[VIDEO] Shelby GT500 Climbs in the Ring with the C8 Corvette Z06

Jul 28, 2025

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[VIDEO] Shelby GT500 Climbs in the Ring with the C8 Corvette Z06

“You can’t just climb in the ring with Ali ’cause you think you box.” Any time a Mustang gets compared to a Corvette, it reminds your narrator of his favorite quote from the first entrant in the Fast & Furious movie series. The S550-Generation Shelby GT500 is an impressive machine, to be sure, but at 760 supercharged horsepower, it didn’t have the grunt or straight-line prowess – not to mention comfort and daily usability – of the top-shelf Dodge Challengers, and even with 110 extra horses, it usually fell short of the Camaro ZL1 1LE on track and as a “driver’s choice” proposition due to its lack of a ZL1-matching manual transmission.

Indeed, as a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none, among the recently-retired big-three pony/muscle cars (further head-to-head comparison can be found, here) the Shelby could only hope to settle for the title of “best all-arounder,” which hardly qualifies it to jump a weight class (or two) to spar with an exotic and more expensive flat-plane C8 Corvette, but, of course, the American Performance landscape has completely transformed since the last GT500 and current Z06 hit the scene.

The Challenger and Camaro have been retired, and, for now, the updated S650-gen Mustang lacks a ‘roid-raging follow-up to the supercharged Shelby (outside of the overpriced Mustang-in-name-only GTD). Making things even more understandable is the used market, where fully equipped early Z06s (also auto-only) can now be had for under $140,000 while certain GT500s, namely untouched examples of the Brittany Blue Heritage Edition, have climbed into the $140s. So, sure, Edmunds might have already done this matchup when both cars were new, but it actually makes more sense now than it did then, plus who’s going to turn down the chance to watch and, better yet, listen to a total of 16 cylinders and 1,430 horses of iconic Americana duking it out!?

Enter the YouTube channel of Plymouth, Michigan’s Vanguard Motor Sales, where in addition to a stunning time capsule of a ’77 Coupe DeVille, they happen to have multiple GT500s and a ’23 Z06 on the floorplan, as we speak. The Shelby that the presenter, Greg, has chosen to take out to the parking lot for a scuffle is a beautiful Rapid Red 2021 specimen with just 3,628 miles.

It has the be-winged Carbon Fiber Track Package, Black vinyl stripes (which were the economical choice at $1,000 vs. the $10,000 hand-painted option), Carbon Fiber wheels from our friends at Carbon Revolution, the Tech Pack, and niceties like carbon fiber interior trim and two-tone Recaro seats. Its cross-plane “Predator” V8 is based on the naturally aspirated flat-plane “Voodoo” engine in the 2015-2020 GT350. It utilizes the same 2.65-liter supercharger as the C7 Corvette ZR1’s LT5 to extract a peak of 760 HP (five more than the ZR1) and 625 lb-ft of torque (90 fewer than the LT5) from 5.2 liters. CFTP models lose the Mustang’s vestigial back seats to get to its fighting weight of 4,059 lbs., with about 57% resting on the front Michelins.

Vanguard’s Z06 is an Amplify Orange over Jet Black 3LZ Convertible with the Z07 Track Package that literally turns everything up a notch over the “regular” Z. It has matching orange calipers on its massive Carbon Ceramic brakes, all hiding behind a set of Carbon Flash painted five-spoke Carbon Fiber wheels. The aero package, top, and nacelles are also painted Carbon Flash for an incredibly cohesive look. Quite simply, GM’s take on the Ferrari-style 180-degree V8 blows Ford’s previously mentioned Voodoo out of the water. While the GT350 made a C6 Z06-challenging 526 ponies, the C8 Z06 took the fight to the entire world, setting a record for un-boosted V8s with 670 free-breathing V8s in the process. It can rev all the way to 8,600 RPM – 1,100 higher than the GT500 and 350 over the GT350, and weighs around 3,700 lbs. with a near opposite weight distribution to the GT500 at 40/60.

Don’t go into this battle of domestic titans expecting a Savage Geese-style deep tech dive, Hagerty/Cammisa levels of production value, or the entertainment chops of Throttle House. Greg is but a humble Midwestern used car slinger, after all, but he’s affable, has access to some killer cars, and is willing to share said cars with the masses, which makes him more than alright by us! You can also go in with confidence about GM’s entrant, but with an all-new V8 code-named “Legend” waiting in the wings, know that the next Shelby we see will definitely know how to box!