How do you make a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 so powerful that a grown man, accustomed to driving powerful cars, is afraid to give it full-throttle on the street? You send it to Hell Horse Performance to give it 1,500 hp.
First Drive in the 1,500 HP Shelby GT350
As we get into the Itsjusta6's video, we learn that the Shelby GT350's owner did not initially plan on going crazy with tuning when he bought the car. However, it's evident that he is happy with his self-deceit from the start. We finally see the camo-clad Shelby GT350 for the first time just past the two-minute mark as Jeff from Hell Horse Performance details the list of upgrades installed on the car. At first, the sound of the squeaking clutch is hard to get past, but once the engine's rumble takes over, it's easy to forget.
Speaking of the clutch, the first few attempts at launching the car onto the street stall, literally. The race-spec clutch installed in the vehicle to handle the massive amounts of power is so aggressive that it is hard to launch the car without illegal amounts of wheel spin. But, finally, they make it onto the street, and the real fun begins.
Finding gaps in traffic and rolling into the power, the guys can feel the G-forces of acceleration. They start in Sport mode making about 1,000 hp with traction control set at three of nine levels (nine being full-on Ken Block Hoonigan, according to Jeff). When they roll on the throttle from about 35 mph, the in-car camera shows both occupants pushed back in their seats as the scenery outside begins to blur with increasing velocity.
After a few sport mode passes, they switch to drag mode making 1,500 hp at the crank and still over 1,300 rear-wheel hp. That much horsepower is a bit scary, and even after transporting the car from Houston, Texas, to its new home in Atlanta, Georgia, the GT350's owner is uncomfortable applying full throttle in drag mode. At the end of the video, the owner states, "they should save us all some time, just take me to jail because that car is going to put me in jail."
Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 From the Factory
In contrast to the video's 1,500-hp Hell Horse Performance tuned Shelby GT350, a stock GT350 produces 526 hp from its 5.2-liter V8. While nearly 1,000 fewer horsepower sounds like a disappointment, being able to drive it on the street without feeling like you're cheating death or severe jail time does have its perks.