700 HP for Roush-Tuned Shelby GT 500

The Fastest Pony Around?

Not too long ago we ran a story on a Ford F-150 pickup truck tuned by Ford performance experts, Roush. Through factory-friendly engine upgrades developed in-house, Americas best selling truck earned its racing stripes, with versions making up to 400 horsepower. But like many other tuners that choose to modify Fords, Roushs heart and passion belongs to the Mustang.

Currently, Roush offers several different upgrade packages for the new Mustang, ranging from Sport packages to the top of the line 427R, which is built off of the Mustang GT. The 427R boasts a ROUSHCharger, a supercharger developed by Roush to meet their specifications and demands, enabling it to put out 415 horsepower. But the 427R now has a bigger and much more powerful brother, as Roush has announced another product thats sure to have Ford enthusiasts salivating: their version of the GT 500.
 
On its own, the Shelby GT 500 is an awesome vehicle. The ultimate production Mustang, it encompasses all things muscle car, plus all the safety and luxury amenities that were never found in original muscle cars. Wearing the Shelby name is a badge of honor for any Mustang, and this ones earned its stars, boasting a 5.4-liter V8 engine thats been boosted by a Roots-type supercharger to make an impressive 500 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. Just fifteen years ago, that was the kind of power that the Ferrari F40 was churning out. But for Roush, and Mustang enthusiasts, there never can be enough power to fully satisfy.

At 500 horsepower, the GT 500 is one of the most powerful American production cars. Eclipsed in the Ford range only by the GT supercar (well, technically not any more), its vying for the top spot against Chevrolets Corvette Z06 and Dodges Viper SRT-10. Roush has made available three new packages to help the Mustang stretch out into the lead.

The first upgrade package consists of a cold air intake and an ECU upgrade that bumps power up by 45 horsepower. The next stage involves more work, but the payoffs are much greater. The standard supercharger in the GT 500 is replaced by a Roush-designed 2.3L ROUSHcharger that runs on a 78 mm pulley. Combined with all the necessary devices to help run the blower, GT 500s with this upgrade put out a whopping 620 horsepower. Whats more is that the Stage I and II upgrades are still covered by a 36 month, 60,000 mile powertrain warranty, provided by Roush. But the ultimate upgrade is stage III, which involves the same changes as made to Stage II, but with a different pulley and more boost from the supercharger. Roush estimates that the Stage III GT 500 is capable of putting out a whopping 700 horsepower! No doubt, stage III GT 500s will have no difficulty in the slightest keeping up with almost anything else on the road.