2013 Shelby GT500 Super Snake: Is 850 HP Too Much? - Ignition Ep. 81 - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

On this episode of Ignition

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 There's really only one thing you

00:24 need to know about the Shelby GT500 Super Snake.

00:27 [ENGINE REVVING]

00:30 And that is 850 horsepower.

00:35 Yes, 850 horsepower in a Mustang.

00:40 One would think that would be impossible for a street car,

00:43 but it's not, as we learned this week on "Ignition."

00:46 [ENGINE REVVING]

00:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:53 [ENGINE REVVING]

00:57 Welcome to K&N Engineering in Riverside, California.

01:01 And we're here this morning with the Super Snake,

01:03 because when they're advertising 850 horsepower,

01:06 we want to verify if that's actually the case.

01:08 So K&N's graciously allowed us to use their dyno,

01:11 and we're all taking bets on how much power

01:13 it's going to make at the wheels.

01:14 But either way, it should be an interesting morning.

01:16 [ENGINE REVVING]

01:21 Ingesting around 20 pounds of boost from the Kenny Bell

01:24 blower, this 5.8 liter V8 makes more of a torque plateau

01:29 than a peak.

01:29 [ENGINE REVVING]

01:33 It generated 747 horsepower and 611 pound feet of torque

01:46 to the wheels, which is right as advertised once you estimate

01:49 drivetrain losses.

01:51 Just for the record, that's 188 more horsepower

01:55 than the last GT500 we dynoed here.

01:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:00 [ENGINE REVVING]

02:14 [ENGINE REVVING]

02:17 Who is the person that buys an 850 horsepower Super Snake?

02:27 Well, it's the kind of guy, or gal, who gets out of the GT500

02:32 and says, you know what?

02:34 This could use another 190 horsepower.

02:37 This could use, like, an additional BRZ

02:40 worth of horsepower.

02:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]

02:44 So for the $40,000 you pay Shelby

02:47 to have this done to your GT500, you get a lot of stuff.

02:52 Horsepower notwithstanding, you get a 3.73 rear axle

02:55 like this car has.

02:56 They also have an optional--

02:57 or a standard 331, I think.

03:00 But we have the 373.

03:01 You get a big cooling upgrade--

03:04 heat exchanger, aluminum cooling tanks, fans, a big radiator,

03:08 all the stuff you need to cool 850 horsepower.

03:12 You have big 20-inch wheels, Michelin Pilot Supersport

03:15 tires, cross-drilled, vented brakes,

03:19 and no less than 20 Super Snake badges around the car,

03:24 we counted.

03:24 [ENGINE REVVING]

03:28 But the power, of course, dominates the conversation

03:32 about this car.

03:33 It is the main thing, the main part of focus,

03:36 the main selling point of this car.

03:40 And we have so much power that it's almost hard to comprehend.

03:44 It's like when you're looking at a relative size of the universe

03:47 and once you get to the planet Uranus,

03:50 you can't comprehend the size of it

03:52 because it's just so far out of the realm.

03:55 So the way I've been able to contextualize the amount of

03:58 power is this.

03:59 We have a Mustang GT per rear tire.

04:04 Actually, we have more than a Mustang GT per rear tire.

04:07 It's like a Mustang GT with an intake and exhaust

04:09 per rear tire.

04:11 That's the level of horsepower that we're working with.

04:14 So driving this car quickly is, you might say, exhilarating.

04:19 I refer to the literal definition of awesome,

04:23 as in it inspires awe and is somewhat terrifying.

04:29 And when you're driving on the road,

04:31 I've actually come up with a checklist

04:33 to decide on when you can go full throttle.

04:36 The first part, is the road straight?

04:39 Check.

04:40 Are you in a gear that is three or higher?

04:43 Check.

04:44 Has the road been dry for the past 48 hours?

04:48 Check.

04:49 OK, now you can go full throttle.

04:53 Of course, I mentioned that on the curviest part of the road,

04:56 so we can't do that.

04:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:00 The Shelby Super Snake is less of a car

05:07 and more of a pallet of C4 explosive with a steering wheel.

05:12 And when you ignite it, you better hold on for dear life,

05:14 because it's going to go, and you're just

05:16 going to have to hold on to it.

05:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:21 This is fast.

05:26 It produces an acceleration G that makes your brain go,

05:31 dude, think about this.

05:35 It is a level of forward thrust that, I don't know,

05:38 could probably take you to space,

05:40 or makes you think you're going to space.

05:41 [MUSIC PLAYING]

05:45 [ENGINE REVVING]

05:48 Of course, the question is, when you're

06:02 talking about an 850 horsepower Super Snake,

06:08 is how fast is it?

06:10 Well, in our testing, which we did before we filmed this,

06:12 as we always do, we got a quarter mile run

06:14 in 12 seconds flat with a trap speed of 129.2 miles an hour.

06:18 Now, this car can go faster.

06:20 In fact, we've seen it in the 10 second range

06:22 in the hands of our sister publication

06:24 when they were using VHT.

06:26 Why aren't we faster?

06:27 Well, unfortunately, we can't test it anymore.

06:29 After run five at about 140 miles an hour,

06:32 when I went to the brake pedal to end the run,

06:34 the pads just sort of disintegrated,

06:36 and the pedal went right to the floor.

06:37 Now, fortunately, it stopped.

06:38 That's why the car is still here.

06:40 It's still shiny and not on fire,

06:41 and that's why I'm not covered in blood or anything.

06:44 But we can't test it anymore.

06:46 We're out of brakes.

06:47 But there is something we can do.

06:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]

06:52 [TIRES SCREECHING]

06:56 And that is kind of the point.

07:14 I mean, this is a rolling incendiary device.

07:19 This car should come with a cape.

07:21 It's a big American flag that you can just cruise along,

07:24 and it's draped behind you.

07:26 We're going to get a lot of flack because I'm not

07:28 driving this fast, but I welcome anybody

07:30 who says I'm a wuss to come out and drive this thing,

07:33 and they'll feel the same thing.

07:37 This car is scary.

07:38 [TIRES SCREECHING]

07:43 [EXPLOSION]

07:46 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:53 (gentle music)

2013 Shelby GT500 Super Snake: Is 850 HP Too Much? - Ignition Ep. 81

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