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

[MustangMitch69]

if you haven’t seen this video… it’s a 350R being reviewed by a bmw and Miata guy

The throttle house guys do pretty entertaining videos. One of them, Thomas, absolutely craps on the S650 GT in their video and review of that, so his high praise of the 350R indicates that he's reviewing almost completely from a track capability perspective, which is expected from a guy who drives and spent his own money on an M2.

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[Stangerous]

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?

Track days do not require a ton of money. For most TNIA events I’m in just over $500, including the Hagerty track insurance for the day. Yes, there are some other expenses to get you there like hi-temp fluids, brakes and tires, but if you can afford these cars the cost to enjoy them is really minimal.

 

[Alan Applegate]

Racing for fun on the weekends covers a lot of events, such as gymkhanas. But if you're into serious solo groups, you'd best have more than pocket change! You can get into drag bracket racing with your daily driver, but even that gets expensive if you blow a tranny or an engine. Heck, even a set of decent slicks can cost upwards of $2,000. That's not pocket change for most families.

 

[Upacurb]

The throttle house guys do pretty entertaining videos. One of them, Thomas, absolutely craps on the S650 GT in their video and review of that, so his high praise of the 350R indicates that he's reviewing almost completely from a track capability perspective, which is expected from a guy who drives and spent his own money on an M2.

Yep....I think the final conclusion the GT500 vs GT350 guys always come up with is....(talking the way they drive- ignoring the numbers)

The GT350 is a track car you can drive on the street
The GT500 is a great street car you can race on the track

After driving the Dark Horse- its an incredible street car - could easily do road trips/ daily drive it/ exc...I think it drives just like the GT500 .....

I would NEVER want to daily my car- it requires constant attention and your mentally exhausted if you drive it more then 2-3 hours straight as the car just NEVER relaxes.....(its also what makes it fun for a Sunday morning drive car) then add in the stupid power band where it makes all its power after 3000RPM

Incredibly fun car throwing it into corners with the RPMs high .... but yeah outside of that Ive done a few 400 mile road trips in it and yeah....mentally exhausting.....lol

 

[MCS]

but yeah outside of that Ive done a few 400 mile road trips in it and yeah....mentally exhausting.....lol

Don't tell me that! Lie to me!!!

I'm about to take the car on a week long 2000km trip in July from Ontario down to WVA then over to NC and into TN for the Tail of the Dragon.

Did I mention that the Supercharger goes on next month?

 

[Stonehauler]

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?

1) people love to brag about their cars.
2) The 5.0+Supercharger is something anyone can do, but it's aftermarket. Some will elect to do it, others (even collectors and performance gear heads) won't. That said, the three (3) year 36k warranty from Ford makes it tempting
3) The low production numbers means that more often than not, these are swept up by collectors and people who like a track day car. That said, that doesn't mean the average consumer (that can afford it) cannot buy one, it just means there are not as many as people would think actually on the road
4) EVs are putting down faster numbers out there and no one blinks an eye at a 2.5-3 ton machine doing 0-60 in the two or three second range. After all, that's an "environmentally friendly" EV! (note - SARCASM)

All that said, cars ARE getting "stupid fast" these days with people running out of speed limit on the on ramps fairly quickly. You don't have the time to enjoy a slightly less "pressed back in your seat sensation" that extends over a longer time. However, people get used to the endorphins this type of activity generates and they are constantly wanting a "bigger high", forcing manufacturers to make faster and faster cars. Fortunately, the nannies are getting better and better about getting you up to speed rapidly, without endangering the rubber tree population or spinning you around. However, there will still be people who do stupid stuff, no matter how much (or little) horsepower they might have under the bonnet. The success of Top Gear and its longevity shows just how true that is with the three idiots who hosted that show.

 

[Stangerous]

Racing for fun on the weekends covers a lot of events, such as gymkhanas. But if you're into serious solo groups, you'd best have more than pocket change! You can get into drag bracket racing with your daily driver, but even that gets expensive if you blow a tranny or an engine. Heck, even a set of decent slicks can cost upwards of $2,000. That's not pocket change for most families.
If you wanna play you gotta pay. So, play at a level you can afford and just enjoy the car. If you’re into serious solo groups or drag racing then you know what it’s gonna cost up front because you have previous experience so it shouldn’t be a shock to the budget. Most people doing that aren’t using their new Mustang anyway, they have a dedicated car for it.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

Yep....I think the final conclusion the GT500 vs GT350 guys always come up with is....(talking the way they drive- ignoring the numbers)

The GT350 is a track car you can drive on the street
The GT500 is a great street car you can race on the track

After driving the Dark Horse- its an incredible street car - could easily do road trips/ daily drive it/ exc...I think it drives just like the GT500 .....

I would NEVER want to daily my car- it requires constant attention and your mentally exhausted if you drive it more then 2-3 hours straight as the car just NEVER relaxes.....(its also what makes it fun for a Sunday morning drive car) then add in the stupid power band where it makes all its power after 3000RPM

Incredibly fun car throwing it into corners with the RPMs high .... but yeah outside of that Ive done a few 400 mile road trips in it and yeah....mentally exhausting.....lol

Thanks for sharing the daily driving experience differences between the GT350/GT500/Dark Horse. It's the clarification I was looking for!

I think what I'd be looking for is the ride quality of the regular Mustang (non-Performance Pack) with the handling weight/feel (minus the tramlining) of the GT350. A fun daily driver with excellent handling dynamics, which probably means I'm looking for a unicorn that isn't a Hoonicorn.

 

[Upacurb]

Don't tell me that! Lie to me!!!

I'm about to take the car on a week long 2000km trip in July from Ontario down to WVA then over to NC and into TN for the Tail of the Dragon.

Did I mention that the Supercharger goes on next month?

On no- you will be good! I could take the Dark Horse on a cross country drive no problem.....my 350R- nope....would not want to .... driving my car back to back with a Dark Horse...the Dark Horse is like a Lexus ( no its not really like a Lexus but you know what Im saying)

If I was 20 I would drive my car cross country - but at my old age...lol I sound like I need a C8 lol

 

[MCS]

ut at my old age...lol I sound like I need a C8 lol

Until you try and climb out of one. I was shopping for a vette before I bought my DH. I'm only 50 and felt like I needed a walker climbing out of a C8.

 

[Zig]

Until you try and climb out of one. I was shopping for a vette before I bought my DH. I'm only 50 and felt like I needed a walker climbing out of a C8.

I occasionally did the roll and stand getting out of our c6.

 

[MustangMitch69]

Until you try and climb out of one. I was shopping for a vette before I bought my DH. I'm only 50 and felt like I needed a walker climbing out of a C8.

A coworker of mine in his 50's recently somewhat spontaneously bought a Cayman and said the same thing about it.

 

[kinelisch]

Wish we can see a prototype or camouflage S650 GT500

 

[9secondko]

Wish we can see a prototype or camouflage S650 GT500

doubt we will see it in the street before the GTD starts delivering.

 

[Snowflee17]

They are NOT ditching the supercharger, so factor a higher price point, and ramp up starts EOY for it in 26

Not to throw water on your fire......
But the ramp up of engines is for 2 reasons:
1) the number of GTD's is increasing
2) the Raptor R is going with the same engine with different specs

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