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Sports Cars
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- The ultimate factory-built Mustang
- Enormous horsepower for the price
- Improved handling
- Retro styling
- Quality interior design, features
- Has a backseat and a decent trunk
- Outdated live-axle rear suspension
- Still nose-heavy
- Gas guzzler, and gets the tax to prove it
Some 540 horsepower and an eye-grabbing retro look make the 2010 Shelby GT500 a lot of fun, reviews say. And for 2010, Ford has fixed the ultimate Mustang's cheap interior and shaky cornering abilities that were spoiling the party.
"This is a seriously fast car," Edmunds.com says, quoting times -- 4.3 seconds to 60 and a 12.4-second quarter-mile -- that are usually associated with high-dollar exotics. In Edmunds.com's tests, the GT500 runs a little faster than the pricier base-model Chevrolet Corvette (*Est. $48,930 to $74,285). But testers at Motor Trend and Car and Driver can't quite replicate those feats. In those tests, the Shelby runs neck-and-neck with the much cheaper Chevrolet Camaro SS (*Est. $30,245 to $33,430).
Reviewers also tend to compare the Shelby GT500 to the 2009 Porsche Boxster roadster (*Est. $46,600 to $56,700) and 2009 Porche Cayman coupe (*Est. $50,300 to $60,200) -- as in, don't expect the Ford to handle like a Porsche. The 2010 Shelby GT500 coupe's new suspension and adjustable stability control keep it civilized, but they still can't hide the fact that it's a two-ton, nose-heavy beast, reviews say.
Like all Mustangs, the Shelby GT500 still sports the old-fashioned, controversial solid rear axle. Some reviews -- and no shortage of owners -- argue that it's better for drag racing, but Motor Trend says that's simply a myth cooked up by Ford. Several reviews quote anonymous Ford sources who say the solid axle was merely Ford's attempt to save a couple hundred bucks per car, savings that Ford then ironically had to spend trying to engineer the jumpiness out of the solid axle. Some testers barely notice it, but Car and Driver says it's chintzy for this price. Motor Trend says the Shelby's "stone-age rear suspension … hops and bangs and thumps, spitting the car sideways as the tires struggle for grip."
Unlike most sports cars, the 2010 Shelby GT500 has a small-but-usable backseat for two and a decent-sized trunk. It also comes with body stripes (stripe-delete is optional), leather seats with the Shelby cobra logo, satellite radio, Sync voice-control multimedia system and a power soft top for the convertible.
The rear-wheel-drive GT500 gets its 540 horsepower from a 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 engine. A six-speed manual transmission is the only offering. Expect 14 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined under optimal circumstances. The Shelby GT500 carries a three-year, 36,000-mile basic warranty, with five years, 60,000 miles coverage on the powertrain.
Edmunds.com's full review covers every aspect of the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and links to more detailed road tests, comparison tests and videos. Motor Trend and Car and Driver both test the Shelby head-to-head against the Chevy Camaro, with opposite results. Four auto-review websites -- Autoblog.com, Jalopnik.com, TheTruthAboutCars.com and LeftLaneNews.com -- all do single-car tests of the Shelby GT500 at its media launch. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists official fuel-economy estimates for the Shelby GT500 at FuelEconomy.gov.
Our Sources
1. Edmunds.com
The Ford Shelby GT500 offers "supercar performance" at an incredibly low price, Edmunds.com says. Since Ford fixed the subpar interior and handling that afflicted last year's model, editors recommend the Shelby wholeheartedly.
Review: 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 Review, Editors of Edmunds.com
2. Motor TrendDetails/Subscribe
The 2010 Shelby GT500 beats the Chevy Camaro SS in this test -- and not just in a straight line. The Shelby nails the quarter-mile in 12.8 seconds, a tenth faster than the Camaro, but Motor Trend Editor-In-Chief Angus Mackenzie is most impressed with the Shelby's "wonderful" steering and "light and agile" feel.
Review: Comparison: 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 vs. 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Angus MacKenzie, July 6, 2009
3. Car and DriverDetails/Subscribe
Car and Driver testers -- and even Ford's own tester -- are unable to replicate the 12.5-second quarter-mile Ford advertises for the 2010 Shelby GT500. So the nose-heavy Shelby can't outrace the cheaper Chevy Camaro, the reviewer concludes, although he does praise the Shelby's improved composure.
Review: 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 -- Short Take Road Test, Aaron Robinson, June 2009
4. Autoblog.com
Part one of Autoblog.com's two-part review evaluates every detail of the 2010 Shelby GT500 -- with photos -- and reports how the Shelby performs on back roads. In part two, reviewer Jonathon Ramsey finds it equally impressive on closed tracks.
Review: First Drive: 2010 Ford Shelby GT500, Part 1 -- Living on the (Live Axle) Limit, Jonathon Ramsey, April 6, 2009
5. Jalopnik.com
Jalopnik.com road-test editor Wes Siler likes the 2010 Shelby GT500, thanks to its improved handling, which makes the 2010 Shelby GT500 a much better driver than its predecessor.
Review: 2010 Shelby GT500: First Drive, Wes Siler, April 6, 2009
The Ford Shelby GT500 earns a perfect five-star rating here. Reviewer Jack Baruth calls it "a road racer's dream," with more horsepower than any other car under $90,000.
Review: Review: 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Jack Baruth, April 24, 2009
The new and improved Shelby GT500 "finally makes a decent daily driver," LeftLaneNews.com's Mark Elias concludes -- and it's still fun, relatively inexpensive and does great burnouts.
Review: Review: 2010 Ford Shelby GT500, Mark Elias, April 6, 2009
The 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 lands near the bottom of this fuel-economy chart, along with all the other gas-guzzler sports cars. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rates each car's gas mileage, annual fuel cost and pollution.
Review: 2010 Sports/Sporty Cars, Editors of FuelEconomy.gov
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