Our 2020 GT500 Hits the 1/8 Mile with 940-RWHP

Well, it’s been a few months since we installed the last round of bolt-ons on our 2020 GT500, which helped us eclipse 940-rwhp. With a tank full of E85 and no stone left unturned, we are squeezing every last once of power out of the 5.2-liter Predator engine and its factory TVS2650 supercharger. Frankly, making power has been the easiest part of this project. On the first round of bolt-ons, the Predator proved capable of 828-rwhp and 666 lb-ft of torque. With a baseline of 674hp and 561 lb-ft of torque stock, that’s a 154hp gain from bolt-ons! The additional blower porting and intercooler upgrade were worth another 112hp (helping us hit 940-rwhp and 663 lb-ft of torque).

We’ve also equipped the suspension with every upgrade BMR offers, added Forgeline beadlock wheels, and Mickey Thompson drag radials which dropped one-tenth off our sixty-foot times in challenging conditions. However, a trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway after the first round of bolt-ons proved the car was capable of so much more. Unfortunately, we were only able to make one pass, but it went a 1.61 sixty-foot on its way to a 10.30 at 135mph. While we did not have a set goal for the project, other than to push this new platform as far as we could to see what it could do – we are determined to go faster.

To Barona We Shall Go

While we had hoped to have some solid track times by now to share, harnessing this much power on a marginal track without 33-inch slicks has proven challenging. If you recall, traction has been an issue dating all the way back to our baseline testing with the completely stock Shelby! Southern California no longer has any quarter-mile tracks nor an eighth-mile track with the sort of track conditions that are going to help you set any records–especially on drag radials. Never the less, we headed to Barona 1/8 Mile Drag Strip – our favorite local track – for a fun Friday night to shake out our new combo.

We made some fun and fast friends at Barona, including a few S197 GT500 owners racing that night as well as Mustang lovers among the staff. It was a nice reminder of what it is like to be among our people–the sounds of DOHC V8s reverberating off the San Diego county mountains in all their glory. In order to keep the car cool and…