The Ford Mustang is an icon of the automotive world. The nameplate is one of the most well-known of all American muscle cars and has been in continuous production for over half a century. The Ford Mustang started life as a fast car, and it’s naturally only gotten faster over the years. Let’s take a look at some of the most sporty Mustangs.
The Shelby Stable
The Shelby stable of Mustangs includes some of the fastest Mustangs available. In terms of pure acceleration, the S550 Shelby GT500, S197 Shelby GT500, and S550 Shelby GT350R are in the top five fastest Mustangs that don’t include tuning houses like Roush or Hennessey. However, the SS50 Shelby GT500 can hit 60 MPH from a stop in 3.4 seconds. It can also complete an 11.3-second quarter mile.
Compared to the most recent Roush Mustang, that particular Shelby is just a little bit faster from a standstill but slightly slower in the quarter-mile time. If you look at the power specs for the Shelby GT500 from that generation, it’s not hard to see why it’s so fast. The supercharged 5.2-liter engine makes 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque.
The S197 Shelby GT500 from 2013 was no slouch either. This one can hit 60 MPH in just 3.5 seconds, which is still faster from a standstill compared to the recent Roush Mustang. The power specs on this one are 662 horsepower combined with 631 pound-feet of torque.
The Roush Mustang
The latest Roush Mustang is definitely a study in power. Its specs are impressive, with 750 horsepower and 670 pound-feet of torque. It’s also up there among the fastest and sportiest Mustangs ever, with a zero to 60 MPH time of 3.6 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 11.2 seconds. But that was just the beginning. In 2021, a 775 horsepower upgrade was introduced for the Roush Mustang.
The first Roush Mustang hit the streets 25 years ago and set the bar for incredible track performance. Roush engineers and designers go over every detail to turn the Mustang into an ultimate driving experience. The Roush Mustang also goes beyond just power and adds its own design elements into every aspect of the vehicle, including an upgraded cockpit, a performance-calibrated suspension, a variety of paint colors, and various custom options to make it your own.
Mach 1 and GT
The Mach 1 and GT Mustangs also deserve a mention for power and performance. The S550 Ford Mustang Mach 1 can hit 60 MPH in 3.8 seconds, and the latest Ford Mustang GT with the automatic transmission can do the same in 3.9 seconds. Considering that this is a production car without any special Shelby or Roush upgrades, that’s still pretty competitive.
One thing to understand about all performance models of the Mustang is that they were never meant to be drag racers but instead, lap racers that can go the distance.
And finally, there’s the Shelby GT500 Code Red Mustang boasting 1,300 horsepower, but getting your hands on one is near impossible, with only ten made per model year.
For most people, the easiest way to get one of the sportiest Mustangs available is either to get the production GT or a Roush Mustang through Roush Performance.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.