Ford has confirmed that the 2019 Mustang Shelby GT500 will pack over 700 horsepower. While the American automaker has yet to disclose the exact power output, there is reason to believe that the upcoming muscle car will have a final figure that is closer to 800 horsepower.
According to an eagle-eyed Reddit user, Ford has already indirectly revealed the performance numbers of the 2019 Shelby GT500.
In the 24-page online brochure for the 2018 Mustang, a promotional image of Ford's 21-inch LCD instrument cluster reveals a car in 7th gear that is traveling at 72 miles per hour (mph). Both of these numbers combined translates to 772 horsepower. Moreover, the digital display also shows the odometer at 74.3 miles, which translates to 743 pound-feet of torque.
Does this mean that the 2019 Shelby GT500 will be capable of 772 horsepower and 743 pound-feet of torque? While there is still no official confirmation from Ford, there seems to be a precedent that supports this line of reasoning.
In January 2017, Ford's product communications manager Mike Levine hinted at the 2018 Mustang GT's power rating in a similar manner. Levine posted an image of a digital gauge cluster on Twitter and it showed a vehicle in 4th gear that is traveling at 55 mph. This adds up to 455 horsepower. A few days later, the 2018 Mustang GT was introduced with 460 horsepower. Based on this example, there is even a possibility that the 2019 Shelby GT500 will be capable of over 772 horsepower.
If these performance numbers are proven to be true, the 2019 Shelby GT500 will be able to outperform the popular high-performance muscle cars in the market — the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the 650-horsepower Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will likely stay on top but the muscle car's barebones build has limited usability as a track-only vehicle.
The 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will be unveiled later this year.
