2026 Shelby GT500 w/ “Legend” Engine Confirmed in UAW Document

[BoostRabbitGT]

Take this but replace the words POWERFUL ENGINE with the words FASTER SHIFTING

Heh, that's definitely an advantage. I recently test drove an Elantra N and noticed the transition from idle to motion was very smooth (albeit a hint slower), kind of like a consistently ideal launch from a stick-shift.

Sponsored

 

[MaddNomad]

Heh, that's definitely an advantage. I recently test drove an Elantra N and noticed the transition from idle to motion was very smooth (albeit a hint slower), kind of like a consistently ideal launch from a stick-shift.

I don’t want to sidetrack the thread but that Elantra N is why I’m gung-ho on DCTs

 

[Upacurb]

OK to back to ....I thought Shelbys were for boomers and Ford was trying to move the brand forward and not use some dead guys name...

so why y'all excited now?? : P lol

 

[IceGamer]

At this point in time I’m almost 100% sure that Ford will do the absolute bare minimum with the next GT500. (It's not going to carry the Shelby name, mark my words and the post heavily implies that the next iteration will NOT be called Shelby GT500).

It’s going to be the 5.2L Predator engine. They might give it another name but look at what they did with the Coyote… dual intakes… WoW… It’s essentially the exact same engine and apart from some minor changes the “Legend” engine is going to be the well-known and established Predator engine. It’s going to be supercharged, no turbos. That would require some research/investment that Ford is not willing to make. It’ll have around 850hp…

It’ll look great, drive well but will have almost no meaningful improvements over its predecessor apart from it being way more expensive. I expect the GT500 successor to be slightly below $100k and way above with options.
--> Ford doesn’t have to invest any kind of money, they can charge a hefty premium and will claim some bull$hit marketing-claims.

So far Ford has given us absolutely no reasons why we should believe that they would do anything different but a 5.2L SC with a bodykit attached to it. At +$100K I’m just not excited about it…
If I could’ve had almost the same product five years ago but for significantly less money than five years later I expect a much better product. Charging way more for some minor improvements is not what I consider progress.

 

[Mustang1987]

At this point in time I’m almost 100% sure that Ford will do the absolute bare minimum with the next GT500. (It's not going to carry the Shelby name, mark my words and the post heavily implies that the next iteration will NOT be called Shelby GT500).

It’s going to be the 5.2L Predator engine. They might give it another name but look at what they did with the Coyote… dual intakes… WoW… It’s essentially the exact same engine and apart from some minor changes the “Legend” engine is going to be the well-known and established Predator engine. It’s going to be supercharged, no turbos. That would require some research/investment that Ford is not willing to make. It’ll have around 850hp…

It’ll look great, drive well but will have almost no meaningful improvements over its predecessor apart from it being way more expensive. I expect the GT500 successor to be slightly below $100k and way above with options.
--> Ford doesn’t have to invest any kind of money, they can charge a hefty premium and will claim some bull$hit marketing-claims.

So far Ford has given us absolutely no reasons why we should believe that they would do anything different but a 5.2L SC with a bodykit attached to it. At +$100K I’m just not excited about it…
If I could’ve had almost the same product five years ago but for significantly less money than five years later I expect a much better product. Charging way more for some minor improvements is not what I consider progress.

Sometimes these threads are so tiring.

No one knows absolutely anything about this car except it's going to be a gt500 or equivalent, and you wrote a 2,000 word essay complaining about it already.

 

[young at heart]

It’ll look great, drive well but will have almost no meaningful improvements over its predecessor apart from it being way more expensive. I expect the GT500 successor to be slightly below $100k and way above with options.
--> Ford doesn’t have to invest any kind of money, they can charge a hefty premium and will claim some bull$hit marketing-claims.

Maybe on the window sticker but don’t forget to add the obligatory specialty/scarcity/TOTL trim premium. Then of course there’s the ever present ADM. All one needs to do is look at what no-to-low mileage 2022 examples are going for today. Some primo examples are still fetching $140-150K. I don’t think it’s realistic to think you’re gonna put a 2026 in your garage for less than used and titled 2022s are going for.

 

[jboogie1289]

Let me see if I get this correctly. On tap now, are upwards of 850 HP for a Whipple-ized GT or Dark Horse out of the lowly 5.0L. Now Ford, answering the call of competition and public alike (let's not forget the car mags too!), is upping the displacement to 5.2L, and punching out another 200 or so horse power. This begs the question... Why?

