Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Vs. BMW M8 Coupe Competition: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
For the price of a new M8 Competition, you could get two Shelby GT500s
The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and BMW M8 Coupe Competition are about the same size, have similar nought to 60 times and can run the quarter-mile in around 11 seconds, but which one's actually quicker off the line?
In theory, that would be the M8, because, unlike its challenger, it is all-wheel drive. Officially, the 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) sprint takes 3.0 seconds, 0.5 seconds faster than the most powerful street-legal Ford ever made, and the M8 will keep pushing up to 190 mph (306 km/h) with the optional M Driver's Pack, while the Mustang has a maximum speed of 180 mph (290 km/h).
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In terms of power, the GT500 holds the upper ground, with 760 HP and 625 lb-ft (847 Nm) of torque produced by its supercharged 5.2-liter V8, which drives the rear wheels through a Tremec 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The top-spec M8 Coupe has 617 HP and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) and uses an 8-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission and an M-tuned xDrive all-wheel drive system with a rear-wheel drive mode.
Then there's the price. While the Shelby GT500 has an MSRP of $72,900, the M8 Competition Coupe starts at $146,000. That's a $73,100 difference, or double the money, not counting any options, which would otherwise get you a brand new, 350 HP Porsche 718 Cayman S. So, does the Bimmer justify its huge premium over the Mustang in terms of what it can do in a straight line acceleration?