Mustang GT500 car review - Top Gear - BBC 

Hammond - You can't just give a car an extra 200hp and leave it with prehistoric suspension Dodge - hold my beer

It's 500 hp at the crank, not the wheels!

447 at the wheels equates to about 530 at the crank, which sounds about right. Ford has a habit of underrating hp.

Hammond loves Mustangs. Btw. His vintage Mustang is a GT with a 390 CI engine, not a Mustang GT 390.

Hammond: "You can always improve the breed." Also Hammond: "You've changed my 911! You *can't* do that!"

The dyno reads the power at the wheels, not at the crank, crank is where power is measured for engine ratings. So the 500 horsepower is accurate. For RWD/FWD vehicles roughly 15% is lost through the drivetrain. For AWD it's roughly 30%.

447 hp to the wheels when you say 500 it's at the crank not the wheels for someone who is supposed to know about cars I'm surprised he didn't explained that

Also the name GT 500 was never a reference to the power output.

pitty they dont know the difference between crank and wheel hp

447 rear wheel hp is more than 500 at the flywheel (and flywheel is exactly how they are measured and rated) If you use the drivetrain loss of 15% for a manual transmission car (automatics are about 20-25% loss) that works out to 425 at the wheels. 447 is almost exactly 525 at the flywheel. Richard is way off.

The engine does make at least 500hp. It is lower on the dyno because of power train loss. Put a "500hp" Ferrari on that dyno and you would see the same thing.

"I'd have one of those if I was the sort of person who looked at my sister and thought mmm"

Something awesome about this is that when I was a kid, someone gifted me a diecast model of that exact Mustang Gt500 with that exact spec and colour and looking back now, it feels so awesome. I still have that car

I just want to say I love top gear but, trying to under rate to make an episode work is messed up. 447 + 15-20% of drive train loss depending on the car equals 514hp to the crank - 536hp so it basically exceeds manufactures specs any way you put it.

Speaking as a Ford Mechanic of 20+ years, when these came out, Ford severely underrated. GT500s were putting out 520hp to 535hp. We had manual Mustang GTs making 315hp and the Automatics hovering around 308hp to 311hp. So...Hammond is wrong reading WHEEL power not crank.

I remember this episode. And a couple of things stuck out at me. The "rolling road", as they call it, is actually called a dynamometer. It measures horsepower and torque that is being put down to the road through the wheels. Now, everyone knows that dynos measure wheel horsepower and automobile manufacturers measure horsepower at the crank/flywheel. You have to figure in 15-20% driveline loss between the flywheel and differential. Therefore, 447hp at the rear wheels would equal about 514-536hp at the crank. That is pretty accurate according to the 500hp Ford claimed.

447 wheel. That’s actually pretty outstanding. That would make it actually underrated

European cars are bult to handle the tight corners that European roads have. American cars are built for the bigger and wider road space that American roads have. This is the reason american cars are usually bigger and go better on straight lines while european cars are usually smaller and take corners like a champ

the car only goes straight fast for a reason... because we're American and we love drag racing

Hammond is definitely a secret American! Lol! Now I'm from Tennessee! Here's something really "American"! My father has a napkin from Kentucky Fried Chicken signed by carol Shelby that says "To my pal Brooks -C. Shelby" he got when he was just 8 years old!

To put this to rest for everyone. 1. All United states car manufactures measure hp from the crank. 12-15% drivetrain losses assumed, the 400 and something horsepower that hammond said is right around the correct whp for a 500 "crank horsepower car. 2. Its called a "Dynamometer" not a rolling road. And no, dynamonmeter operators never use the drivetrain loss calculator when "dynoing" cars. They gave the pure whp number. 3. People are saying "oh so you know more than richard hammond?" The answer is YES THEY DO, because hammond said "they take the engine from a mustang gt and supercharger it." WRONG! They make a completely new 5.4 liter engine instead of the 4.6 liter that the mustang gt has. That shows how much hammond and also top gear know about what they are talking about. Now hopefully all of you youtube warriors can see the facts now and stop arguing.

the punch line at the end

That’s the first time I saw Hammond introducing the stig and annotating the Lap 😂

"It had, when it was brand-new, 325 horsepower..." That's 325 SAE Gross hp. The rough approximations I learned say to expect 250 SAE Net at the crank and 208hp at the wheels. Hammond got 250hp at the wheels? He should be pretty damn happy!