Perhaps it is to allow buyers to not only burn more rubber, lose control faster, and thus crash in a heap. Or make more noise by driving around in drag or track mode 24-7, raise everyone's insurance rates, and doing it all just to answer the calls of egos!

I am aware there is a small percentage of Mustang owners who race their rides down the quarter, and around the ovals. All these types of activities require is a ton of money. Unfortunately, far too many owners, will instead, race around our streets with obvious consequences. But.. before you criticize me for speaking the obvious, ask yourself if you're one of those?

NOPE!! Didn’t spin my tires on my S550 GT PP1 with a few upgrades and will not do it to my S650 Performance Pkg!! Don’t care for racing on a track or the streets, no matter how many time a clown pulls up and revs or tries to get my attention!! I love knowing that I have some power just at the push of the accelerator pedal but do I need to display it …. NO!!! But hearing it and some other GT’s, or even other “Muscle Cars”, lets me know that either they have some juice or just bought exhaust to ride under an Overpass just to punch it. That’s Laughable to me. But to each their own.

 

[jboogie1289]

I had heard rumblings about this back last year when I bought my DH. Nice to see it actually in print and that, as of this particular post, may be a "real" thing. "On any given Sunday", you know?

That being said; with the trajectory of niche automobile prices, vs wage increases (at least in Canada), this will be another halo car that will be out of responsible economic reach for 99% of people looking to get a Sports Car.

Let me preface this part by saying I'll try and shy away from any political leanings and just state what I've observed or experienced.

When I was shopping for my DH I went to a few dealerships, including Corvette dealers, and was told more than once that people come in looking at Sports Cars and when they sat down to crunch the numbers they realize that, assuming they aren't buying for cash, most people can't afford these upper echelon vehicles; that has gotten worse over the last 3-5 years. I'm talking people with 750-800 credit scores making $80k CAD (which equates to $1.75 USD) a year. Single men making less than $100k a year = no shot, The CPI here in Canada right now is redonkulous!

On the private sale side of things I also looked at a couple S550 GT500 and, again speaking of my area only, found prices for those a little out there. Too many people believing they owned a fourth David; found at long last. What they really wanted was to get back what they initially paid on a 2-3 year old car. One guy I went on a test drive with sort of let it slip that he had over extended and needed a fast sale to get out from under the note yet was still asking $100k.

Boutique dealerships were even worse! There was also a 2014 GT500 up here at some place called Manhatten Auto or Motors or something that was $140k. Sure it was a Supersnake, but it was $140k!!! That thing was advertised for months and I don't think it actually sold.

UPDATE: Here is one of their ads that is still visible: FORD MUSTANG 2014-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-super-snake-5-8l-900hp-carbonlip Used - the parking

Anyways, a new GT500 will be great and we can all look and feel Nostalgic and envious of the 7 guys (or girls) who can afford one.

Here ya go Bud!! Take your pick!!!

https://www.motortrendshouston.com/...4&rcate=&rmake=Ford&rmodel=MUSTANG&invquery=1

 

[9secondko]

Im so confused now.....please S650 owners enlighten me : )

When the Dark Horse came out- you were all running around here ...

Shelbys are for boomers!
Who cares about a dead guy!
Time to move the brand forward!
and so on.....

But now your all getting excited about a GT500???

and for the person who said we all ready can put a supercharger on a Dark Horse..... 3 letters for you...

DCT

I love the 10 speed auto- but the DCT is whole different transmission.... (not thinking drag racing)
That being said I like my manual transmissions still lol

I think the reason some were not too excited for the new gt350, etc. is that it wasn’t a new, highly engineered Ford Mustang, purpose built from the Ford factory to do some stuff. The new gt350 is basically a tuner car, but an exceptional one at that. The more you look into it, you see what they did with carbon fiber etc. to lower weight, etc. and it’s quite a step forward. But still - it’s not a factory car.

with the Ford GT350R and gt500, we got some absolutely stunning pieces of engineering. Especially the gt500 which was criminally good for its time.

with the GTD being an extremely high priced car and a slight disappointment in terms of what it does in its class, we are. All looking forward to a super high performance Mustang engineered by ford that comes in at a reasonable price point while obliterating cars supposedly out of its league.

