Brenspeed

Brenspeed’s 2020 Shelby GT500 vs Whipple-Blown GT350 Dyno Battle!

The wait is finally over, and we are finally starting to witness some of the first customer-ordered 2020 Shelby GT500s hitting the streets across North America.

While we are all too happy to watch these new owner reviews, the enthusiast in us has been anxiously awaiting the big-name aftermarket performance shops getting their hands on Ford’s flagship pony car to put it through its paces.

I love this transmission. These shifts are so on point with this seven-speed, dual-clutch setup. It is nothing like my S550 GT with the 10-speed paddle shifters. – Brent White, Brenspeed

This week on Brenspeed TV, the team announced that a beautiful Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat 2020 Shelby GT500 had just arrived at their shop in Pierceton, Indiana.

But instead of immediately strapping the car down on the dyno, the team at Brenspeed decided to take things up a notch. The goal was to conduct a side-by-side horsepower comparison with the popular Brenspeed-installed, Whipple-blown Shelby GT350 upgrade package.

“You guys know I love GT350s when we install a Whipple Supercharger in them,” said Brent White, owner of Brenspeed. “And a lot of you leave comments that this upgrade might be a better car than this new GT500. I don’t know after looking at it, but we are going to find out.”

Before the team started this dyno test, Brent wanted to take a closer look at the vehicle to point out any noticeable differences between a stock GT350 and a stock GT500 that may not have been covered yet.

While most of us know that the team at Brenspeed is all too familiar with customers dropping off their new model year vehicles for upgrades, once Brent put this vehicle on the lift, it became immediately apparent that this new GT500 has some significant upgrades that set it apart from its older sibling.

The team at Brenspeed wants to know, do you buy a GT350 and put a Whipple Supercharger on it, or do you go out and get the new GT500? Check it out!

The team at Brenspeed was quick to point out some key differences between the two late-model Shelby vehicles. For example, Brent immediately noticed the carbon-fiber driveshaft that comes standard on this vehicle, as well as what appears to be a set of upgraded half-shafts.

While we were able to get a brief look underneath the GT500 at this year’s SEMA Show, having Brent take the time to compare the parts to a stock GT350 is something that indeed caught our attention. And these upgrades make perfect sense considering the consistently fast drag strip times we are starting to witness from completely stock vehicles on the track.

The final part of the 13-minute video (besides Brent’s final diving impressions, that is!), is something you don’t want to miss. Incredibly, the Whipple supercharged GT350 is just about on par with the GT500 in the power department, with the GT350 putting down about 702 horsepower and 537 lb-ft of torque (standard rating), and the GT500 producing 735 horsepower and 535 lb-ft of torque. Brent does a great job explaining and comparing the dyno graphs in both standard and SAE ratings.

We are huge fans of both cars, and while we have plenty of seat time behind the wheel of a Shelby GT350, at the end of the day, whether choosing to boost your new GT350 or spend the extra cash on the new GT500, it all comes down to personal preference.

“I love this transmission,” Brent remarked. “I mean, these shifts are so on point with this seven-speed, dual-clutch setup. It is nothing like my S550 GT with the 10-speed paddle shifters.”

The team at Brenspeed does a great job comparing each vehicle, and the video, at least for us, confirms what we already know: that we would have no problem driving either of these vehicles until the wheels fall off!

But after watching the video, if you could choose between a boosted GT350 or the new GT500, which Shelby would you choose? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.

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About the author

Kelly Getzelman

Kelly is a SoCal car enthusiast and skilled driver. His “get out and drive” obsession began after attending his first high-performance racing school while serving on active duty. Since then, he has attended numerous military and civilian driving schools across the country to help fuel that passion.
Read My Articles

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