"prehistoric suspension" Mustang-loving American here, that jab had me howling.

I work at the Ford Flat Rock Assembly plant where they build these new Mustangs. See them everyday beautiful cars.

Every car on sale lists the crank horsepower, and the GT500 makes more than 500 hp at the crank

This car was made for the US market. We drag race here...and in the quarter mile, the solid rear axle is king.

I believe the prehistoric suspension in this car is for it to make it much more fun to drive

Props to whoever picked the songs for this episode.. Spot on

Какая де ностальгия ,помню смотрел этот выпуск 13 лет назад ! Мне тогда было 13 лет ,сейчас 26 уже Я чуть слезу не пустил если честно😢

At first I was irritated that brits didn't know American cars are rated at horsepower at the crank and not the rear wheels... but now I realize they have a point. It makes more sense if you say a car has 500hp to put down 500hp at the wheels.... but still I hope someone educates them that the current American way of thinking is hp at the crank....

The 2007 to 2009 gt500 and the 99-04 cobras are my favorite body style mustangs

I know this comment will prob stir up a shit load of people who want to educate me on what is the best this or that so let me say right off that I am just voicing my opinion and not bashing on any particular car, and I certainly could be wrong, so here goes..first, I own an 08 gt 500, that being said, I didn't buy it to go screaming into a turn at 100 and yank the wheel. I see this all the time in videos about how unstable and antique the straight axle is under these cars, and it (no pun intended) gets old. Nascar uses straight axle 9 inch ford rearends people, so don't tell me they make a car go uncontrollably sideways around turns. Second, they use the Roush mustang to compare and act like its so much better handling but fail to tell you that its a straight axle too! Amazing what bigger sway bars,dif shocks, and panhard bar will do! not to mention less power to roast the tires! Third, they say at the end that the Roush has a limited slip dif and the Shelby has an open, causing it to spin the inside tires on turns, which is a total lie, they are aquipped with a clutch type ''posi'' which works great by the way. so I guess my point is that I would just buy the Shelby that's 10,000 less, put less than half of that into the rear suspension and the other half in gas & tires, and have some fun!

Buy a 2005-2009 GT model with a five speed, it's all you need and a blast to drive.

447hp at the wheels, but hp are measured at the crank by car manufacturers, so the little hamster forgot to calculate the 15% drivetrain loss, so it's more like 514hp

5:56 I totally agree with Hammond because you can get a good ‘65 Mustang Fastback (with the HiPo V8) for about $31,900 in 2019.

7 Wonders of the car world (opinion): Ferrari F40 Mustang GT390 Mercedes Gullwing SL300 Jaguar E-Type Porsche 911 Turbo (930) Aston Martin DB5 Lamborghini Countach

Thats 447hp at the rear wheels he wasn't including drivetrain loss! The car at the flywheel makes 500hp. Come on Hammond!!

This was a long time ago cuz if you go to Drive tribe Richard Hammond's Mustang is green with gray stripes instead of blue with white stripes so this was a long time ago if you look at the plate it's still the same it's just the colors are different

Somebody show me where I can get an original GT350 for 30 grand like Hammond said and I will buy it

Its 500 crank 460 whatever wheel

its amazing how good 0 to 60 times are getting now. 4.9 isnt even that amazing anymore

Basic suspension upgrades make these a great handling car. The live axle keeps it entertaining as hell

For "car guys" or "petrol heads" who talk a lot of smack about American cars, they sure don't know anything about them.

Does no one notice "Knights Of Cydonia" at 2:20???

I love Ford Mustang

I always love American cars and I'm a huge fan of the Ford Mustang because it's a properly brilliant car!! 💞👌🇺🇸

1967 mustang gt500 nice

I love the 390 V8, I have one in my truck and even with just a set of Hedman Headers and Thrush glasspacks on an otherwise stock motor it sounds like a beast.

