And now the news we've all been waiting for, straight from the horse's mouth…or all 700+ horses' mouths to be exact: Ford is will end the final chapter of the 6th generation Mustang with an all-powerful hell-raising GT500. Numbers nerds will be quick to note that the Blue Oval gave up on trying to match horsepower output to model names quite a long time ago, with the current Mustang GT350 already making more than 500 ponies. At current, the Mustang only has two cars to beat in the numbers game.
Those would be the Dodge Challenger and its family of supercharged dragsters from hell and the 650 horsepower Camaro ZL1. Ford isn't shooting for an NHRA ban with an 840+ Dodge Challenger SRT Demon-beater, but it's at least going to arrive on scene with a supercharged V8 pumping out more than 700 horsepower.
It could, in theory, turn a red-blooded Hellcat into a quivering mess of tire smoke at the Christmas tree and a healthy fire-breathing ZL1 into a pile of humiliation on the lap time leaderboard. In Ford's own words, "…this new Mustang is engineered to stand apart on roadways and race tracks, thanks to its new innovative track technologies, performance hardware, plus aggressive and functional track-tuned styling." The little we do know about the GT500, aside from its name, rough horsepower figure, and the fact it'll be street-legal, all comes from various leaks proclaiming it will utilize a revised version of the 5.2-liter V8 found under the hood of the GT350 albeit with a 2.6-liter Roots-style blower attached to it.
And maybe if you're real good this year, Ford will throw in those rumored carbon ceramic brakes to boot. The GT500 won't be out until 2019, but until then you can use the knowledge that the 2019 GT500 will be twice as powerful as the original 1967 Mustang performance model in case your group's hierarchal system relies on who has the most car knowledge. We'll give you the inside scoop on more details as they come, but for now feast your eyes on these images of the GT350 to hold you over until 2019. Photos by Anthony Ruggiero.
