I am bored so I figured I would do a few little write ups on some of the different cars I have had the pleasure of driving on the street and track.

The Car
The current model Ford Mustang has spawned a ton of special edition versions, but the most recognized name among them all has to be the Shelby GT500. Even in his eighties Carrol Shelby is still producing monster street cars out of his factory in my home town of Las Vegas. The Shelby GT500 is arguably the holy grail for a lot of Mustang fans and until the recent release of the Shelby King of the Road Mustang, the GT500 was the most powerfull factory-built Mustang ever produced. It's 5.4L V8 produces 500 horsepower and 480 ft. lbs. of torque with the help of a "roots-type" supercharger set from the factory at 9psi. This engine is basically a toned down version of the supercharged V8 found in the Ford GT, the differences being a dry sump oil system, aluminum block, and twin screw supercharger pumping 13.5psi. The rest of the car remains disappointingly unchanged. The GT500 got a different version of the stock Mustang GT suspension with different dampening and spring rates, 6 speed manual transmission, Brembo front brakes, Shelby wheels, wider tires, and a few interior upgrades over the stock Mustang GT. The biggest downside, to me at least, is the addition of 400 lbs. over the stock Mustang GT due mostly in part to a heavier drivetrain. This brings the GT500 to a hefty 3,920 lbs. in coupe form and over 4,000 lbs. for the convertible.

Driving on the Street
The streets is where this car shines. It is downright fun to drive from stop light to stop light. The car is very civil and very comparable to a stock Mustang GT for driveability, that is until you put your foot in it. Mash on the gas and the car comes alive, the supercharger starts to scream almost simultaneously with your passenger as you are pressed back into the comfortable leather seats. The engagement of the clutch was a little hard to get used to at first since it doesn't give you much feel, yet has a pretty quick engagement. Shifting is smooth however with the extra sixth gear being a nice addition for cruising down the highway.

The interior is not a whole lot different than the stock Mustang GT, but the exterior hints to what the car is capable of with more agressive front and rear bumpers, racing stripes, and a vented hood.

The Shaker 1000 audio system is great, with sound rivaling some factory Bose systems I have heard in other cars. Sirius satelite radio is also nice for those road trips, like the five hour drive to Buttonwillow Raceway for the track test.

Driving on the Track
After a comfortable drive down the I-15 in the GT500 I eventually found myself at Buttonwillow Raceway ready to do some track testing. After a previous experience with a Saleen Mustang and given the fact that this Shelby version was 400 lbs. heavier, I didn't have much faith in the braking system going into the track day despite the larger Brembo front brakes. I took it easy on the brakes for the first day to try and get a good impression on the rest of the car before I potentially burn up the brakes on it. It wasn't until the second day that I drove the car to its full potential in all aspects.

What can I say, I was not impressed with the GT500 on track. It wasn't horrible, but it would definately not be on the top of my list given the price vs. performance. The most noticeable flaw in the GT500's on-track behavior was that the front struts would heat up after only a few laps leaving you feeling like you are riding on only springs. This upset the car's weight balance as it would bounce up and down like it was on hydraulics. Even before the front suspension started acting up, the car felt every bit like it weighed over 4000 lbs. through the entry and mid corner. As expected, the car had understeer dialed in from the factory, but with all of the power, it was possible to induce some power oversteer. Most suprising to me were the brakes. They we actually quite good given the weight of the car, especially in contrast to the Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition Mustang. The initial bite and torque curve of the GT500 brakes were not as good as the Saleen, but the fade resistance was much improved most likely due to better cooling and different pad compound.

The amount of power and how it was delivered was this car's best attribute on the track. Plenty of power was available on tap and through a broad RPM range, however it never felt like it had too much power.

Final Impressions
The GT500 is better left to the street or the drag strip in my opinion. For the money you could buy a ton of different cars that are more track capable and just as streetable. Although I would proudly drive one to work and back, it's not something I would be bringing to the local road course.

Cliff's Notes:

The Good:
- Power
- Looks
- Sports the Shelby name

The Bad:
- Handles like a pig on rollerskates
- Weighs nearly 4,000 lbs.
- Price vs. road course performance