Originally Posted by
Leftlane News.com
Take a look at the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500: The first thing you’re bound to notice is the huge Big Mouth Billy Bass openings above and below the bumper; then, as your eyes move over the “Ticket Me Red” paint job with Le Mans-style stripes, you’ll stop at the beefy 19-inch wheels and extra-wide tires. If its muscular looks don’t stop you in your tracks, its basso profundo gurgling exhaust certainly will.
If it doesn’t, you’ll want to check your pulse.
With a sound that grabs you with the first turn of the key, the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 roars to life with power that improves on the outgoing GT500. A “corporate” Shelby, rather than one built in Las Vegas at Shelby Automobiles, this Mustang is a collaboration between Carroll Shelby and the Special Vehicles Team at Ford. It’s built in the Mustang factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, not Las Vegas.
Ford took us to Sonoma, California’s Infineon Raceway to put the newest GT500 through its paces.
What is it?
Ford recreated the high-power retro-pony class with the first neo-GT500 for the 2007; the 2010 is the response to Dodge and Chevrolet’s entrants. It promises more, more and more of everything a muscle car buyer wants: Power, noise, swagger and even handling.
What’s it up against?
As we eluded to before, the 2010 GT500’s natural adversaries include the Dodge Challenger SRT8 and Chevrolet Camaro SS pony cars, but there is a whole herd of other cars that nearly match up in power, if not price. In that category, add the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, BMW M6, and as the dark horse, the Nissan GT-R. Sure, there’s a reason you’ll pay double the GT500’s asking price to enter that level, but the GT500 promises to run neck-and-neck with those champions.
Any breakthroughs?
How about drivability for one? New for 2010 is a revised 5.4-liter 32-valve supercharged V8 pumping out 100 horsepower-per-liter. We know it’s not exactly a breakthrough number, but its power is impressive. A new cold-air intake was cause enough for Ford to ask ol’ Carroll himself whether it was okay to move the Cobra badge from the driver’s to the passenger’s side of the grille. His response: “If it makes it go faster, then yes.”
A new 3.55:1 top gear adds up to 2 extra mpg on the highway, but the way we enjoyed the skinny pedal during our evaluation, we didn’t really notice.
Ford’s Microsoft Sync system brings the muscle car into the 21st century with its voice commands and Bluetooth functionality.
How does it look?
Like the current iteration of the Mustang GT, but on enough steroids to make A-Rod look like a girly-man, the GT500 is both familiar and new at the same time.
The first time you see the front end, you can’t help but be drawn to the gaping grille split by the front bumper. Ford claims it pays homage to the A/C Cobra 427 open sports roadsters that put Shelby on the map. To us, it is reminiscent of Big Mouth Billy Bass, the animatronics toy that flapped its large mouth bass lips to the tune of Don’t Worry, Be Happy back in 2001. We’re still happy.
The power bulge hood rises up to provide added clearance for the Roots-style supercharger. Other functional exterior details include functional air extractors to release trapped air from underhood, the aforementioned LeMans stripes which are taped instead of painted on (for easier replacement in case of damage). Finally of note is the new rear spoiler, which has been moved forward to actually decrease rear downforce, but reclaims some of it by way of a “Gurney flap” built in to the top of the wing.
Remember, all this is on top of the changes recently shown to the 2010 Mustang we drove earlier this year.
And inside?
A more refined version of the traditional Mustang cockpit, it features the familiar gauge setup but with SVT illumination in the tachometer face, and upshift warning lights on the speedometer side. Fuel, boost, water, and oil temperature gauges are located between the two larger gauges. From left to right, the face of the dashboard is covered with a technical dot grid on brushed aluminum. A new arrangement is in place on the centerstack, housing a 7.5-inch monitor for navigation and Sync controls. Climate controls follow down, just ahead of the short throw stick shift with cue ball shift knob.
