Ford’s top-tier 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has finally made it’s debut in Detroit, but it will not have a manual transmission option. According to Ford’s press release today, the only transmission option will be in the form of Tremec’s TR-9007 DCT 7-speed transmission:

The exclusion of a manual transmission is likely due to the fact that the Tremec TR-3160, which is currently in the GT350, wouldn’t be able to handle the torque ratings that the 755 HP, 5.2-liter supercharged engine in the GT500 is likely to produce. However, GM still offers a manual transmission in the 750 horsepower Corvette ZR1, so we are not totally convinced that Ford killed off the manual because of high horsepower transmission reliability.









The exclusion of a manual transmission is likely due to the fact that the Tremec TR-3160, which is currently in the GT350, wouldn’t be able to handle the torque ratings that the 755 HP, 5.2-liter supercharged engine in the GT500 is likely to produce. However, GM still offers a manual transmission in the 750 horsepower Corvette ZR1, so we are not totally convinced that Ford killed off the manual because of high horsepower transmission reliability.

While a DCT in a 755HP Mustang will be an amazing track car, some would argue that the lack of a manual transmission may result in a decrease of driver engagement with the car. We suppose it’s a millennial thing – let’s dumb the car down so that you don’t need to practice or have any skill to drive it. That way everyone can get a blue ribbon! Also, it’s easier to text and drive when you don’t have to row the gears. We kid, we kid.

On a more serious note, we now live in a world where tenths of a second on paper can make or break the reputation of a performance car. If a sports car runs .2 of a second slower than it’s competitor around a two mile course, than the internet erupts into a feces throwing contest, where most of the participants have no interest in purchasing the car anyways. Nonetheless, numbers on paper have become the star of the show, and the numbers are what every car enthusiast loves to reference. Perhaps Ford has ditched the manual transmission for the DCT just to squeeze those few extra tenths out of the car to win the internet wars.

