Hannah Elliott
(Bloomberg) -- Monday in Detroit, Ford debuted the most powerful vehicle it has ever made: The 2020 Ford Shelby GT500.
The
high-performance Mustang variant comes with a supercharged 5.2-liter V8
and more than 700 horsepower. (That’s considerably more brawny, for
instance, than the 460-hp Mustang GT and the 526-hp Shelby GT350R.) It
can get to 60mph in just over three seconds and claims the best track
times of any Mustang Ford has ever built, Ford executives said at the
debut. It also has the largest brakes of any domestic sport coupe Ford
has made and in a first-ever for the segment, a seven-speed dual-clutch
transmission that allows for gear shifts that happen in the blink of an
eye.
All of this comes, though, as sales of coupes and sedans whither in the face of trucks and SUVs.
Last
year automotive sales dropped more than 1 percent, if you remove the
gains from sales to corporate fleets, with cars taking by far the
hardest hit, according to Cox Automotive data. Multiple automakers, Ford
included, have announced layoffs, factory closures, and shift reductions in order to cut costs as sales continue to drop.
“Less
retails suggests market demand waning,” said Charles Chesbrough, the
executive director of strategy and research and senior economist at Cox
Automotive, during a presentation Sunday at the North American International Auto Show. “Many of the smaller passenger car segments are dwindling. The headwinds suggest 2019 will not be as strong.”
But although Ford won’t report its 2018 sales data until later this month, it is already showing signs
that a controversial decision to stop building sedans in order to focus
on SUVS and the sporty two-door Mustang line is paying off. The
Dearborn, Mich.,-based automaker had better-than-expected earnings for
Q3 2018 with a pre-tax profit of $2 billion.
Karl
Brauer, the executive publisher for Kelley Blue Book, said the early
results bode well for crazy-fast Mustangs like the Shelby. People still
care about truly thrilling drivers’ cars, he said, but the cars’ roles
are changing.
“Going
forward, cars will be utilized as high-performance halo platforms,”
Brauer said today in Detroit. “Cars now serve a performance role for a
brand and not much more: The GT500 will be a more affordable option than
the $400,000 Ford GT and
feed the dedicated performance consumer out there, who will never go
away. Every car company should have one of those in my option.”
As for the new Shelby, it certainly comes with the trappings of a performance vehicle. The exterior is defined by a curved clamshell-like hood, neatly cupped roofline, and a massive louvered hood vent with an removable aluminum rain tray. (The painted stripes down the front of the hood cost extra.) It looks more extreme—angrier—than those conventional rental Mustangs you see in Hawaii and Big Sur.
Buyers
can opt to buy a “Handling Package” that includes a rear spoiler with a
so-called “Gurney flap” small tab edge projecting from the wing, or a
“Carbon Fiber Track Package” that comes with 20-inch carbon fiber wheels
with 0.5-inch-wider rear wheels, an adjustable exposed carbon fiber
track wing, and rear-seat delete (to make the car lighter, of course).
The new transmission is designed to excel under varying drive modes
including normal, weather, sport, drag and track; there’s even a launch
control. New colors for 2020 include Red Hot, Twister Orange, and Iconic
Silver.
Inside,
the exposed carbon-fiber instrument panel (only an appliqué,
unfortunately) and suede door panel inserts echo the track-focused
mentality of the new car. It comes standard with a new 12-inch,
full-color LCD instrument cluster and 8-inch touch screen, but a
12-speaker premium audio system require an additional payment.
The
Ford Shelby GT500 will arrive in dealerships this fall. Pricing has yet
to be announced, but expect it to exceed that of its $60,000 sibling,
the Ford Shelby GT350.
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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