New 5.8L V8 confirmed for 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

Spyshots have caught what looks to be the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 with what looks to be a larger front mounted intercooler, leading some to believe that the supercharger would be axed in place of a twin turbo setup.

However, included in the fine print of the new Ford-UAW contract are the details of Ford’s pending investments in American assembly and production facilities - including the Romeo Engine Assembly Plant. Romeo will be tasked with building the new supercharged 5.8L V8 for the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500, with Ford having a cool $50 mil earmarked for the upgrades and retooling needed to build this new super-Mustang engine.

Unfortunately, the new Ford-UAW labor contract doesn’t offer us any idea as to how much power the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will be packing but it is a safe bet that Ford’s Special Vehicle Team is targeting a number north of the 580 ponies offered by the 2012 Camaro ZL1. The current supercharged 5.4L engine in the 2011 GT500 produces 550 horsepower, accounting for an efficiency figure around 101.85 horsepower per liter.

Should Ford and SVT be able to hit that number (and it is pretty safe to assume that they will) with the new 5.8L V8 in the 2013 GT500, it would make around 591 horsepower. That alone would be enough to best the ZL1 on paper but tacking on a few extra ponies to hit the magical 600 mark would make for a great marketing tool while also helping to ensure that the 2013 GT500 can take down the 2012 Camaro ZL1.

In addition to building the new supercharged 5.8L V8 for the 2013 Shelby GT500, the Romeo Engine Assembly facility will continue to build the 6.2L V8 used in F150 models like the high performance SVT Raptor and the 2012 Ford F150 Harley Davidson edition. We can expect to learn more about the 2013 GT500 and the new supercharged 5.8L V8 as we head into the American auto show season, beginning with the LA Auto Show in November and if nothing is unveiled there, we can almost surely expect to get our first good look at the new GT500 at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.

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