With the 2017 North American International Auto Show just around the corner, manufacturers are getting everything ready for a host of major reveals — and maybe a surprise or two. One possible surprise, a new Shelby GT500, may have been spoiled by Ford’s own Google results.
Right now, if you go to Google and type “2017 Ford Shelby GT500” into the search box, you’ll first see an ad for “Mustang Shelby GT500.” Slightly below the ad is an entry titled “2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 II | The Cobra of Performance Cars” that points to a trim-specific link on Ford.com. Presently, both land you on that URL — http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/trim/shelbygt500/ — though the page displays the default Mustang model page.
Further, the ads do not appear for “2018 Ford Shelby GT500,” while a different set runs for “2016 Ford Shelby GT500.”
More interesting is that, roughly half the time, the ad will highlight the vehicle’s “selectable drive modes” and “5.8L V8 engine.” For months, there’s been speculation on the upcoming GT500’s engine — will it be a twin-turbocharged version of the 5.0-liter V-8 from the Mustang GT? Will it be an upgraded version of the 5.2-liter V-8 from the GT350? — We just didn’t know. Now, it seems that we do.
The previous GT500 used a supercharged 5.8-liter V-8 codenamed Trinity; the engine was named after the first nuclear bomb test due to its devastating performance credentials — 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque. These ads, however, indicate that the 2017 GT500 will use the same engine, although we’d be surprised if it’s not heavily updated to bring both output figures north of the 700 mark.
We reached out to Ford and are awaiting a reply. We’ll find out which, if any, of our guesses are correct when the 2017 Detroit auto show opens on January 8.
The post Ford’s Google Results Hint at Shelby GT500 for 2017 appeared first on Automobile Magazine.