RE: PH Carpool: Shelby Mustang GT500
Friday 19th August 2011
In 2000 Sukhdev Mahal (aka devman85) was visiting family in the States when they took delivery of their new car – a Ford Mustang GT. “There was just something about the way that car went about its business” he explains. “I knew right away that I had to have one.”
The proud GT500 owner. On the rightThe main obstacle was that Sukhdev was just 15 at the time, so he had to suffer the agony of seeing more and more special edition and limited-production Mustangs produced which he was in no position to own. But he’d been well and truly bitten by his family’s MY 2000 Mustang, and aged 25 he began looking seriously at a GT500:
Sukhdev describes the Mustang’s performance as “brutal, even with the silly Goodyear F1 tyres”. Apparently, very few cars even bother to try take on the GT500.
Does he plan to sell it one day? “No” is his blunt reply. “But I do plan to have 900bhp!” Good man…
PH Carpool: Shelby Mustang GT500
Sukhdev Mahal explains why his pony-car passion began at age 15 - and ended with 566bhp
In 2000 Sukhdev Mahal (aka devman85) was visiting family in the States when they took delivery of their new car – a Ford Mustang GT. “There was just something about the way that car went about its business” he explains. “I knew right away that I had to have one.”
The proud GT500 owner. On the right
****
“It was nothing like anything I’d ever seen in the UK and I knew that it would get a lot of attention over here. So I did my research online, found Bill Shepherd Mustang down in Byfleet and waited until they had one in stock.”
Then one day in June 2010, two arrived and our man was right on the case. He put his money down and duly took delivery of his own Shelby Mustang.
“To me it has classic muscle car looks but with modern features. Even the insurance is reasonable at £1750, which isn’t bad for a 25-year-old. Basic servicing starts at £250, so I see it as a more sound investment than a BMW M6 or similar. The car is left-hand drive but I rarely find this to be a real issue.”
“The top speed is limited to 155mph, but 180mph should be on the cards with the limiter removed. I often find myself dropping a gear just for the astonishing acceleration, the whine of the supercharger, and the rumble of a low-revving handbuilt V8.”
Somewhat surprisingly, after 2000 miles Sukhdev reports that there are no squeaks and rattles at all, although with confirmed dyno figures of 566bhp and a shattering 521lb-ft of torque, the resulting average of 12mpg means that it doesn’t see the road that often.
Discussion
A colleague at work has a Red 2006 Roush 'stang - with the supercharger, wheels, handling kit, etc.
Turns heads everywhere. Will take most cars in a straight line - sounds awesome.
Not the best on twisty bits (was left for dust by an E60 M5), and the interior is of awful quality (glove box fell off when I opened it, lots of squeeks and rattles in the cabin). Perhaps quality has improved on the 2010 models?
But, for the money, not much will touch it. And they do look menacing!
Good to see someone living the dream!
Turns heads everywhere. Will take most cars in a straight line - sounds awesome.
Not the best on twisty bits (was left for dust by an E60 M5), and the interior is of awful quality (glove box fell off when I opened it, lots of squeeks and rattles in the cabin). Perhaps quality has improved on the 2010 models?
But, for the money, not much will touch it. And they do look menacing!
Good to see someone living the dream!
Edited by pSyCoSiS on Friday 19th August 11:14
Edited by pSyCoSiS on Friday 19th August 11:16
Piston Heads said:
Even the insurance is reasonable at £1750...
I initially thought WTF?!! Is he mad?!!! Then I had a quiet word with myself and reminded my old self that my reckless young self spent £635 insuring a 4 year old Renault 5 Gordini Turbo TPFT back in 1987.Sure enough a quick check HERE revealed that in todays money, I would've been paying £1371 for a 110bhp hot hatch!! Ergo his insurance is technically a bargain...
smash said:
Piston Heads said:
Even the insurance is reasonable at £1750...
