Why Ford chose a Dual-Clutch Transmission for the 2020 Shelby GT500 Mustang
The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 develops 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. To harness that power, Ford chose a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission from Tremec. Ahead of the GT500’s launch, Ford explained why it chose this transmission, and how the dual-clutch gearbox allows the GT500 to go from zero to 100 mph and back to zero again in 10.6 seconds.
Ford opted not to offer a manual transmission on the GT500, the most powerful road-legal vehicle the Detroit automaker has ever unleashed. Chevrolet and Dodge offer clutch-less transmission options for the most powerful versions of the Camaro and Challenger, respectively, but they are conventional torque-converter automatics. Those transmissions are less complicated than dual-clutch gearboxes, which are used in high-end performance cars from the likes of Porsche, but Ford engineers felt a dual-clutch transmission offered a greater range of performance.
