Hoonigan puts performance vehicles to the test in straight-line battles on the dragstrip, documenting the results in its This vs That series online. This time, they’re pitting the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 against an unlikely opponent: an 1995 methanol-injected Mazzone Sandrail.
The Sandrail is owned by a fellow name Gary who built the lightweight machine in 1995. It was stolen in 2005 and was missing for almost 20 years before Gary took possession of it again in 2023. It was challenging to keep track of it as it changed hands throughout the years, but when he found it for sale, everything that he built was intact. It features a 2332 cc turbocharged flat-four engine, good for 400 horsepower, and the whole thing tips the scales at just 985 pounds.
The 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, owned by Kevin, harnesses the 5.2L Predator V8, topped with a supercharger and packing 925 horsepower. However, it’s quite a bit heavier than the Sandrail at 4,183 pounds, potentially putting it at a disadvantage on the dragstrip.
Round one puts the two vehicles in a test of speed in a 1,000-foot race. The lighter Sandrail gets off the line quicker than the Ford Mustang. They’re evenly matched as they gallop down the straightaway, but the Mustang just can’t reel in the Sandrail, which crosses the line just ahead of the pony car.
The second starts off about the same. The Sandrail lunges first with the Mustang in hot pursuit. At first, it looks like the race is going to be a repeat of the first, but then the Ford Mustang gets its wheels under it and makes a charge at the lead. Unfortunately, it runs out of track before it can seal the deal, handing the win to the Sandrail.
Not to be deterred, the Mustang Shelby GT500 lines back up for a third go, and this time, the lead goes to the pony car right away. It doesn’t surrender the top spot throughout the sprint, finally snagging a victory after several tough races, proving that the Mustang and the Sandrail are pretty evenly matched.
Hoonigan just can’t get enough of speedy Ford vehicles. The crew put a twin-turbocharged Ford F-150 on its test track against an Audi RS 3, and recently sought to find the winner between a pair of Blue Oval pickups against one another – a modified Ford F-150 Raptor and a kitted-out Ford Ranger Edge.
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