Why Dodge Isn’t Losing Sleep Over the 2020 GT500 Mustang
Exclusivity & Collectability Advantage: Challenger
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has sold more than 40,000 units, so in terms of collectability and exclusivity, the Shelby Mustang is sure to have an advantage, but that isn’t the case when we consider the Demon. The GT500 is not slated to be limited to a certain production volume while only 3,303 examples of the Demon were produced. Every Demon was numbered on the dash and on the crate that comes with the car, and when you factor in the limited production, the distinct numbering system and the uniqueness of the crate system, the Demon has a big advantage in exclusivity and collectability over the Mustang.
In fact, there is a chance that we will never see a car like the Demon again, with an accessory crate the includes things like skinny front-runner wheels for the track, branded tools or an engine computer programed to run 100-octane race fuel. At the same time, the Demon came with drag radials from the factory, so even without the crate, the 800-horsepower Mopar is a truly unique muscle car.
The 2020 GT500 will certainly prove to be a valued car among Mustang fans, but in the grand scheme of things, it will not be as collectable as the Challenger Demon.
Marketing Advantage: Challenger
There is no questioning the marketing aspect of the Shelby name or the GT500 trim line, but neither of them come close to the insane amount of attention captured by the Hellcat. Since the supercharged Challenger was introduced in April of 2014, the Hellcat name has been one of the most searched and celebrated in the American automotive world. Early on, Hellcat was easily the most talked-about American performance car, only to be outdone by the introduction of the Demon, but when the Redeye was rolled out, the Hellcat name was once again the big dog in the yard.
The success of the Hellcat hasn’t just transferred into strong sales for Dodge. We have seen a ton of attention paid to the Hellcat Challenger in the toy, collectable and gaming world, and when the Demon hit the market, all of the companies who were capitalizing on the Hellcat were quick to offer Demon items. The Hellcat “brand” quickly became one of the most popular in the high performance world and over the course of the past five years, the attraction to all things sporting the Hellcat or Demon logo has not faded.
Now, we aren’t blind to the attraction of the Shelby Mustang, but even with 760 horsepower, there is no chance of the new GT500 claiming the same attention both inside and outside of the automotive world that the Hellcat has garnered over the past half-decade.
Price Advantage: Challenger
Ford has only announced basic pricing for the 2020 Shelby GT500 Mustang, but we know that it starts at $73,995. We also know that when you add the Carbon Fiber Track package, the Technology Package and the Handling Package, the price rises to $96,995. Once you add things like stripes or other small options, the new GT500 is likely to top out over $100,000.
The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 starts at $64,695 with the manual transmission and $66,690 with the automatic transmission. If you add every applicable option including the 1LE package, the ZL1 tops out around $79,000, so the Mustang costs around $20,000 more in loaded form.
As for the Dodge Challenger, the SRT Hellcat Redeye with 797 horsepower and the standard-width body, it starts at $73,440 and tops out around $91,040. So with more horsepower and torque, the Redeye is at least $6,000 less than the GT500 when all loaded up and even if you step up to the Redeye Widebody, at $96,370, it still costs less than the new Shelby Mustang with the options that we know of thus far.
Finally, the 2018 Dodge Demon that had 840 horsepower and runs high-9s started around $83,000 and topped out around $97,000, making the limited edition Mopar the only muscle car to come close to the pricing of the new GT500.
In short, the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has the highest starting price of any muscle car in today’s market and when all loaded up, it is the most expensive muscle car ever.
In the end, the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will likely be the best handling muscle car ever, but in every other way, the Dodge Challenger is the better muscle car – allowing it to maintain the title of the King of Muscle Cars.
Photos for Dodge Forum by Patrick Rall