The 2013 and 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is swift enough to outrun newer, more powerful, automatic-equipped muscle cars.
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Ford Mustang Dark Horse. These are a few of the fastest-accelerating muscle cars of modern times. However, they’ll have their hands full keeping pace with one throwback from the last decade: the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.
10 years later, the S197 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is still one of the fastest factory muscle cars ever
Sure, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat was the most talked-of model in horsepower proliferation. However, before the Hellcat, Ford and Shelby collaborated on a GT500 for the fifth-generation platform. That Shelby Mustang was a quantum leap in power and unhinged muscle car antics.
With 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque on tap, the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 outmuscled anything with a Camaro or Challenger badge before it. However, the range-topping Mustang was more than sound and fury. Despite its considerable heft (around 3,820 lbs), the Shelby’s supercharged aluminum 5.8L V8 could motivate the Mustang. That is, if you can overcome its inherent tendency to eat its tires.
Still, testers were able to coax the hard-top 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. That’s 0.2 seconds faster than a comparable Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. It’s also on par with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, which holds bragging rights as one of the fastest American cars to lap the infamous Nürburgring. What’s more, Ford claimed the supercharged Shelby could hit 200 mph. That is still rarified air for the fastest of factory muscle cars.
What’s more, the S197 Shelby GT500’s solitary transmission option was a TREMEC TR6060 six-speed manual. That, in itself, isn’t a wild development. After all, the S550 Shelby GT350 sent its flat-plane fury through a TR3160 six-speed.
However, the GT500’s raw speed establishes it as one of the fastest-accelerating manual muscle cars ever—even today. Car and Driver managed to shift a manual SRT Hellcat Widebody to 60 mph in around 3.9 seconds, behind the eight-speed automatic version and nearly half a second shy of the now-elderly Shelby.
The best part? You still can find a performance bargain in a used 2013 model. That said, values are increasing. According to Classic.com, average prices are right around $60,000, around $12,000 more than average prices in January of 2021.