarter-mile at a time, much like a certain famous Fast & Furious movie character. And now, finally, we’ve got some concrete drag strip data to share with you, thanks to Ford’s recent media event down in Las Vegas, where a host of journos were allowed to test drive, track, and drag race the shiny new GT500.
That includes YouTube channel StangMode, who owns a 10-second ’18 GT and a new GT500 allotment. But he’s also quick to preface the event by reminding us that conditions aren’t ideal out here in the desert. “We are not at the optimum drag racing…we’re talking pretty poor DA. What you see, take it with a grain of salt. Also, these are not on drag radials. These are street tires, so you will get some spin.” Funny thing is, as we’d soon find out, none of this stuff really seemed to matter much when the rubber met the road.
While StangMode and his crew watch, another invitee runs a respectable 11.6-second pass at 127 mph. And those guys are spinning tires, killing their 60-foot times in the process. As they tinker around with launch techniques, one guy manages to run an 11.4. Then, another guy runs an 11.1. Finally, StangMode gets behind the wheel with a goal of breaking into the tens. Launching at 2,000 rpm, he achieves that goal by running a 10.9 at 132 mph. Which equates to a 10.5 at 136 when correcting for DA.
Their best pass of the day winds up being a 10.85 at 131 mph. And as we already know, Hot Rod managed to rip off a 10.61-second pass at 133 mph, which is the quickest time anybody’s run so far. But that was in Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida under ideal conditions, of course. Regardless, these times are very encouraging for a stock car running stock tires. With a set of drag radials and a tune, the new GT500 will be comfortably into the 9s, most likely. Not bad for a car that’s being marketed as a track racer, not a drag strip maven!
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