I initially thought WTF?!! Is he mad?!!! Then I had a quiet word with myself and reminded my old self that my reckless young self spent £635 insuring a 4 year old Renault 5 Gordini Turbo TPFT back in 1987.Sure enough a quick check HERE revealed that in todays money, I would've been paying £1371 for a 110bhp hot hatch!! Ergo his insurance is technically a bargain...
Even so, Devman's insurance does indeed sound like a bargain
smash said:
Piston Heads said:
Even the insurance is reasonable at £1750...
I initially thought WTF?!! Is he mad?!!! Then I had a quiet word with myself and reminded my old self that my reckless young self spent £635 insuring a 4 year old Renault 5 Gordini Turbo TPFT back in 1987.Sure enough a quick check HERE revealed that in todays money, I would've been paying £1371 for a 110bhp hot hatch!! Ergo his insurance is technically a bargain...
Love the GT500, it's a proper muscle car with real personality. Much better than some of these dull hot saloons (Skoda Octavia) or mundane hatches (Audi RS3).
Edited by blasos on Friday 19th August 11:25
12mph..... 12.....
I'm sure it's worth it but I can understand why it doesn't get out much... Makes my 23mpg sound like heaven...
I should also point out that I love my Eagle F1 Assymetrics on the 350Z - more than the Bridgestones that were OE fitted, those damn RE050 A nearly caused many an accident but they were exciting lol....
I'm sure it's worth it but I can understand why it doesn't get out much... Makes my 23mpg sound like heaven...
I should also point out that I love my Eagle F1 Assymetrics on the 350Z - more than the Bridgestones that were OE fitted, those damn RE050 A nearly caused many an accident but they were exciting lol....
jellison said:
Is it IRS or Indie rear?
Not my bag (agree with comment saying build quality on non-mechanical parts of US cars is just a joke) - mind I like the SBF (you can get those power number for an NA
).
All s197 Mustangs have a live rear axle. But I don't think it's the issue it's made out to be. And frequently the live axle Mustang outperforms the IRS equipped Camaro and Challenger.Not my bag (agree with comment saying build quality on non-mechanical parts of US cars is just a joke) - mind I like the SBF (you can get those power number for an NA
).Not sure I can agree with the build quality either. I've never been in a rattly Mustang and all of my American cars the interiors are fine on them.
300bhp/ton said:
jellison said:
Is it IRS or Indie rear?
Not my bag (agree with comment saying build quality on non-mechanical parts of US cars is just a joke) - mind I like the SBF (you can get those power number for an NA).
All s197 Mustangs have a live rear axle. But I don't think it's the issue it's made out to be. And frequently the live axle Mustang outperforms the IRS equipped Camaro and Challenger.Not my bag (agree with comment saying build quality on non-mechanical parts of US cars is just a joke) - mind I like the SBF (you can get those power number for an NA
).Not sure I can agree with the build quality either. I've never been in a rattly Mustang and all of my American cars the interiors are fine on them.
blasos said:
smash said:
Piston Heads said:
Even the insurance is reasonable at £1750...
I initially thought WTF?!! Is he mad?!!! Then I had a quiet word with myself and reminded my old self that my reckless young self spent £635 insuring a 4 year old Renault 5 Gordini Turbo TPFT back in 1987.Sure enough a quick check HERE revealed that in todays money, I would've been paying £1371 for a 110bhp hot hatch!! Ergo his insurance is technically a bargain...
Love the GT500, it's a proper muscle car with real personality. Much better than some of these dull hot saloons (Skoda Octavia) or mundane hatches (Audi RS3).
Edited by blasos on Friday 19th August 11:25
jellison said:
ever owed a yank motor - a good few engines! But been in alot of yank hire cars - just horrendous interior trim on lower end cars (really hard brittle crap plastic).
Hire cars are usually cheap for a reason 
But even cheap plastics don't mean they'll fall apart though. And in all honesty I've never seen them looking any worse than most Japanese cars visually.
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