Photos: Car Advice

The pair of Mustang mules that have been captured cavorting around the Nurburgring of late have led to widespread speculation that a turbocharged setup may be under test for some future version of the Shelby GT500. That speculation just got quite a bit more solid with some video that was posted by LeftLaneNews.com

The reason is not so much the video itself, but what is notably absent from the audio portion of the clip – supercharger whine. There is plenty of opportunity during the segments recorded for a supercharger to kick in, but nothing is evident.

There would be little point in testing a normally aspirated car here, particularly given the additional cooling measures that have been added. So, what does Ford have up its sleeve? There are actually a couple of possibilities.

While there is no overt indication of this, Ford Racing involvement cannot be out of the question. So, is the new 5.0-liter engine being evaluated to replace the Cammer 5.0 engine that sees duty in a couple of racing series here at home? Maybe.

Certainly, the idea of a twin-turbo 5.0-liter powerplant to compete with the recently announced ZL1 Camaro has to be considered a very likely scenario, making it somewhat gratifying to see the horsepower wars from the 60’s resurface. GM recently confirmed that the ZL1 will deliver somewhat more than 550 hp.

The remaining possibility is that the engine configuration for a future halo car is being evaluated. There have been rumblings, and even a quasi-confirmation from Bill Ford, that such a project is in the works. Perhaps the Mustangs being drooled over here are nothing more than surrogates. That would kind’a suck, but for the greater good we suppose.