Millions of virgin Alcantaras gave their lives to the Snake so they could wrap themselves around the steering wheel and shifter boot in the Shelby’s interior. Nicely bolstered leather upholstered seats offer much better support than previous versions and include a power lumbar support. Stitching down the center of the seating area matches the colors of the exterior LeMans stripe. It provides a visual contrast to the otherwise dark interior color scheme. If we were to ding the Shelby, it would be for the excessive use of hard plastics around the cabin, just like the Mustang. From the tops of the door panels, to the large expanse of dashboard and the center console, there are many examples of hard plastics inside that although possibly cost effective, take away from the overall quality and value of the vehicle. Oh, that and the lack of a dead pedal to rest your foot when off the clutch.
But does it go?
Like the proverbial bat out of Hell, the 2010 Shelby GT500 is a rocket that strikes with the speed and ferocity of its Cobra namesake. Donning our Pyrotect helmets (required with any on-track activities at Infineon), we were ready to see what this snake could do. With its supercharged and intercooled 540-horsepower V8 pumping out 510 lb-ft. of torque, the GT500 is able to rip mid-12-second runs down the dragstrip at Infineon time after time with speeds in the range of 113-115 mph - on street tires, no less.
The Tremec 6060 six-speed gearbox is a good one - essentially the same unit in the V8-equipped Camaro SS. It just seems more precise in the latter, rather than the former. The addition of a Hurst short-throw shifter should help matters in the GT500. The new dual-disc clutch is a vast improvement over the outgoing model, which gave a nice, uneven workout for the left thigh.
In much the same way that engineers helped to make the Shelby’s drivetrain more refined, they also went the distance to provide a car that sounded good without the exhaust note becoming intrusive.
Electronic assists help to make the GT500 a docile daily driver as well as a contender on track days. Ford’s AdvanceTrac stability and traction control defaults to an “on” mode that keeps things tame, but a “Sport” mode stiffens things up and allows a little more hooliganism. Push the button twice and the system turns off entirely, allowing tail-out maneuvers easier than a bad Vin Diesel sequel. As hard as we put it through its paces, the Shelby managed to keep things on a fairly even keel in a manner that instilled confidence and almost begged us for more input. On the road course, the car showed quick acceleration up the straights with great road holding through the “esses” (S-turns). The four-pot Brembos up front did their job nicely while the two-pot factory-sourced binders at rear decently scrubbed speed before the sweeping, but blind right-hander. Letting the car settle allowed us to power through the fun left-hander up ahead. The GT500’s ride was a blast thanks to the MacPherson struts with their reverse L lower control arm, and 34mm stabilizer bar in front, as well as the three-link solid axle with coil springs and panhard rod and twin tube gas-charged shocks in the back.
The Shelby GT500 continues to utilize the live axle of its predecessors rather than moving in the direction of the new Camaro with its new independent rear suspension. Keep in mind that this is a highly evolved live axle that can go right and left. Despite Ford’s assertion that its customers like the straight-line durability and flexibility of the solid axle, we are sure there are some development cost decisions that keep an independent rear away from the GT500.
With a curb weight of 3,924 pounds, the 5.4-liter engine received an EPA rating of 14-mpg city, and 22-mpg highway – not bad.
Why you would buy it:
The run-of-the-mill Mustang just doesn’t cut it for you, and subsequent cars modified by Steeda and Roush aren’t your thing. It’s Shelby or nothing – and you can’t argue with that factory warranty.
Why you wouldn’t:
You are holding out for a supercharged Camaro Z28 that GM keeps denying it is building.
Leftlane’s bottom line:
With a base price of $46,325 the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 stands out as one of the least-expensive and most enjoyable ways to raise your insurance rates and use lots of tires. Unlike its predecessor, hours upon hours of seat time didn’t beat us up, meaning this GT500 finally makes a decent daily driver. Credit the smoother clutch, the more refined ride – or maybe just the raw power. We like it.
2010 Ford Shelby GT500 base price, $46,325. As tested, $48,175 (plus $1,000 Gas Guzzler Tax). Destination, $850.
Options have not been priced out yet by the manufacturer.
Words and photos by Mark Elias.
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