Mustang fans the world over have waited with bated breath for some independent testing of the forthcoming Shelby GT500, and early reports look promising. Car and Driver just unveiled the results of their track time with the new 'Stang, having put the car through its paces in the quarter-mile, 0-60 sprint, and even top-end runs.

3 Super Snake

via Motor1

Ford's new Mustang Shelby GT500 has been long-awaited, especially given the radical GT350R and its competition from the likes of the Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger Redeye, and the new mid-engined Corvette. Ford claims the 2020 Shelby GT500 is the fastest and most powerful Mustang of all time, with 760 horsepower on tap at 7,300 RPM thanks to a supercharged, 5.2-liter Cross Plane Crank V-8.

2 Launch Control

via Business Insider

As with most high-end muscle cars coming out of Detroit these days, the Shelby GT500 includes features like selectable drive modes and launch control. In Car and Driver's tests, the track-specific settings enabled a 3.6-second sprint to 60 miles per hour, which is still three-tenths of a second slower than Ford's claims. (C&D was quick to point out that other testing may yield different results based on tires and testing surfaces.)

1 Ramping Up

via Detroit Bureau

But the 0-60 time isn't where the Shelby GT500 truly shines. Even though the Camaro ZL1 logged a better time in the quick sprint, the GT500 catches up for a quarter-mile time of 11.4 seconds at a trap speed of 132 miles per hour (the ZL1 did 11.4 at 125 mph). Meanwhile, at higher speeds, the GT500's power comes to the forefront, reaching 150 miles per hour in only 15.1 seconds, which is 3.2 seconds faster than the Camaro and 2.8 seconds faster than the Challenger.

Of course, the mid-engined layout of the eighth-gen Corvette sets the new standards for Detroit's power wars—as Car and Driver points out, the C8 is faster despite having 300 fewer horses on tap.

Sources: ford.com and caranddriver.com.