High-Powered Shelby GT500 Mustang in the Works?

Ford Motor Co. is developing a new high-performance Shelby Mustang to better compete against the Chevrolet Camaro ZL and Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, according to several media reports. The new model is expected to be called the Shelby GT500 Mustang and hit the streets next year as a 2018 model.

Ford hasn’t confirmed the vehicle. But a camouflaged test mule captured recently by spy photographers near Ford’s development center in Dearborn, Mich., appears to show an updated version of the Shelby GT350 Mustang with more aggressive styling.

The test car had “TT” labeling on its windshield, which the reports suggests signifies the use of a twin-turbocharged V-8 engine. Possible candidates for the twin-turbo treatment include Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 and its 5.2-liter Voodoo V-8.

The current GT350R uses the naturally aspirated 5.2-liter mill with a flat-plane crankshaft that makes 526 hp and 429 lb ft of torque. By comparison, the Camaro ZL1 is powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 650-hp while the Challenger SRT gets Dodge’s 707-hp 6.2-liter Hellcat V-8.

The previous limited-volume GT500 produced in 2013 used a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 that made 550 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque.