Say hello to the next potential king of the pony car throne. A 2017 Ford Mustang SVT prototype - likely the replacement for the 662-hp Ford Shelby GT500 - has been spotted testing, wearing a wider body than before, more camo, and likely packing a supercharged 5.8-liter V-8 under the hood.
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Though we've caught the next SVT-ified Mustang out testing before, this is the first prototype we've seen wearing the correct body work. The heavily-camouflaged front end seems to cover a more aggressive nose, which features larger air intakes, and possibly a grille-less hood opening as seen on the last-gen Shelby GT500. The Mustang GT500 prototype also appears to have a massive hood power bulge, air intakes on top of the front quarter panels, and a big heat extractor near the hood's leading edge.
The camouflage is also hiding functional vents just aft of the front wheels, quad-tipped exhaust pipes, and possibly a functional rear spoiler. The Shelby GT500 successor packs Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and hiding behind the wheel camo, sporty multi-spoke wheels, and cross-drilled carbon rotors up front and cross-drilled steel rotors in back.
According to the latest rumors, an updated version of the 2014 Ford Shelby GT500's 5.8-liter supercharged V-8 is under the hood of the next-gen Mustang GT500. The V-8 reportedly features a Ferrari-like flat-plane crank, a 7000 rpm redline, and probablyDodge Challenger Hellcat-trumping horsepower figures north of 660-hp. Ford is rumored to having a bit of difficultly developing the updated 5.8-liter mill, with several of the new mills "suffering catastrophic engine failures," according to our source.
SVT's next-gen Ford Mustang is expected to make its debut next year, and go into production in time for the 2017 model year. Stay tuned.
Photo Credit: Chris Doane Automotive
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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