Watch Jay Leno Take A 36-Minute Tour Of The 2020 Shelby GT500

He says it's a nice car to drive.

36:11

Christopher Smith

By: Christopher Smith

Oct 29, 2019 at 6:31pm ET

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The final step in the rebirth of the Shelby GT500 has finally been taken. We recently tucked ourselves behind the wheel of Ford’s newest monster muscle machine, and it sure seems to be everything the automaker promised. It’s absurdly fast in a straight line – as a GT500 should be – but it’s also shockingly good in the corners. And its shape certainly demands attention even without an eye-searing color option.

We aren’t the only folks to sample the GT500’s venom. Jay Leno has more than a few Mustangs in his stable, including a new GT350 that he refers to quite often. Ford saw fit to send a fiendishly black GT500 to his garage for a private tour and test drive, guided by Ford’s Dave Pericak who has the enviable title of director of icons. Yes, we fact-checked that and it’s his legit job title.

The video opens with the car in Jay’s garage, and for upwards of 18 minutes we’re privy to a detailed look around the GT500. This one is fitted with the optional Carbon Fiber Track Package and we’ll admit is sure looks great on a black GT500, though at $18,500 it’s not a cheap addition to an already expensive car. We’re also treated to a look under the hood at the 760-horsepower 5.2-liter V8. It’s not the high-revving flat-plane-crank mill in the GT350, but the supercharged GT500 still redlines at 7,500 rpm.

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The all-important test drive constitutes the remainder of this 34-minute video. With Jay cruising the streets near his Southern California home he’s not able to really exercise the GT500’s track capabilities, but he does mash the throttle more than a few times. In case you didn’t already know, the new Shelby is rather quick – it can turn a mid-10-second quarter-mile time, which finally gives Ford competition for the Dodge Challenger Hellcat.

Ford definitely went all-out to make the GT500 an incredible machine, but you’ll pay for the privilege. Starting prices are in the mid-$70,000 range and if you go crazy on options, this 2020 Shelby goes well past $100,000