Shelby Mustang GT500 Dragon Snake | SEMA 2019
Drag-focussed Mustang trumps Hellcat Red Eye with uprated GT500 5.2 V8
Only two months after confirming that its GT500 Mustang has a Dodge Challenger Hellcat-beating 760hp, Shelby has produced an 800hp plus version that uses an uprated supercharged 5.2-litre V8 to leave the Red Eye in its wake too. The GT500 Dragon Snake is at this stage a concept produced in dedication to the original Cobra Dragonsnake dragster of the sixties, but Shelby has full intentions of making it if there’s demand, so there’s a very real chance this is a world-beating brute we’ll be able to get our teeth into next year.
Along with engine work – the details of which are at this stage a secret – Shelby has uprated the car’s intake and exhaust hardware and added high-flow catalytic converters to reduce back pressure in the Dragon Snake’s powertrain. The car’s DCT auto has been retuned to match, while the body has been lightened with thinner glass and the tail wears a low-set fixed rear wing to really emphasise the dragster influence. Added to the exterior is a larger diffuser and new front splitter, while a widebody version is also said to be in the works for those who want maximum aggression.
While no performance figures have been released at this stage, the Shelby-tuned monster’s power advantage over Dodge’s 797hp Challenger Red Eye – not to mention the fact it’s about 100kg lighter – should leave it capable of a 0-62mph dash of a tenth or two less than its rival’s 3.4 seconds. Rapid by any measure, and even more so when we remember it’s in a package that, in the US at least, ought to significantly undercut the price of equivalent performance cars from across The Pond. Talk about bang for your buck.
Even if it doesn’t make production in exactly the same form, president of Shelby American Gary Patterson said the Mustang arrives as part of an “exploration of new capabilities, new technologies and potential new models”, so it points to what’s to come in the near future. He said Shelby was now “seeking feedback from enthusiasts” before making a decision as to whether to put the Mustang and a 755hp take on Ford’s F-150 pick-up, called the Super Snake (that’s also on show at this week’s SEMA show) on sale. If any PHers are at the event, you know what to do.
Would love to hear that 'cackling' along Brighton's Madeira Drive have a listen 13mins into this great clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A63kWP9DrKQ
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