2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500: 8 More GT500 Engine Nuggets

Ford likes to tease information about the hot new 2020 Shelby GT500 one tiny piece at a time. And before we get ourselves behind the wheel, here are eight cool facts we recently learned about the Mustang:

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According to Pat Morgan, powertrain manager at Ford Performance, in order to produce the GT500's 760 peak horsepower, the cylinders are producing at least 850 horses, some 90 of which spin the supercharger—that's less than we'd originally guessed. It takes six heat exchangers in front (another one cools the axle) to release all the heat that creates. Oh, we also just learned that the engine produces a minimum of 531 (net) horsepower from 3,000 rpm to its 7,500 rpm redline (85 percent of peak).

More on the new GT500:How its 760 HP Stacks Up to Hellcat, ZL1, and More

Ford is still unwilling to commit to a 0-60 or quarter-mile acceleration statistic, but Morgandidquote a 0-100-0-mph time of10.6 seconds. This performance metric was popularized by the original Shelby Cobra roadster, which famously managed the feat in 13.6 seconds (sans ABS, a twin-clutch tranny, or a supercharger). He claims the GT500 could launch, hit 100 mph, and stop within the 1,092-foot length of an aircraft carrier deck.

We now know for certain that the 2.7-liter Eaton twin-vortices screw supercharger nestled deep in the valley of the 5.2-liter engine's vee is huffing up12 psi of peak boost, which gets sent up through the intercooler, and then back down toward the intake valves.

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The Ford Mustang GT4 race caressentially uses a naturally aspirated version of this same 5.2-liter engine, sharing the same cross-plane, forged, filleted micro-alloy crankshaft and many other race-hardened components.

The GT500's saddle-style tank features ajet-type pump(which uses a small powerful stream of fuel to move a larger quantity of fuel) in the remote side of the tank to ensure there is always ample fuel around the well baffled pickup-point for the main fuel pump feeding the engine. We're told that even during high-g track lapping, it is possible to burn nearly every drop of gas in the tank—which might just propel the GT500 over the finish line while a competitor peters out in the last turn.

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Thestructural aluminum oil pan(the transmission bolts up to it) features flap baffles that retain oil around the sump during 1.5-g cornering and features a pair of sizable "ears" on either side that help to expand the pan's volume to an almost dry-sump-like 11 quarts.

Like the GT350 engine, every GT500 engine will be built from start to finish in Romeo, Michigan by a team of two technicians who willsign each completed unit.

The newTremec TR-9070dual-clutch transmission gets paddles for those who insist on calling their own shifting shots, but there are also five automatic shifting modes: normal, sport, drag, track, and slippery. Normal strives for max comfort. Sport delivers shifts as quick as 80 milliseconds. Drag slows shifts down a bit to ensure the engine is producing strong torque when the clutch engages. Track pays attention to steering input and g-loading to ensure that torque in the next gear won't upset the car's balance in a turn. Slippery runs in higher gears to limit torque that could prompt wheelspin.

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