Eagle-eyed observers have spotted a heavily camouflaged Mustang cruising around Ford’s development centre in Dearborn, Michigan. This fuels further speculation that the Blue Oval is due to soon release the much rumoured GT500 (or the Mach 1, because wouldn't that sound awesome).
In its 6th-generation, Ford’s now globally expanded Mustang has reached new heights, attributable to the embracing the perspectives of a wider audience and, secondly, perhaps down to the more accessible prices and running costs made possible by the entry EcoBoost variant.
But what really gets the blood flowing and the soul lusting is the faster, meaner versions of the car. So far that void has been filled, as it typically has been, with the Shelby-branded ones. Though, so far there has only been the GT350 and the lighter GT350R.
The previous GT500 was a 2007 model based on the 5th-gen Mustang and used a supercharged 5.4-litre Modular V8 to kick out the namesake 373kW (500hp), increased to 403kW (540hp) as part of the generation’s 2010 update.
Rumours of a range-topping Mustang have been swirling since a similarly disguised prototype was seen last year, but perhaps its release had been intentionally delayed to coincide with the 2018 facelift that was recently announced.
Information on this incoming ‘GT500’ is still scarce but it’s safe to expect it to have a wider track than the GT with more aggressive bodywork and perhaps even a slightly raised bonnet that alludes to the monstrous engine that lives underneath.
While the GT350 successfully took the Mustang into uncharted waters as a purer driver-focused track toy, this incoming car could be positioned as an unadulterated muscle car. The acclaimed high-revving 5.2-litre Voodoo atmospheric V8 could be repurposed here, but using some form of forced induction to dramatically increase power.
Turbochargers are better at achieving that end goal, and Ford has been pushing its EcoBoost agenda heavily (think F150 Raptor and 2017 Ford GT) of late, but superchargers are more congruent with the Mustang image and muscle car culture.
The current GT350’s flat-plane crank V8 produces 392kW and 582Nm, a number that could rise beyond 520kW by force feeding the block with air, whether via supercharging or turbocharging. What’s a little more concrete, though, is the probable borrowing of the rear wheel steering system and inclusion of a manual transmission for this expected range-topper.
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