Is The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Headed For a Chicago Debut?

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Jan 22, 2018

Leaked listings appear to point to it

With only a month between them, the turnaround time between the Detroit Motor Show and the Chicago Auto Show is usually quick. Just as soon as Detroit ends, the buzz surrounding Chicago begins. This is especially true for a company like Ford, which appears to have an important model that’s scheduled to make its debut at the Chicago Auto Show. Apparently, show organizers mistakenly published lists of vehicles that will be on display in the Windy City, and one of those models is the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

Ford has not confirmed whether the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is headed to Chicago. The lists were first picked up by the fine people over at Mustang6G, but the post has since been taken down. There was no explanation given on why the post is gone, but it could be that Ford doesn’t want the public to know that the Mustang Shelby GT500 would be in attendance in Chicago.

That said, the 2018 Chicago Auto Show starts on February 10, 2018. That’s three weeks away, which means that Ford could start rolling out its teasing game of the highly anticipated muscle car in the coming weeks.

It wouldn’t be a shock to see the Mustang Shelby GT500 make its debut in Chicago. The event has played host to a lot of important Mustang debuts since the show started all the way back in 1901. In recent years, the Chicago Auto Show has hosted the debuts of a number of Ford Mustang and Shelby Mustang variants, including the 2012 Mustang Shelby GT350, the 2013 Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible, and most recently, the mid-cycle update of the current-generation Ford Mustang.

If the new Mustang Shelby GT500 makes its debut in Chicago, we can expect it to be powered by a 5.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine that has an increased output of 700 horsepower. That would give enough muscle to compete against the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

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