Nearly a year to the day, Ford teased the world with an announcement that an all-new Mustang Shelby GT500 was coming with at least 700 horsepower. That day is now here, though unfortunately we still don’t have a terrific amount of information on this new muscular Mustang. It certainly looks like a hard-hitting Shelby superstar, and with all kinds of aero tweaks compared to the GT350, the new GT500 is designed to go fast at both the drag strip and the road course. The million-dollar question everyone is asking right now is whether the GT500 has the goods to challenge its crosstown rivals in the never-ending battle of domestic muscle car supremacy. Naturally, we’re speaking about the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat – two vehicles for which Ford has had no rival since the GT500 disappeared with the demise of the Mustang's fifth-generation platform in 2014. Gallery: 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 166 Photos There’s still much to learn about this latest Shelby, but there’s enough information now to offer a basic comparison of the three war horses. We’ll certainly update this feature as more GT500 information – like exactly how much horsepower it makes – becomes available. For now, here’s what you need to know about Detroit’s three toughest street fighters.<doc-sep>Ford’s newest Mustang coupe is worth a lot more than its first. The rights to the first 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 were sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Saturday night for $1.1 million, but it wasn’t all about the car. The build slot was being auctioned by Ford to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and all of the proceeds from the sale were earmarked for the organization. Barrett-Jackson owner Craig Jackson, an avid Mustang collector who owns several historic GT500s, placed the winning bid himself. It was the second highest price ever paid for a Mustang at auction, and exactly half of the $2.2 million that an experimental 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake sold for the previous weekend. 'LITTLE RED' SHELBY GT500 FOUND AFTER 50 YEARS, COULD BE WORTH MILLIONS: The new GT500 was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show earlier in the week and features a 5.2-liter V8 with over 700 hp. Ford promises it will be able to cover a quarter-mile in under 11 seconds, making it one of the quickest cars in the world. Also crossing the block on Saturday was the very first pre-production Mustang coupe, which was hand built at the Ford Pilot Plant in 1964. It’s one of just three like it that are known to survive and was used during the filming of the upcoming ‘Ford v.Ferrari” film for historical accuracy. It sold for $192,500.<doc-sep>Let’s get the hard part out of the way first: it’s not a Voodoo. The car you see here, the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, will run a 5.2-liter V8, but it’s not the flat-plane screamer that we love so dearly in the GT350. It is, however supercharged. Like, really supercharged. A 2.65-liter blower sits nestled deep in the vee of the aluminum block, capable of stuffing up to 12 psi of cooled air into the engine. DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles While exact power specs have not yet been revealed, at a Ford preview event the week before the car's debut at the 2019 North American International Auto Show, chief program engineer Carl Widmann assured us that the horsepower would be north of 700. For now, that’s good enough for us. That figure helps propel the GT500 to a claimed mid-three-second sprint to 60 mph. Ford also claims a sub 11-second quarter mile, useful for ruling the strip—and making that hoser with the old GT500 eat his hat. The automaker says this is the quickest-accelerating factory Mustang ever built, with the most powerful street-legal V8 engine ever offered by Ford. DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles But Ford isn’t just targeting drag times with the GT500. The automaker sees the GT500 out on tracks, dicing it up at your local HPDE events and wiping the smug look off that M3 driver’s face. "To be at today’s pinnacle of performance, [the car] has to turn" noted Jim Owens, marketing manager for the Mustang. The GT500 gets a specifically-tuned version of Ford's Magneride magnetorheological active damping system, which began as an option on the GT350 and is now available across the Mustang lineup. The gear selector is very similar to the one in the Ford GT. Which means it's not a manual. DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles Perhaps the most contentious point about the GT500 is the gearbox. Row-your-own fans, you might want to take a seat. The GT500 won’t be offered with a manual transmission. Instead, the GT500 will run a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission from Tremec. The purist in us whimpers a little, but the realist gets it. Look, the days of a stick-shift being faster are over. Additionally, Ed Krenz, chief functional engineer for Ford Performance, explained that a dual clutch transmission is much better for on-track behavior because of the smoothness and speed with which it can grab the next gear. A DCT is less likely to upset the car mid-corner compared to a manual. When asked if a manual was ever considered, Ford folks didn’t have much to say, other than to point out that a manual might not make much sense in such a high-power application. (The stick-shift Challenger Hellcat would like a word.) DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles Stopping this thing shouldn’t be a problem. Massive Brembo fixed calipers, six piston up front and four in the rear, clamp down on gargantuan steel brake discs. The fronts span 420mm, making them the largest front brakes available on any "domestic sports coupe," according to Ford. We believe it; they look like serving trays. Covering those stoppers are 20-by-11-inch aluminum wheels (one inch larger than the GT350's, to accommodate the massive brakes) wrapped in custom-engineered Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles It looks menacing, especially when fitted with the optional Carbon Fiber Track Pack, which adds front splitter endplates and a massive, carbon fiber decklid wing based on the unit designed for the Mustang GT4 race car. The wing has two settings, regular and track, the latter angling it up a few degrees for more downforce. According to Ford, that wing gives the GT500 more rear downforce than the outrageous Ford GT. The Track Pack also brings extremely lightweight 20-by-11.5-inch carbon fiber wheels, which reduce unsprung weight and rotational mass in addition to looking totally badass, and custom-compound Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. A less-aggressive Handling Package brings adjustable strut top mounts and a smaller spoiler with Gurney flap. Per Ford, there will not be a GT500R. DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles Is it any good? We'll withhold judgment until we get some seat time, but if its bloodline is anything to go from, it’s going to be excellent. For now, we’ll find solace in the fact that while Ford is killing exceptional cars like the Fiesta ST and the Focus RS and ST, it hasn’t completely forgotten how to make a car that gets our adrenaline pumping. The Big Snake arrives at dealerships this fall. DW Burnett/Puppyknuckles This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. 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The 2020 Ford Mustang GT500 unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show is the most powerful sports car the automaker has ever built, but it’s no one-trick pony. Ford says the high performance coupe is just as good wrangling a twisty racetrack as it is tearing down a drag strip. THE FUTURE OF FORD IS PERFORMANCE: It has a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 stuffed under its bulging, vented hood that’s good for “more than 700 horsepower.” Just how much more has yet to be announced. You’ll also find six heat exchangers in there to keep it cool. Instead of a manual or traditional automatic transmission, the GT500 sends its power to the rear tires through a quick-shifting 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, similar to the one used by the Ford GT supercar. With it, Ford claims the GT500 can cover a quarter-mile in under 11 seconds, which would make it one of the quickest cars in the world. But a revised suspension with adaptive MagneRide shocks was tuned for taking turns, the way Ford’s road racing GT4 Mustangs do. In fact, you can get a special handling package that includes the same, towering rear wing as the race car along with a front splitter equipped with so many blades that it looks like a torture device. Adjustable strut-top mounts and carbon fiber wheels are also included, but the rear seats are not. You'll find a set of six-piston Brembo calipers inside of the wheels that are ready to squeeze manhole-cover size 16.5-inch front brakes. A line-lock feature that carries over from other Mustangs can hold just them so you can heat up the rear tires in an epic cloud of smoke. Ford hasn’t announced pricing for the GT500, but it will slot in above the $60,000 GT350 in the Mustang lineup when it goes on sale this fall. FORD MUSTANG BULLITT TEST DRIVE: