Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

WE CAN HEAR IT COMING FOR MILES, THE HEAVY V8 beat rising and falling as the car accelerates and brakes, getting closer. Any moment we expect it to appear around the corner closest to us and, confusingly, it doesn’t. The sound gets louder and louder and when the Mustang eventually bursts into view it assaults our eyes and ears simultaneously.

The colour! The stripes! In the insect world this sort of colour scheme is a warning that shouts ‘stay away or I’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth!’ But as digital news editor Jordan Katsianis attests, when applied to a Mustang, it draws interest; as he headed up the M1 from London, every BMW M and Mercedes-AMG wanted to race him.

Maybe it was the noise that attracted them, or maybe they knew exactly what they were looking at and, like moths to a flame, were drawn inexorably to it. This is the Mustang Shelby GT500, all 760bhp of it, which makes it not only the most powerful production Mustang that Ford has ever made but the most