Ford GT500 Mustang Official Reveal Date

Posted Wednesday, Dec 26, 2018

The official revealing of the new Ford GT500 Mustang has finally been announced: January 14, 2019. Over the past year and a half, Mustang enthusiasts have been waiting for the reveal, but to no avail. However, there have been several leaked photos and documents, and there have been several spy photos; together, these have answered a few questions and hint at the GT500 performance.

In 2014, Ford produced the last of the GT500s. That outgoing model boasted 662 hp (most powerful production V8 of the time), which is pretty amazing, but it left a bit to be desired on the track- which should be rectified with the tires and brakes the 2020 GT500 may be shod with. Regarding the really wide tires, one spy photo was able to capture the size of the front wheels: 305/30/ZR20. That’s as wide as the rear tires on the Shelby GT350 and Camaro ZL1! The GT500 should really handle. And about those huge brakes; one “leaked” photo shows a guy holding his hand over a brake rotor, and the rotor dwarfs it. Not only that, one “leaked” document discussing the GT500 brake system stated that it will have ceramic brake pads- coupled with those huge rotors, this car should have great braking ability. The GT500 will be able to stop quickly.

Early on, there was a debate as to the power-plant for the new GT500. Some argued that it would be powered by either a twin turbocharged 5.0L Coyote or a supercharged 5.0L Coyote. Ford’s trend towards the EcoBoost would suggest the twin turbo route, but the past GT500s have been supercharged. However, others speculated that the car would have the 5.2L VooDoo from the GT350, but with a cross-plane crank instead of the flat-plane and will have either twin turbos or a supercharger. Some claim that the bulge in the hood suggests that the car is definitely supercharged, as does a “leaked” photo depicting a supercharger marked with the Shelby Cobra logo and “5.2L.” Yet, others thought the bulging hood could be covering a larger engine, one that is 7.0L. There are some comments on the internet (supposedly from a Ford insider) stating that the new engine is a naturally aspirated 7.0L. Well, a recent engine photo from Ford verifies that the GT500’s engine will indeed be a supercharged 5.2L. Many think it will be named the Predator engine. (Maybe the 7.0L the insider has seen means a new Boss 429 is in the works; one can only hope.)

We still have no definite figures on the power of this Predator engine, but Ford has stated it will be 700+. Obviously, that could mean anything from 701 to 799, yet many think it will be around 755. This arises from a Mustang press release from 2017 for the 2018 Mustang. In the press release, Ford displayed a couple of images of the Mustang instrument panel. One displayed a prominent 4 on the left (the gear indicator) and a prominent 55 on the right (mph). Many took this as a hint at the Mustang GT’s hp; it was very close: the 2018 GT arrived with 460 hp. The other image of the instrument panel had the same 55 mph on the right, but the car was in 7th gear. Following the same logic, some version of the Mustang should have around 755 hp, but that is a great deal of speculation. With the ZR1’s 755hp and the Redeye’s 797, it would make sense for the 700+ to mean the mid- to high-700s. In either case, the GT500 will be quick.

While exact horsepower figures are uncertain, we may have an indication of some other performance parameters as disclosed in several other leaked documents. One document concerns the GT500’s powertrain driving modes; among others, it lists the GT500 as having traction control and a drag strip mode. But another leaked document (showing the speed verification chart) possibly reveals an incredible aspect of this car: the top speed. This document shows that the GT500 has a top speed of 200, possibly up to 214! Wow.

The last enticing aspect of the GT500 is the team and director who developed it. In some spy photos, the driver even covered his face from the spy photographer, but it looks to be Dave Pericak himself. At the time of the photos, he was the boss of Ford Performance, a position he had held for a number of years and in which he had overseen the development of such go-fast vehicles as the GT350 and the GT supercar. Whichever Mustang this is, it will be special.

So, if you’re a Mustang fan like me, Santa’s coming on January 14th this year.

Photo courtesy of reasonablerides.com