On The Street
Frankly, we were shocked at how docile the GT500 is as a daily driver. Anyone who has driven an '03-'04 Cobra has cursed its ridiculously heavy stock clutch and horrendous factory shifter. The new GT500's dual-disc hydraulic clutch (which features a sintered metallic lining) is barely harder to engage than that of a six-cylinder Mustang, and the shifter, while not perfect for powershifting, is light years better than the mess that was installed on the last generation SVT model. Some actually wanted to add more pedal pressure to make the clutch more "muscular," but as far as we're concerned, it's perfect just the way it is. It has one-half the pedal effort of the previous Cobra.
The suspension tuning is pretty much spot-on for the masses. It's extremely compliant over uneven surfaces, but like all factory Mustangs sits about an inch and a half too high. (It's especially objectionable in the rear.) The steering feel is vastly improved over the regular Mustang GT, slightly heavier and more direct, with better feedback. Both on the track and in switchbacks on the serpentine roads we sampled out West, the steering was sublime--the way the car transitioned through the S-turns was thoroughly enjoyable.
Ford's engineers jacked around with the springs, shocks, struts, and rear sway bar in order to bring some balance to a vehicle that wears 57 percent of its weight up front. Thanks to the changes wrought, you'd never know it was so nose-heavy from behind the wheel. This was perhaps the biggest surprise on the road course. We knew it would be a beast in a straight line, but here it might be fairly unbalanced. Not so. The front sway bar remains the same diameter (34 mm), but SVT increased the rear sway bar diameter from 22 mm to 24 mm. While it definitely still understeers when pushed hard, it's not nearly the plowhorse the GT is.
On these staggered 18 inch wheels you'll find the only SVT letters on the exterior of the vehicle.
Not only was the 5.4 engine pirated from the GT supercar, so were its tires--Goodyear F1s. According to Jay O'Connell, chief engineer of SVT, only the tire size is different between the two vehicles. The GT500 uses staggered sizes, with P255/45/ZR18s up front and P285/40ZR18s in the rear, on gorgeous 18x9.5-inch, 10-spoke rims that made the transition from concept car to production vehicle. It is in the center of these wheels that you'll find the only SVT letters on the exterior of the vehicle. O'Connell noted that Ford was considering using the 255s all around, but it was Carroll Shelby himself who convinced them the car needed wider tires in the rear.
Trying to stop two-plus-tons of 500hp Mustang was not a task to be left to the stock binders. Up front, 14-inch Brembo rotors with four-piston aluminum calipers are used, while 11.8-inch rotors with two piston calipers and special brake pads are in the back.
On track, the GT500s were in continuous duty for hours at a clip, and while they were in serious need of pads at the end of the afternoon, the brakes never exhibited any signs of fade. They did a remarkable job of hauling these porky ponies down from triple-digit speeds time and time again.
Through the turns, the Shelby was an eye-opener. As we said earlier, it exhibited much better manners than we expected. The big meats out back keep the rear from stepping out on you (unless you're really trying hard to get it loose). Both on the track and the street, it stuck like glue. Interestingly, we found the traction control system was not all that intrusive. On past Mustangs, the first thing you do it disable the TCS; this is no longer absolutely necessary. You can still have a ton of fun with it turned on, and this applies both to the road course and the dragstrip.
Ultimately, like any musclecar, the Shelby is about acceleration. It's remarkable how much brute power this automobile has. Exiting slow corners in second gear, you'd mat the throttle and before you knew it you'd be going 120 mph and braking hard for the next turn. From a standing start on the street, you can melt the tires to your heart's content. Turning expensive Goodyear rubber into pungent smoke is lots of fun--especially when they're someone else's tires.