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Shelby GT500 Shows Challenger T/A 392 Who’s Boss At The Drag Strip

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Since its launch a few years ago, the current generation Shelby GT500 still gets a lot of praise. The hot Mustang wins criticism, whether it’s for dynamics or straight-line performance. Plus, that V8’s flat crank is music to all muscle car enthusiasts.

The Shelby GT500 uses a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 that produces 760 horsepower (567 kilowatts) and 625 pound-feet (847 Newton-meters) of torque. According to the manufacturer’s claims, this car can run from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 3.3 seconds. When we tested it a few years ago, we said there was little reason to doubt the numbers.

Over the years, the GT500 raced against various cars on the drag strip. It goes head to head with German super sedans and other top muscle cars. There may be times when the GT500 loses, but not too far behind when that happens. But today’s GT500 drag race was a walk in the park as it fought the Dodge Challenger 392 T/A on the strip.

We already know that the GT500 can match (and sometimes; beat) the Challenger Hellcat in drag racing. With that said, the 392 T/A “tamer” will stand no chance against the mighty Shelby. In other words, it’s a quick versus faster comparison.

Despite the power difference, the Challenger 392 T/A is no slouch. Its 6.4-liter V8 produces 485 horsepower (356 kilowatts) and 475 pound-feet (510 Newton-meters). That’s a good number, but also more than a second behind the GT500 in its 0 to 60 mph sprint. Per factory figures, he did the task at 4.5 seconds, 1.2 seconds behind Shelby.

So how to translate it on the drag strip? The GT500 finished the quarter in 10.94 seconds at 127.03 mph for the first lap. It ran a slightly slower second, crossing the line in 10.97 seconds at 126.77 mph. As for the Challenger 392 T/A, its first lap was 12.01 seconds at 114.38 mph. The second run clocked 12.06 seconds at 114.17 mph.

The two muscle cars aren’t even close on the strip. For each of the car’s best laps, the GT500 was 1.07 seconds ahead and carried 12.92 mph more than the Challenger T/A. Even more impressively, the GT500 had a slow start in the second lap but still passed 392 at the start of the race.

If anything, the numbers suggest that Shelby’s performance hasn’t been seen even years after its release. But if that’s still too slow for you, you’ll have to search far and wide for anyone selling one of the 225 KR models. That particular Shelby has around 900 horsepower, and it wouldn’t be cheap if the first owner decided to sell it.

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