First off, it will be the most powerful street-legal Ford vehicle ever produced.

The engine - a supercharged, 5.2L aluminium alloy V8 that is hand-built and features weight saving wire-arc cylinder liners, high-flow aluminium heads and larger forged connecting rods. The sump will use an active baffle system to direct the oil, reduce vibration and add strength.

Engine power will well exceed 500kW with heaps of torque. Expect 0-100 kph in the mid 3-second range and quarter-mile times below 11-seconds.

The supercharger is a 2.65L Roots-style with an integrated liquid-to-air intercooler, Ford have worked to keep weight (and height) down, placing the blower as low as possible in the V8 valley.

The result is that the body team didn't have to add a bulge in the bonnet so the low position of the supercharger works to keep the overall weight lower in the car.

The transmission is not manual, which may disappoint some purists, it comes with the new Tremec 7-speed dual-clutch automatic that can shift between gears in milliseconds.

This DCT transmission unit was engineered to work with a number of different driving modes and includes sport, slippery, normal, track and dragstrip.

It also features line-lock and rpm-selectable launch control paired with Track Apps for all-out precision and speed.

The suspension for this Mustang features the next generation active MagneRide set up with 20-inch Ford Performance alloy wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.

The wheels and tyres can be upgraded if required. The brakes are 16.5-inch (420mm) 2-piece rotors up front with Brembo 6-piston callipers. There are other handling packages available with increasing levels of capability for the new GT500. These include adjustable strut top mounts and spoiler with Gurney flap.

For the real hard-core person, a Carbon Fibre Track Package features exposed 20-inch carbon-fibre wheels, custom Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, adjustable exposed carbon fibre GT4 track wing and splitter with integrated dive plane.

The body of the Mustang has the distinctive Shelby stripes plus heaps of aerodynamic upgrades that have been made for the track. Ford have increased the front fascia openings compared to the Shelby GT350.

There are 6 heat exchangers to increase the cooling airflow by more than 50%, also added are aerodynamic changes to the front to increase downforce. The front fenders were widened to house the massive wheels and the rear diffuser is made from composite materials for thermal management.

Most of the testing and perfecting for the new GT500 were worked out at Ford’s Motorsports technical centre in North Carolina and Windshear. Ford Motorsports have a rolling wind tunnel where their top-tier racing teams test their race cars.

April 2019