Ford has absolutely dominated the muscle car conversation in recent years with one hit after another after another. You would have thought they’d take it easy when in 2002 their main competitor, the Camaro, disappeared for most of the next decade. But Ford then came back with the supercharged Shelby GT500. Then just a few years later the Blue Oval shocked the drag racing world with its off-road only resurrection of the Mustang Cobra Jet.
These two Ford muscle car legends are each awesome in their own right. But if you line them up at the drag strip and let them loose, who will come out on top? Luckily, we have a video that answers just that question.
For those not in the know, the 2006+ Shelby GT500 has anywhere from 540 to 662 horsepower, an impressive amount for a $50,000 car. The Mustang Cobra Jet, meanwhile, doesn’t have an official factory horsepower rating. However, it is capable of running an extremely fast, single-digit run down the quarter-mile.
From the looks of it, the GT500 is a pre-2009 model, which means it lacks all the awesome upgrades (including 100 extra horsepower) to the 2013 Shelby GT500. In other words, this race was over before it started, though the 2013 GT500 probably wouldn’t have fared much better.
Even so, there is something cool about watching two of Ford’s top muscle cars out competing for bragging rights on the drag strip. The GT500 owner had to know he didn’t stand a chance…but that isn’t always the point. The point was putting on a good show, and only a car like the Mustang Cobra Jet could make a Shelby GT500 look slow. Enjoy!