Ford Just Bent the ZL1 over and raped the fuck out of it(650hp GT500!!!!)

---

Damn, I knew Ford wasn't going to let the ZL1 go unanswered, but this shit is ridiculous. They damn put a nail in the coffin of the ZL1 before it's even released. And they had the sense to have an electronically controlled suspension to put the power down.

Quote:

Ford guys are going to be dancing in the streets over this one: Ford has just crammed an additional 100 horsepower into the GT500 upping total output to 650 giving the 5.8-liter aluminum V8 the title "Most Powerful Production V8... in the World." We said it when we heard early reports on the horsepower figures of the 2013 Ford Mustang GT500 and we'll say it again now; ZL-What? For those keeping track, this means the 3,850-pound 2013 Shelby GT500 will have 70 horsepower more than the 4,200-pound Chevy Camaro ZL1 and the last time we tested a 2011 Shelby GT500 it did 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and ran the quarter in 12.6 @ 115.8. To get 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque from the 5.8, Ford employed a new TVS series 2300 supercharger that displaces 2.3-liters, updated the cooling system with a larger fan, fan shroud and air cooler, a higher-flow intercooler pump, a larger intercooler heat exchanger, new cross-drilled block and heads and new cam profiles. From there we go to a six-speed manual transmission, a carbon-fiber driveshaft, new clutch and, with the optional Performance Package (on a 650-horsepower special edition car? C'mon Ford..C'mon) a Torsen limited-slip. Final drive is 3.31:1 Managing this power shouldn't be difficult as the GT500 has a new, driver-selectable launch control system that is linked with the engine control and traction control system. Ford also tweaked the aerodynamics of the GT500 to make sure the car was stable and planted at its over-200 mph top speed. Ford claims the new GT500 "offers 33 percent more effective aero loading at 160 mph compared to the 2011 model." On the handling front, Ford is going to offer three steering assist levels, fully defeatable traction control (there is a sport mode) and forged aluminum wheels (19s up front, 20s out back) wearing Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar G:2 tires. Bilstein electronically adjustable suspension is available with the Performance Pack. "The adjustable shocks let us develop our car on the track without any compromise. 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." said Kerry Baldori, Ford SVT Global Performance Vehicles chief engineer. Most of this sounds great, but there is one negative. The release states, "Engineers considered more than 35 gearing combinations, finally deciding on one that delivers less torque all the way through the wheels to the ground and still enables the car to achieve fuel economy targets." Avoiding the gas-guzzler tax was clearly very important to Ford. Fingers crossed it doesn't make for a compromised driver's toy. Looks like we'll have to strap it to a dyno to see what the wheel numbers are.

__________________