Discontinued after the 2022 model year, the S550-generation Shelby GT500 was the most powerful series-production Mustang prior to the introduction of the GTD for 2025. Both use Ford's 5.2-liter supercharged V8, a sonorous mill that also powers the F-150 Raptor R.
Pictured in lime green with UK plates at Santa Pod Raceway, this particular Shelby GT500 is owned by none other than Shmee150. He's joined by Bradley Lawrence in yet another Smheemobile, namely a Ferrari 296 GTS on Bridgestone Potenza Sport rubber as opposed to stickier Michelin PSC2s for the Mustang.
It's pretty obvious how this will end, innit? Although the Shelby GT500 flaunts carbon-fiber wheels and better tires for a quarter-mile showdown, the 760-pony sledgehammer that hides underhood is no match for the 819 combined horsepower of the pricier vehicle.
Ferrari never bothered to disclose how much torque its plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V6 model produces, but we do know that its 3.0-liter engine makes 546 pound-feet (740 Nm) at 6,250 revolutions per minute. Over at Ford, the Predator in the Shelby GT500 delivers 625 pound-feet (848 Nm) at 5,000 revolutions.
Both use dual-clutch automatics, but as you might have guessed by now, the mid-engine setup of the Fezza makes a world of difference at launch. The YASA-supplied axial flux electric motor also helps with acceleration. Worse still for the better-sounding GT500, the American fastback is quite a bit heavier.
Photo: Shmee150 on YouTube
Without the carbon-fiber track package, it weighs 4,171 pounds (1,892 kilograms) with all necessary operating fluids. Ferrari has a thing for dry weight, quoting 1,540 kilograms (3,395 pounds) for the 296 GTS and 1,470 kilograms (3,241 pounds) for the 296 GTB.
That said, Tim Burton and his friend pitted the lighter and more powerful Ferrari against Ford's most powerful S550-generation Mustang thrice, with the 296 GTS winning all three drag races. Both struggled a bit with traction, although the 296 GTS did hook up quicker. How did they do in the quarter?
That would be 10.29 seconds for the six-cylinder PHEV and 11.65 seconds for the supercharged thriller. Ford claims the GT500 conquers the quarter mile in as little as 10.7 seconds, but quite a few owners demonstrated that 10.6 is possible without any upgrades.
One has to imagine what's in the offing for the next Shelby GT500, which is certain to feature 800-plus horsepower. The Mustang GTD is an 800-plus-horsepower brute as well, but as opposed to the forthcoming Mustang Shelby GT500, it was developed for lapping the Nurburgring faster than any other series-production Ford before it, including the mid-engine GT.
Officially, the first-generation Ford GT is the fastest due to a 7:52 lap on Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires. The S550-gen Mustang Mach 1, by comparison, required 7:58 with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. With the GTD, the Dearborn-based automaker is targeting a sub-7-minute lap time at the Green Hell. For reference, Sport Auto squeezed out 6:58 from a 296 GTB Assetto Fiorano with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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