The supercharged 5.8-liter powerplant in the new 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 has been officially certified as the most powerful series production V-8 in the world, Ford says.
The massive engine was just Society of Automotive Engineers certified as producing peak output of 662 horsepower and 631 lb.-ft. of torque. Ford has said it expects the car to have a top speed in excess of 200 miles per hour. The GT500, made by Ford in Flat Rock, Mich., is the most powerful version of the Ford Mustang.
Yet even with an amazing 112 horsepower more than the 2012 model it replaces, the souped-up Mustang will get 1 mile per gallon more on both
city and the highway. Its EPA-estimated gas mileage is 15 mpg in the city and
24 mpg on the highway, for 18 mpg combined. Ford points out that it won't
have to pay the gas guzzler tax even though the car's horsepower output is
matched only a handful of exotics costing upwards of $100,000. Price of the
new GT500 is yet to
Ford, in fact, couldn't help but throw in a jab: GT-500 will get 5 mpg more highway gas mileage than the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which has 82 fewer horses. In a continuing sore point for Ford, Camaro handily outsells Mustang.
Ford says the GT500's power is fairly consistent across the curve.q
How does it get there? Ford points to a combination of the new TVS 2.3-liter
supercharger, twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder.
"Our goal is to create outstanding all-around performance cars, not just stoplight-to-stoplight sprinters," said Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief engineer. "We've backed up this amazing powerplant with a more refined chassis tuning
that helps keep the rubber on the pavement without punishing the driver's
spine and six-pot Brembo brakes that dissipate speed with ease stop after
stop."