Review: Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500

The 2013 Mustang Shelby GT500 is many things: imposing, populist, expensive. It's also the last car Carroll Shelby had a hand in building. And true to the legacy of the legendary racer and auto designer who helped define the modern sports car, the GT500 is a Mustang with more power than any sane individual needs.

Its 5.8-liter supercharged V8 puts out a massive manufacturer-claimed 662 horsepower and 631 pound-feet of torque. But as a couple independent dyno tests have proven, the torque is probably understated. Minutes after firing the Shelby up, I pulled onto the highway and, with the traction control on, I opened the throttle with moderate aggression. The tires spun in first gear, then again in second and third – the third time, at near triple digits.

Lesson one: this thing has wacky power.Lesson one: This thing has wacky power. Lesson two: Make sure the Goodyear Eagle F1s are nice and warm before getting happy with the accelerator. In four days of driving the GT500 on the street, from highway blasts to back-road bombing runs, the car proved itself to be reliably grin-inducing. But the big Shelby never lets you forget that it always has more power than traction, and driving it well is an exercise in throttle management. Line up at the stop light next to any "fast car" you care to name, and you'll laugh at the ease with which you blow its doors off. But just as often, you'll be embarrassed by the fact that you went up in a cloud of smoke, unable to hook up all that torque.

Even if it's a little too much for you to control, you'll still be able to admire its looks. "Tough" is the adjective onlookers most often use when describing it, and the combination of the "Deep Impact Blue" paint job, the white racing stripe and the black wheels on the GT500 I steered is both handsome and assertive. Large Cobra badges grace the front quarter-panels, front intake and rear fascia, reminding everyone that this is no mere Mustang GT. The hood's power bulge, wheel arches, rear spoiler and bisected front intakes (there is no grille) shout strength.

The muscle contained in the engine bay is ungodly. The 5.8-liter V8 has a supercharger that alone has a capacity of 2.3 liters, which is more displacement than early '80s four-cylinder Mustangs. Torque is everywhere, with 395 pound-feet available just off idle at 1,000 rpm. Between 2,200 and 5,800, 95 percent of the 631 pound-feet is available. It all gets channeled to the Eagle F1s via a six-speed Tremec T6060 manual and limited slip differential with a carbon fiber driveshaft in between. The SVT Performance Package that equipped our test car included staggered 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels of forged aluminum, Bilstein adjustable dampers, higher rate rear springs and a special instrument cluster and gear shift knob.

The instrument cluster includes a digital display between the speedometer and tach which not only shows the current calculated fuel efficiency (I saw about 14 mpg average) and gauge readings (including inlet and cylinder head temps), but a cool "track apps" summary with suspension and steering settings, launch control and traction control info. Supportive, comfortable Recaro bucket seats with shoulder-belt pass-throughs and racing stripe inserts keep the driver and passenger glued down.

Otherwise, the cockpit is straight-forward Mustang, including the Shaker audio system. Ford's Sync Bluetooth is there, but no navigation or social media displays distract you.

If you're a Mustang fan, you likely know the numbers by now, but repeating them for anyone who asks is half the fun of owning the 2013 GT500. It achieves 60 mph in approximately 3.5 seconds. The quarter-mile mark passes in 11.6 seconds at 125.7 mph, and the Shelby will do a legit 200 mph when pushed. Big 15-inch front discs and 12-inch rear discs with six-piston Brembo calipers stop the beast quickly too, halting it from 60 mph in about 102 feet.

That's a lot of performance. That said, a driver of some ability can keep up on back roads in a car with half the horsepower. It's not just that a public road prevents you from unleashing all the Shelby's fury. Rather, as assiduously as Ford has worked to tame the GT500's live-axle, Panhard-bar rear end, it still saps confidence by skittering over mid-corner bumps with the power on and exhibiting a tendency to axle hop under hard braking. Track testing has shown those brakes fade quickly, and you sense the fade on the street as well.

Thus, keeping the GT500 between the lines at speed requires concentration and quick hands. You do get electronic help. There's adjustable effort steering on tap, as well as cockpit–adjustable suspension settings which sharpen the Shelby's responses somewhat. On the other hand, it's fun knowing that driving this Mustang must feel pretty much what driving a NASCAR Nationwide Series car is like. The exhaust soundtrack is appropriate, too – it sounds like a rolling kettle drum.

If you prefer the straighter lines of drag racing, the Shelby's launch control, which allows you to set your launch rpm, is a truly useful electronic tool. Engage the control, put her in first, floor the throttle and let the clutch out. The Advance Trac stability system and traction control limit wheel-spin as you fly off the line. Don't forget to upshift!

Advance Trac is useful in keeping you on the path while on the street, too – particularly on cold tires. The flip-side is that it works the brakes so hard you can quickly overheat them.

And that, as I mentioned, is key. Don't get overheated with the Shelby or it might bite you. Respect the power and you'll have a ball.

WIRED Tugboat-level power gives you acceleration wherever you want it. Surprisingly balanced chassis and steering with crisp turn-in work. Looks like a total bully. A 200 mph Mustang.

TIRED Give it a little too much throttle with cold tires and you'll be going up in smoke like Cheech and Chong. Enough vertical suspension movement to classify as "head-toss." A $63,000 Mustang.