Ford Updates 2011 Mustang Shelby GT500

Ford's Shelby GT500 Mustang derivative has always been sort of polar. As in, people either love it or hate it.  There's a lot to love about the GT500, mainly under the hood: a huge 5.4L 32v V8 that's topped with a big old supercharger, cranking out loads of weapons-grade horsepower: 540bhp and enough torque to unseat an entire trailer park.  It'll burn the tires down to cords faster than you can say "clutch dump," it sounds like a NASCAR on crack, and it's as American as... well, as a Ford Mustang.

On the other hand, the GT500 was a big step back technically from it's predecessor in a lot of ways.  The '03-'04 SVT Cobra was  not long on posh refinement, but it was capable in ways the GT500 never was.  Independent rear suspension may not have been great for launching at the strip on drag radials (crrrrrrackBANG!) but it kept the Eliminator planted over rough surfaces in ways the GT500's stick axle can't.  It's 4.6L supercharged V8 may not have made as much power as the GT500's huge truck motor, but it was all aluminum, which kept the weight balance pretty even.  And it didn't weigh more than two tons with a rag-top.  The GT500 was a bit less of an iron fist in a velvet glove, and a bit more of an anvil.

Ford went to lengths to improve the GT500 in 2010, but it was a bit of a stopgap.  They juggled the spring/damping rates around, changed the rollbar sizes, upgraded the brakes, and added some more power.  It seems they were holding out the big changes for 2012, and they're pretty promising.

The biggest, most important difference is that the 2011 GT500 will come from the factory with a block rendered in Aluminum, like God intended.  It's been rumored for a while that this was going to change in 2011, and now we know it's true.  And before we didn't know exactly how much difference it would make, but now we do: one-hundred-and-twenty pounds.  That's how much lighter the '11 GT500's engine is than the old iron-block, despite making an additional 10bhp (now up to 550, as if it needed more power.)  The overall weight of the '11 is reduced by 102 pounds, and you can gather that the vast majority of that is leaving from the front end.  Considering the two noted handling traits of the old GT500 were 1) steady-state understeer and 2) power-on oversteer, this should be a huge improvement.  The last GT500's static weight distribution was 58% front, 42% rear - darn close to a classic 900, despite having a pretty far-back engine location and a transmission behind the engine.  I'm just sayin'!

Ford's been on a high-tech kick with their powertrains lately (witness the whole EcoBoost initiative), and the GT500 is no exception.  There are lots of neat things about this new engine, and one of them is what Ford uses for cylinder liners.  A process called Plasma Transferred Wire Arc (PTWA) basically super-heats a wire (35,000°F) and sprays it onto the cylinder bore.  The result is a drastically thinner liner, considerably tighter tolerances, and less weight and internal friction with superior wear characteristics to a traditional steel liner.  In fact, with the PTWA liners, the GT500's block is actually 8.5 pounds lighter than the '11 GT's new 302ci sleeved block.  This is the same process that Nissan uses for the GT-R's cylinder liners - but remember, Nissan licensed this technology from Ford.

Power stands at 550bhp and 510 lb-ft of torque, but since the GT500 already made too much power, Ford has focused on improving driveability.  The '11 GT500 gets a larger air-to-air intercooler to better prevent heat-soak, which leads to loss of power on hot days.  There are also larger-diameter equal length 2.75" headers to more efficiently extract exhaust gases.

On the chassis front, there are a lot of changes.  The new car has EPAS (electrically power assisted steering) which Ford promises won't be Lexus-numb (we'll see) for better efficiency.  Spring and damping rates get tweaked to accommodate the Jenny Craig action and increase front turn-in response.  The big news is the availability of an optional SVT Performance package to make the car more of a hardcore track tool, and less of a weekend boulevard cruiser.  The rear wheels grow to 20" and all four wheels are lighter than the standard package, reducing weight - 9.4 pounds from the front, 5.6 pounds in the back - where it matters most.  Spring rates are up 20.5% front and 9.5% rear, along with 11mm front/8mm rear lower static ride height for stronger cornering abilities.  Also, the performance package gets a shorter 3.73:1 final drive ratio for better acceleration - although Ford doesn't mention the base model's final drive, I'd bet it's a 3.31 or 3.55.

Other less important changes include standard HID headlights, available MyKey to keep Junior from killing himself and his date in a blaze of supercharged oversteer on the way to prom, an optional glass roof (sweet!), and other small goodies.  The GT500 convertible now rides on the Coupe's 19" wheels as standard, an upgrade from last year's 18-inchers to go with the stiffened drop-top chassis.  Perhaps the best news for potential GT500 owners is the increased fuel mileage!  And while this is akin to noting that Megan Fox is a chess player, what's really great is that the new numbers (15/23 projected, compared to the last model's 14/23) bump the GT500 out of the EPA's "Gas Guzzler" bracket, meaning you don't have to pay $1,000 for the privilege of owning a car that sucks down dead dinos like they're going out of style.

So, it may still have an ox-cart axle on the back end, but the smart money is on the '11 GT500 being a bit less polemic to the masses.  Imagine that - a Shelby Mustang that can accelerate like it's ass is on fire, and go around a corner without understeering into the bushes!  Sounds like a win/win situation to me.  No pricing has been announced, but I wouldn't expect it to be too much greater than the outgoing model.  Want to get your hands on one?  Of course you do!  But you'll have to wait until Summer 2010 for one.  Better start loading up the piggy bank...