 

[roadpilot]

I’m glad you mentioned the DCT. I‘ve been meaning to ask: OK, so what? There must be a big deal but I can’t honestly figure out why it’s so much better than the A10 for non-boosted guys.

If you don't understand the difference between how a DCT works and how a standard automatic transmission works, you really should learn.

Each time a standard auto transmission changes gears, there is a moment where the engine and transmission are disconnected from one another. Think: shifting a manual transmission very, very fast, you still have to disengage power delivery with the clutch. At some point during a gear change, power delivery is disconnected between the engine and transmission.

With a DCT, the engine and transmission are ALWAYS connected, eliminating those moments where power from the engine is not being transferred to the transmission. A DCT is basically two gearboxes in a single unit with one controlling odd numbered gears and the other controlling even numbered gears. Your "next gear" is always pre-selected and ready to engage without interrupting power flow like a standard AT does.

They are more expensive to produce and repair and heavier, which is why you don't see them a lot. But being able to shift gears without power delivery being interrupted is good for cars of all kinds, not just high performance vehicles.

Put ‘em in the right drive move and nothing could shift any faster.

See above. DCTs are most certainly faster, as you never lose power delivery. Instant gear change response with paddle shifters compared to a standard AT.

Help me understand, but please skip the old “you have to drive one to get it“ stuff. A well-functioning A10 has always seemed quite nice to me.

Except, yes, you do. Reminds me of the old saying: "For some, no explanation is necessary. For others, none is possible."

 

[young at heart]

If you don't understand the difference between how a DCT works and how a standard automatic transmission works, you really should learn.

Each time a standard auto transmission changes gears, there is a moment where the engine and transmission are disconnected from one another. Think: shifting a manual transmission very, very fast, you still have to disengage power delivery with the clutch. At some point during a gear change, power delivery is disconnected between the engine and transmission.

With a DCT, the engine and transmission are ALWAYS connected, eliminating those moments where power from the engine is not being transferred to the transmission. A DCT is basically two gearboxes in a single unit with one controlling odd numbered gears and the other controlling even numbered gears. Your "next gear" is always pre-selected and ready to engage without interrupting power flow like a standard AT does.

They are more expensive to produce and repair and heavier, which is why you don't see them a lot. But being able to shift gears without power delivery being interrupted is good for cars of all kinds, not just high performance vehicles.

See above. DCTs are most certainly faster, as you never lose power delivery. Instant gear change response with paddle shifters compared to a standard AT.

Except, yes, you do. Reminds me of the old saying: "For some, no explanation is necessary. For others, none is possible."

As I mentioned in my post, I do understand how they work. No explanation necessary. And I get that they’re the latest and greatest.

What I don’t understand is how such a techno-wonder translates to a discernible advantage on the street, even in very high-spirited driving. Especially in track or drag mode, a proper A10 shifts so fast and hard I don’t see how another micro-millisecond could possibly matter or even be noticeable or measurable. I’d think the advantage of the additional three speeds would win the day. Now on the racetrack, perhaps a whole different story, IDK.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

Just curious, is it technically possible to switch the current Coyote from a crossplane setup to a flatplane one?

 

[Farmer Fran]

For $120,000 you can get the next "GT500"

 

[Epiphany]

Just curious, is it technically possible to switch the current Coyote from a crossplane setup to a flatplane one?

I suppose you can make a bomb out of anything if you try hard enough.

In before wadded panties...I owned a GT350 and rather enjoyed it.

 

[DeluxeStang]

2026 Shelby GT500? Well that is interesting since nobody at Shelby in Vegas is aware of another 500.

And where does that image imply anything about the use of a supercharger one way or another? You think that this alleged GT500 will use the "same" engine as the GTD?

Shelby in Vegas is a clown show compared to the real Shelby, which isn't actually Shelby, but Ford performance calling themselves Shelby until their own branding improves enough to where they don't need to call themselves Shelby to win over shelby fans. It's all over the place lol.

All the legendary Shelby mustang's like the gt 350 and gt 500 from the s550 generation have nothing to do with the Shelby corp. based in Las Vegas. Those are all Ford performance creations with no shelby input. So vegas Shelby is gonna have no idea what fake Detroit Shelby is developing.

Sponsored