Ford's 2020 Shelby GT500 is a 760-horsepower, track-ready certified thicc boi
Ford's new technological terror offers up a ton of performance and a ton (well, two actually) of gravity.
We've known for a little while that the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 was going to make big power, but we're just now finding out -- thanks to a leaked Ford sales document published on Wednesday by the Mustang6g forum and picked up on by Autoblog -- that its horsepower number isn't the only big thing about it.
What do we mean? Well, according to Ford's internal eSourceBook (PDF), a document intended to educate sales staff on new models, we now know that the GT500 will tip the scales at 4,225 pounds. Just for comparison, that's a little less than two Mazda MX-5 Miatas, and only around 211 pounds lighter than the notoriously "chonky" Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye.
Where does all that weight come from? Lots of places, but as you'd suspect, that big ol' 5.2-liter V8 engine and its massive supercharger account for a lot of it. Add in all of the extra cooling necessary on a vehicle that makes 760 horsepower -- that includes engine cooling, transmission cooling, differential cooling, etc. -- and that hefty curb weight makes more sense.
Curb weight is also measured with the car full of fluids, which might not sound significant, but the eSourceBook tells us that the 5.2-liter engine holds 11 quarts of oil and almost 18 quarts of coolant. The GT500 is bound to be a thirsty car, so of course, it has a decently sized fuel tank -- 16 gallons to be exact -- and since gasoline weighs around 6.15 lbs per gallon (depending on temperature), that works out to 98.4 lbs if the tank is full.
One glimmer of hope is that Ford's eSourceBook lists the 4,225 lbs figure as "base" so maybe the options list will help us save a few pounds. We know that there will be a carbon track package that will include the Shelby GT350R's featherweight carbon fiber wheels, which should net a decent amount of weight savings over the standard forged aluminum units.
Still, at the end of the day, the GT500 makes enough power and torque to tow a small celestial body out of orbit, so you're probably not going to notice or feel like complaining about how heavy it is when your foot is all the way to the floor and you're holding on for dear life, now, are you?
Ford didn't immediately respond to Roadshow's request for comment.
