Hennessey Performance is asking if the upcoming 2020 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 is actually faster than the HPE850 upgrade for the Shelby GT350.

It’s a good question. Hennessey had the same idea as Ford Performance did when it came to making the ultimate Mustang: slap a big supercharger in it.

In Ford’s case, that would be a 2.65-L supercharger paired to the old 5.2-L V8. Total power is expected to be either 700 hp or in excess of 700 hp--we’re getting conflicting reports from Ford on this matter. Zero to sixty should be around the mid-3-second mark, with a quarter-mile time of under 11 seconds.

Again, Ford is being vague on the performance figures here.

Hennessey, on the other hand, already makes a Mustang that can produce those kinds of performance figures. The HPE850 upgrade for the Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 and GT350R adds a larger 2.9-L supercharger to the 5.2-L V8 which then produces 858 hp and 673 lb-ft of torque. Zero to sixty is done in just 3.3 seconds with a quarter-mile time of 10.8 seconds at 133 mph.

Hennessey of course also adds a better fuel pump, fuel injectors, and throttle body to get the HPE850 to produce those kinds of numbers.

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However, Ford is a bit more concerned with overall performance. To that end, Ford Performance gives the GT500 a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission while Hennessey sticks to the 6-speed manual. Ford also upgrades the brakes, suspension, and aerodynamic cooling while Hennessey doesn’t modify the GT350’s body much at all.

But Hennessey undeniably has vastly more power. Is it enough to defeat the GT500? That’s all speculation until Ford actually starts delivering the car later this year. Just as soon as we can all get our hands on one, official performance figures will get handed down and we’ll finally be able to see just how fast the GT500 really is.

And if the GT500 does turn out to be slower than the HPE850, never fear: Hennessey is bound to offer a GT500 upgrade package that outpaces the HPE850 GT350. Just give him a month or two to figure it out.

NEXT: FIRST 2020 FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT500 WENT FOR HIGH PRICE AT AUCTION