9:23 - Classic Clarkson

447 at the wheels is at least 496 at the crank, might as well call it 500. All manufacturers go by crank, of course. The exhaust I added to my 2014 GT added 9 on the ground which is about 10 at the crank, so now mine is 430 hp with premium. If I eventually add a cold air intake and Bama tune, I would have something like 464 hp at the crank based on dyno tests showing rear wheel hp gains for, in this order, adding my Ford Racing exhaust (9 rear wheel), then Airaid CAI (11 rear wheel), then Bama tune (20 rear wheel). If you wanna dispute that, watch the videos where they do that in that order. Convinced me, dyno readings don't lie, and they did it on a somewhat hot day, which made numbers on the weak side. Once my warranty dies maybe I'll add the CAI and the Bama. Gas mileage right now on extended flat road with auto transmission, mostly with cruise control: 74 mph: 24.3 65 mph: 27 40 mph: 31 Manufacturer rating for highway is 25, so I'm happy with those numbers. Transmission is rumored to be good for 800 pounds of torque, though draggers seem to rebuild them if they're gonna run more than 600. I figure if I ever to 468 hp I don't have to worry about the transmission, as I don't beat it all the time. Personally, I wouldn't run the tranny more than 500 pounds. I doubt I'd ever be more than about 430 pounds at 468 hp. I'd love to get a kit to lower the car 1.5", but here in New England (New Hampshire) that's maybe a bad idea, even though I don't run it the salt on frost heaves.

I like how they're afraid of cars with a solid rear end

Mind you this a somewhat within budget muscle car, Not an over priced super car full of state of the art technology.

Gotta love all the arguing whenever a Mustang is the topic.

This is gorgeous... Unrelated; I love how they used Knights of Cydonia for background music.

So what wrong with looking at your Hot sister and thinking Hmmmm know what I mean Squire !!! Lmao : D

It's a shame Clarkson killed this show just about the time the regular GT Mustang started smoking M3s around racetracks. I would love to have seen Clarkson review a 2011 or newer GT Mustang against a M3 or M4.

whats the song at 1:45?

Luckily, the latest version can handle pretty well too as it finally has an independent rear suspension.

I got passed by one here in Scotland a while ago. I've always loved the look of those machines. Too bad I don't have the cash to buy one. It's also too bad that the guy driving it was a bit of a showoff and kept revving like crazy at the lights.

I love Top Gear and I like Hammond but it's a '68 GT with a 390 engine. Ford would say they never made a model called a GT 390 in 1968. A GT 350 doesn;t have a 350 engine and a GT 500 doesn't have a 500 engine, so jamming the engine displacement onto the end of '1968 Ford Mustang GT' makes as little sense as claiming that Ford had a "GT 289" in 1968. ...and in 1968 they did in fact make a GT 500, which would be a more apt comparo

2:50 for proper mustang action

I just love the way the camera is moved to the mustang badge in the beginning

Sometimes I want to call Top Gear out on their stereotypes of Americans, but then I come here and see my fellow Americans confirming every single one of them.

Wonder how fast a '14 GT500 does the lap...

Listening to brits describe mustangs is about as accurate as Piers Morgan talking about AR15 rifles

***** Actuallly the OP is correct, on a rolling road, they push the engine (ideally in the direct drive gear) to gain a power figure, then they put the car in neutral. Because the frction in the runners is a known amount - they can see how much extra friction the drivetrain is putting on the runners and so infer what the losses in the drivetrain is - granted this is dependant on what type of rolling road used. Though on the show I didn't hear them say whether the bhp figures where wheel or flywheel figures.

Straight line stoplight to stoplight is the essence of the american muscle car since the beginning. Here in Texas highways are long and straight, and you'd never need to drive around town racing and hugging corners. On a serious closed course, no one would ever show up to "compete" in ANY car with factory suspension. The Gt500 is an american icon plain and simple, the legend behind the car is what really counts.

PLEASE ANYONE!!! What is the retroish music from 2:28??? I have been searching for it for years...

