Ford Hasn't Ruled out a Manual Transmission for the 2020 Shelby GT500 Quite Yet

TopSpeed

By Ciprian Florea

Published Jan 16, 2019

If you want to the Shelby GT500 to have a manual transmission, refuse to buy it without one

If you're disappointed that the new Shelby GT500 comes with a dual-clutch automatic only, then we have good news for you. Sort of, anyway. According to Ford, the muscle car could get a manual gearbox in the future.

That's the word from Carl Widdman, head engineer for Ford Performance and the Mustang, who told Road and Track that a three-pedal GT500 could become reality if there's enough customer demand.

"Right now, we're DCT-only, we get feedback, and we're real tight with the Mustang crowd. We always listen to what our customers want, right?" he said.

The Shelby GT500 features a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and Ford argues that it was specifically designed to handle the high torque of the supercharged, 5.2-liter V-8. It also offers quicker shifts on the race track and enables the coupe to hit 60 mph from a standing start in 3.5 seconds.

The previous version, offered for the 2013 and 2014 model years, had a six-speed manual gearbox and no option for an automatic. The GT500's main rivals, the Challenger Hellcat and the Camaro ZL1, are available with a stick and three pedals.

I guess it's up to customers to start requesting a manual transmission and it could happen soon enough.