Ford has a knack for naming their vehicles after horses. They’ve got the Mustang and the Bronco. But we’re curious to know what Fords truly pack the most horsepower and how has the newer models held up to the past standards of fast for Ford. What Fords are the thoroughbreds of the herd? These are some of the vehicles your local Ford dealership might have had, does have, or will have in the near future. Here’s a glimpse at a fast and ford-iest list of some great cars for the speed seeker in us all.
Blast From the Past
While fast in the early days of cars was much closer to 50 mph than 100 mph, there are still some older cars that are competitive by today’s standards. Ford’s of the days gone by are still making names for themselves in the new decade, and that is a testament to how well they were built and how hard Ford worked on its initial foray into the world of making quality, quick vehicles for the adrenaline rush seekers in us all. It’s hard to imagine grandpa and grandma cruising down the road at Mach 90, but the oldies can still be goodies, and these cars are proof of that.
Ford GT40
Hailed as Ford’s first fast car is the GT40. These babies started being manufactured in the 1960s so Ford could get some tires on the track for motorsports. They were easily one of the fastest cars available at the time. However, since they were Ford’s first attempt at a competitive and quick car, they were not great. The GT40 served as an excellent bouncing-off point, though, and was a great model to build off of in the coming years.
Ford RS200
Manufactured in the 1980s, the RS200 was a much more successful foray into the world of fast cars for Ford. It was finally able to keep up and stay with the competition for duration races, and it was able to beat out many competitors in the speed department. The RS200s were built to be rally cars, and they did not disappoint, with a 0 to 60 time of around 3 seconds! Pretty impressive, considering the difference in technology. This car set the world standard for 0-60 time for a considerable amount of time afterward as well. While they were not available in the United States, they are still a big part of the history behind many of the fast and capable cars we see now.
More Recent Standouts
When it comes to cars, there has almost never been a time as great as the present, or well, the last ten years or so. Ford has worked out the kinks and malfunctions of older years, refined the process of manufacturing, and figured out the quirks of how to make fast cars more efficient. They’ve really gotten to a point where we aren’t sure how they’ll make anything better. Since the company’s first initial stumbles into the racecar platforms, Ford has managed to make some leaps and bounds in terms of capability and quality. Ford is officially able to make cars fast enough, even for the most thrill-driven individuals. They’ve got a lot of good ones, but these are some of the present top models out on the market.
2017 Ford GT
Back on the list and better than ever is the newer and improved GT. Ford took those decades between releases to really nail down what it is that makes a fast car more than just fast. The 2017 models are able to go 0 to 60 in 3 seconds flat! This all comes from the fact that Ford poured 435 horsepower into a light chassis. That enables this car to shoot itself down the street at record speeds. That’s quite the build-up, not to mention the newer GTs happen to be some of the most attractive-looking cars on the market. Ford really pumped the 2017 GTs full of power and purpose. They are stocked with a good amount of horsepower and have the handling and aerodynamics to go with it. These are one of Ford’s legitimate racing-level vehicles, and we can see why!
2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
A good combination of horse name and horsepower makes this incredible car a speed demon. Able to go 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, the Shelby GT500 makes up for being a bit older by being faster than almost any other Ford available. This amazing sports car takes less than 12 seconds to exceed 120 miles per hour speeds, and if that’s not blowing your mind, we don’t know what will! Most of us will never see the speedometer reach over 100 miles per hour, let alone try to get there in 11.6 seconds, which just goes to demonstrate how incredible on the take-off these Mustangs can be.
2012 Ford Mustang Boss
Just like its name suggests, the Boss was a ruler of the road in 2012. Fast and capable are just the beginning of describing this car. With an incredible, at the time anyways, 444 horsepower and the torque to match, this engine rockets itself from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds flat! While the horsepower doesn’t seem that impressive compared to some of today’s options that reach over 600 horsepower, you have to look at the 0 to 60 fly time and appreciate that very few cars even now can touch it.
Future Fasties
The 2010s were a really successful decade for Ford, and with the bar set where it is, it’s hard to think that Ford is going to be able to keep up this trend of continually putting out increasingly faster and more powerful vehicles. At this rate, we’re going to be seeing Nascar-level cars hitting the streets in the not-so-distant future! Hopefully not truly that fast, but Ford is currently in the process of manufacturing its next line of quick cars, and it looks like they’ve managed to put a little more power under the hood again. Here are some speed limit pushers that we have to look forward to.
2023 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Expected to be hitting the markets relatively soon is this incredible powerhouse of a car. Much like its beloved and empowered ancestors, the 2023 Shelby is going to be packed to its rims with power. Expected to have around 760 horsepower and 625 lb-ft of torque, it is coming with about 60 more horses than its 2013 predecessors. This is a car that should be incredible on the speedways and competitive in any racing situation.
2023 Ford GT Limited
Not quite as impressive as the Shelby, but a really close second is the GT Limited. It’s set to have around 680 horsepower and 580 lb-ft of torque. Since they’ve not been released yet, we don’t have a set in stone 0 to 60 time frame, but you can expect that it’ll be around 3 or 4 seconds with the horsepower that it has. This GT isn’t called a hypercar for no reason. Wind this baby up and let it go to see how fast and how far it can truly go!
Ford Just Keeps Going Faster
Ford is known for being a leading brand in America, and there’s really no questioning why that is. They build cars for the wanderlusters, the hard workers, the family movers, the soccer moms and dads, and they build cars for the adrenaline junkie in us all. These are some of the fastest fords from the past, the present, and the future, and we are excited to see what else Ford does. They always seem to be able to find some way to improve and some extra corner to pack a little extra power in, so it’ll be fun to see what the upcoming years hold.