447 at the wheels, couldn't it very well be 500 at the flywheel?

OMG... I had watched this video 11 years back

this car is made for a track were you slightly turn to left!

HP is measured at the crank I don't get why he said that he's clearly knows that in real life

Nice poking fun at Southern states there "This is the car I'd get if I were the kind of person that looks at their sister and goes mmm"

4:40 at the wheels with a 20% drivetrain loss is pretty good

mustangs have come such a long way, the Shelby GT350R is two years old and is still the best $60k car on the road

Well advertised horsepower is generally at the crank not at the wheel. but it should not drop 50 hp between the crank and the wheel right?

0:12 Hammond meant noisy as in the sound guy drowning out his voice

1:38 I can't die without drive this car =9

Review the 2015-16 with independent rear suspension, huge difference

Drive train loss.

ya i hope richard know that it make 500 at the crank

I'm no expert but I think the 390 in GT 390 refers to the cubic inches of the engine, because the 1967 Mustang, or the Bullitt Mustang, had a 390 cubic inch V8.

Americans got salty here haha well we all know top gear biased on European's car and motor trend channel biased on American's car. that's the show

I'm assuming the GT500 is a completely different car in the UK. The 5.4L V8 was never offered in the GT. The American GT and Shelby both come standard with limited slip (and always have) so I can't imagine what sort of bargain basement GT500 they ordered. Even the OLD Cobras had independent rear suspensions, but guess what racers did? Swapped them out for live axles because it saves over 800 pounds of weight! That's why the GT gets through the corners faster than the Camaro and the Challenger. It weighs half a ton less :-)

9 years later the lowly Mustang GT shows this car its taillights.

The GT500, the GT and the Roush all had limited slip differentials. Can’t believe he said the Shelby GT500 did not have the LSD.

The old Mustang was & is a piece of crap, when compared to the GT500s of today. I had one! The engines were rather weak in stock form, the suspensions swayed to & fro, the brakes would "go away" from a few hard stops, the likes of a twisty road. The "Rousch" Mustangs ride way too hard, the ride height is far too low & will scrape bumpy roads, the front-end "splitter" will get all busted up on curbs within a days use........not a daily driver. The History & pedigree still exist, I just don't like driving antiques more suited to museums. The torch has been passed to the current GT500s, let old men "collect" the old ones...to be taken out for Sunday drives & fawned over.

too bad the new gt500 has over 650 horsepower lol

Hemispherical combustion chambers, were introduced on some of the earliest automotive engines, shortly after proving the concept of internal combustion engines themselves.Hemispherical cylinder heads have been used since at least 1901;they were used by the Belgian car maker Pipe in 1905 and the 1907 Fiat 130 HP Grand Prix racer.The Peugeot Grand Prix Car of 1912 and the Alfa Romeo Grand Prix car of 1914 both were four valve engines also, Daimler, and Riley were also using hemispherical chambers.

True, hp numbers should be at the wheels. We need a new law!!!

Damn 1:30 for a car with 500hp, Suspension and weight really matters.

This was a '07/'09 GT500 and it sucked indeed but in 2011 the facelift was little better, and the '13 GT500 was a huge milestone for the High perfromance stangs. This reminds me of a decade earlier, the '99 cobra was pretty crappy and in 2001 they made a slightly improved version but in 2003 They completely "terminated" the discussion with the best Cobra ever made.

2:56 your welcome

7:23 This is the best looking Mustang model

447whp to the wheels amazing a car guy especially from top gear doesnt know this😳😳

noah's ark had a similar setup hahahahahahaha

so at one point the guy said that mustangs were cheap because they didnt pay extra for the suspension and what not, then at 8:35 he is on the other side of the fence? You can tell some level of bias is obvious. Muscle cars are for going straight, quickly, with power while having the ability to be modded upgraded and altered. Dont bring out all the negatives without understanding the point or purpose of the vehicle.

I drive a 91 mustang 5.0..... you wanna talk about a car that doesn’t handle, it doesn’t brake, and farmers have built similar go carts with old parts just lying around the yard...... I love everything about it!