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2020 Shelby GT500 Mustang Spied Sporting An Automatic Transmission

Ford Performance has a brand-new iteration of the super-potent, super-capable Shelby GT500 Mustang in the works for 2019, and while the blue-collar supercar has been spotted rocking a manual transmission in the past, a recent spy video indicates that it could offer an automatic, as well. The video, which can be found on the Autoblog website, follows a camouflage-wearing Shelby GT500 prototype as it drives slowly through a residential zone, appearing to pop off upshifts more expediently than any human driver we’ve ever seen.

Should the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang indeed offer an automatic transmission, there is, of course, the question of what form it will take. Perhaps the most obvious option would be the Ford-GM 10-speed longitudinal automatic found throughout the 2018 F-150 and Mustang ranges. The transmission is already in use in Chevrolet’s Camaro ZL1, which produces up to 650 horsepower from its supercharged LT4 V8, so it’s likely that the new gearbox is up to the task of handling the GT500’s “more-than-700” horsepower.

At the same time, rumor has it that the Shelby GT350 will be getting a dual-clutch transmission in the not-too-distant future. If true, that same dual-clutch unit would more-than-likely see deployment in the GT500, as well. Currently, the only rear-wheel-drive Ford product with a dual-clutch transmission is the unattainable Ford GT supercar, which uses a 7-speed unit from Getrag. But seeing as that car has a mid-engine layout with a transaxle, where the transmission and differential share a single housing, that unit couldn’t be deployed in the GT350 or GT500 as-is.

Be sure to visit Autoblog.com for the latest spy video of the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang.

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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