The 2013 Ford Shelby GT500: What the critics say

Motor Trend

This all-new, high-performance Mustang is “a fitting tribute to the late Carroll Shelby”—the legendary race-car builder who put together the first edition in 1965. Compared with its immediate predecessor, the 2013 GT500 is improved “in every way possible”: It’s faster, handles better, and even boasts a 1 mpg upgrade in fuel economy. Best of all, its “obscene” power is “absolutely controllable,” thanks to a launch control feature that lets you “dial in the revs, release the clutch, and hold on.”

Car and Driver

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Ford paid a price for letting its Special Vehicle Team focus solely on generating unprecedented speed, horsepower, and torque. Sure, the 5.8-liter V8 will take you from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, but the acceleration is so graceful that you never get that “giddy, unchained-Satan feeling” you’d expect. Still, people buy cars like this for boasting rights, and it’s no mean feat that Ford has been able to deliver a street-ready 662 hp for less than $60,000.

EdmundsInsideLine.com

To be sure, this GT500 “is far from the utterly unruly beast” wives and mothers might fear. It doesn’t even sound like it’s looking for trouble. But Carroll Shelby was about performance, not gimmicks. “Don’t worry, Mr. Shelby, your legacy will live on” if the boys at SVT have anything to say about it.