The modern Ford Mustang GT500 is a fantastic performance car. With a supercharged V8 engine, 700 plus horsepower on tap, and fully independent rear suspension, it gives it the biggest adrenaline shot the name has had in a generation.
But for some of the purists out there, there's nothing quite like an old-fashioned muscle car with a live rear axle. If that unique experience is what you're after, but you still require all the amenities and safety features, a modern car has the Mustang maintained a live axle set up all the way until the early 2010s, making used examples plentiful online.
We have a special place in our hearts for the 2007 model, the car that re-introduced Shelby and Ford together again for the first time in decades. It may not be that fast compared to modern Shelby Mustangs, but it has a retro charm that no modern Mustang can match. Let's find out how you can get one of your very own.
The new Mustang GT500 is a phenomenal car, but older models have a retro appeal that it just can't compete with. Let's look at why you should buy one.
A Performance Bargain Compared To A Brand New Shelby Mustang
The leap in technology between the current sixth-generation Mustang and the previous fifth generation is a larger leap than the first generation to the fifth generation. The most pointed at as the reason for this technology leap is phasing out the live rear axle present on all Mustangs since 1964.
On the surface, this seems to have solved the age-old stereotype of Mustangs being difficult to control. Still, it has other unintended consequences that make new Shelby Mustangs unsuitable for some people, apart from the $75,000 base price.
Live rear axles are, on the whole, much less complex than an independent rear suspension setup, perfect for adapting to whatever needs are required. Drag racers will often configure their live rear axles to put as much power from the engine down to the tires as possible. In some cases, independent rear suspension in a rear-wheel-drive setup is prone to wheel hop and spinning its wheels on hard launches from a standstill. A problem a live rear axle setup helps to mitigate.
In the case of the Shelby Mustang, its 500 horsepower supercharged modular 5.4 liter V8 feeds all of its power to a live rear axle setup that jets the nearly 4,000-pound car to 60 miles an hour in around four and a half seconds and a quarter-mile time of 13.3 seconds at 106 miles per hour.
A modern GT500 may be over a second faster to 60 and almost a second faster to the quarter-mile, but it also costs twice as much, and its It's up to the buyer to decide if such a huge price hike is worth it. Considering that the 5.2-liter "Predator" variant of the Coyote V8 in the 2021 Mustang is an evolution of the same Modular engine in the 2007 model, it's possible that upgrades to the older car can bring power numbers similar to the new car but at a fraction of the price. Keeping in mind that some people prefer older live rear axle setups, this setup may even pre outright preferable.
More Muscle Car Heritage Than A Brand New One
There are some concessions that have to be made when comparing a 2007 Mustang GT500 to a new one, the older Mustang's interior is downright atrocious. With cheap, bare plastics galore and a nearly identical cabin layout to the V6 Mustang base model make these early model revived Shelby Mustangs feel no more special inside than a rental car save for a couple of Shelby snake emblems. If prospective buyers can shrug off the fact the interior is just a little bit terrible, there are other areas where you don't have to sacrifice nearly as much.
$35K For A Timeless Classic In The Making
The 2007 GT500 is true to form a modern American muscle car, and it's styled as such. Its gaping front grille is considered ugly by some people, that's one area where the new one could be seen as better looking.
Even so, it's a design that harkens back to the original Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s than the modern iteration. As of late July 2021, there are currently five 2007 Mustang GT500s for sale for $35,000 dollars or less on Cargurus.com and Edmunds.com combined. Any money one would save off the $75k sticker price of a brand new GT500 could be spent making it faster than a brand new model.
So if you want to stick it to those who've left old school muscle cars and live rear axles behind, perhaps you should consider pulling the trigger on one a 2007 GT500 and having enough money left over to make a new GT500 look slow at the drag strip.
Sources Edmunds, Car Gurus