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Ford went official [2] this morning with the 2013 Shelby GT500. The only thing we don’t have all the details on right now is the MSRP for the GT500 and when the car will hit dealer showrooms. What we do know is that the new GT500 gets the most powerful production V8 in the world with 650hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. The V8 uses a TVS supercharger and along with that new engine and the GT500 gets a bunch of other updates too.
Ford says that the massive V8 under the hood is good for over 200 mph. The GT500 weighs 3,850 pounds for 2013 and is exempt from the gas-guzzler tax. The powertrain has been beefed up with a cross-drilled block and heads, updated cam profiles, and the driveshaft is now carbon fiber to withstand all the power and torque the 5.8L V8 makes.
The TVS 2300 blower is a 2.3L displacement unit. Ford also spent some time on the cooling system of the new GT500 to be sure the car can run longer without heat soak. The cooling fan has grown larger and has high-speed pressure relief doors. The charge cooler is more efficient, the intercooler is larger by 36%, and the intercooler pump is high flow.
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“It might just seem like we’re putting a bigger engine into the car. But it’s been a balanced approach through and through,” said Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief engineer. “We’ve completely redone the car to be even more sophisticated in terms of handling and control than the prior model.”
For 2013, the rear gear ratio is 3.31:1 for optimized gearing with all the torque the engine produces. The clutch was also updated and time was spent on the traction issues the car has suffered from I the past. The car has a Torsen rear diff that comes in the optional Performance Pack. It also gets a launch control integrated with the engine control and traction control. The 13 GT500 also gets larger Brembo brakes with 6-piston calipers in the front and larger rear brakes. In the Performance Pack option, the car also gets SVT-designed Blisten shocks that adjust with a button on the dash with normal and sport modes.
“The adjustable shocks let us develop our car on the track without any compromise,” said Kerry Baldori, Ford SVT Global Performance Vehicles chief engineer. “Before, we had to tune the car with street implications in mind. Now we can go as extreme as we want on the track setting and still offer the customer a comfortable ride on the road.”
To make the GT500 even more track potent buyers of the Performance Package can also opt for a Track Package that adds an external engine oil cooler, rear differential cooler, and a transmission cooler.
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