2010 Ford Shelby GT500

^B00:00:00 >> Oh, I know, we're all gonna be driving a Prius or an Insight real soon, aren't we? Not necessarily. Some of us will still choose one of these, a 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500. It's 540 of our little friends under the hood. Let's go meet them. ^M00:00:16 [ Music ] ^M00:00:24 Now, to be strictly accurate, this isn't a Mustang. It's a Shelby. Built on the Mustang platform, yes, but that's about where Ford's SVT team scuttles off to their skunk works with a Mustang carcass and changes just about everything that makes the car go. Bottom line, the 2010 GT500 inherits the brawn of the previous GT500KR. That means a 5.4-liter, dual overhead cam V-8 with a blower. ^M00:00:52 [ Car driving ] ^M00:00:56 540 horsepower, and 510 foot-pounds of torque result. That's good for 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds and a 12.6-quarter mile, at the end of which you'll be going 128 miles an hour. One transmission, a big 'ole anvil of a thing, six gears under this cue ball shifter, fifth and sixth are both overdrive, which -- surprise -- helps this car have a happy MPG story, 22 on the highway. Not impressed? Remember, 540 horsepower. ^M00:01:30 [ Music ] ^M00:01:36 Ford also knows the real world drivability bar has been raised in this category. Cars like the new Challenger actually handle well in addition to going fast. The last Shelby we drove mostly did the latter. But on the track at Infineon Raceway, you could quickly tell this 2010 version has just come back from finishing school. It was very tossable around a figure eight. ^M00:02:01 [ Car driving ] ^M00:02:06 And out on the road course. ^M00:02:08 [ Car driving ] ^M00:02:10 Of course, you can't say you've really driven a Shelby anything until you've put in front of the Christmas tree. ^M00:02:14 [ Car driving ] ^M00:02:19 [ Music ] ^M00:02:25 Inside, you'll find the latest Mustang interior trimmed in real leather and aluminum. That's a big step up. Now, you can feel like you're sitting in a Hot Wheels car without suffering the quality of one. It's still claustrophobic in there, but no helping that without major surgery. Sync is standard, with 911 assist, vehicle health report, optional nav with live traffic, gas prices, and weather. And there's still the childish My Color ambient lighting thing. Let's you create on of up to 125 custom interior lighting shades. Okay. ^M00:03:01 [ Car racing by ] ^M00:03:05 [ Music ] ^M00:03:07 So what's this car all about? Massive, accessible power channeled through easier clutch, shift, break, and steering feel, and styling that tells even non-car buffs, no, that wasn't a regular Mustang that just blew by. We may not drive cars that go fast this way much longer. So the 20010 Shelby is both the latest and perhaps one of the last of a breed. Love it or scoff at it, it does something distinctly American very well. ^M00:03:37 [ Car racing by ] ^E00:03:42