10 Second Titans: Built F-150 Battles Shelby GT500

The Shelby GT500 is the fastest Mustang ever made. But don’t count the F-150 out just yet. Especially with a built motor making 1,000 HP!

A Ford Mustang Shelby is a fairly common sight at your local dragstrip. A Ford F-150 is a fairly common sight at your local Home Depot. These vehicles were designed for entirely different purposes. The new Mustang Shelby GT500 is a force to be reckoned with right from the factory. The car can eat up a road course but still take care of business on the drag strip. It can run low 11 second quarter mile times thanks to its dual clutch transmission and 760 horsepower engine. But the GT500 you see here is not just any GT500. It has been built and tuned and puts out between 900 and 1,000 horsepower depending on the setup. So, what hope does a 2018 F-150 XL have against a built GT500?

It has no hope. Unless, of course, it is a boosted F-150. And this truck is boosted alright. But before we get to that, let’s set the stage. The video you see here was recently uploaded to the StangMode YouTube channel. And the folks there have a friendly rivalry going with the crew over at Boosted F-150. The two recently met at Atco Dragway in New Jersey for a quarter-mile face off. The results were shocking.

Thanos

The built GT500 is nicknamed ‘Thanos.’ And for good reason. It is a powerful car that can easily vanquish most enemies. In this race it is turned down a bit. It is running large 20-inch wheels, 2.5-inch pulley and the large rear wing. That wing will help with high-speed stability, but it will also create drag. Ironically, drag is not something you want in a drag race. Still, this is a six-figure sports car going up against a truck.

Reaper

The truck you see here is a 2018 F-150 XL nicknamed ‘Reaper.’ And while it did come with the 5.0L V8 from the factory, that was not going to be nearly enough to be competitive in a race like this. The modification list goes something like this. L & M Engines short block. 3.0L Whipple supercharger. E85 tune. And a 10R80 transmission from Pure Drivetrain Solutions. With that setup the truck dynos at a little bit over 1,000 horsepower. That is about 2.5 times the power that it had when it left the factory. Is it enough to best mighty Thanos?

The Race

After the requisite amount of smack talk, it is finally time for the Shelby and F-150 to stage. The GT500 ‘tree’d the F-150 and got a jump. The F-150 beat the Shelby to 60 feet but the Shelby had a hair more power and trapped at 147.75 mph compared to the F-150 at 143.84 mph. The elapsed times were nearly identical. A 10.030 for the truck and a 10.071 for the Mustang. Both of them just missing the 9s. That is impressive for the GT500 but mind-blowing for the F-150. The truck still has the bed so it can still pick up lumber and sheetrock. It still has the full interior. Yet, the truck can beat most supercars down the drag strip.

See the Race

Check out the video below for yourself to see these two beasts in action. The Shelby you expect to be fast, but it is especially satisfying to see the F-150 put up such a fight. These two promise to square off again, and next time it would not surprise us if the truck came out on top.

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Joe Kucinski

Joe has been obsessed with cars since he got his very first Matchbox toy in the ‘70s. In 2003, he found a new obsession in track days that led to obtaining his SCCA competition license in 2015. In 2019, he became a certified driving instructor for the National Auto Sport Association. His love for all things four wheels has never wavered, whether it's driving some of the best cars in the world on the racetrack, tackling 2,000-mile road trips in 2-seat sports cars or being winched off the side of a mountaintop in a Jeep. Writing for the suite of Internet Brands Auto Communities sites, including Rennlist.com, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, 6 Speed and more allows him to share that knowledge and passion with others.