Which Ford Mustang Was In The 'Need For Speed' Movie?

Adapting video games for the big screen has historically proven difficult, with Hollywood studios producing more misses than hits over the years. If its current 23% Rotten Tomatoes critical score is any indication, film critics largely deemed 2014's "Need for Speed" a film fit for the former category. Even still, the racing movie — adapted from the hit video game series of the same name — fared well enough at the worldwide box office, with a certain set of gearhead moviegoers likely lining up more to see the souped-up cars than a good movie.  

"Need for Speed" was advertised as a starring vehicle for "Breaking Bad" alum Aaron Paul. However, the parade of horsepower-hungry vehicles featured in the film were the real stars of the show, and "Need for Speed" more than delivered the goods on the car front. It showcases everything from American muscle icons like a '66 Pontiac GTO and a '69 Ford Gran Torino, to flashier European builds like the U.S.-banned Koenigsegg Agera. As impressive as the vehicles are, one particular car earned far more screen-time than its counterparts, and that's the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 driven by Paul's character, a speed-seeking car customizer named Tobey.

The vehicle makes its first appearance just past the film's 20-minute mark, doing so without the recognizable modern Mustang frame. And when the finished product debuts moments later, its revealed to be a Shelby worthy of the extended close-up it receives.

The story behind the 2013 Shelby GT500 that's featured in "Need for Speed" naturally becomes a point of interest in the film's plot, as it's purported to be the very Mustang that Ford and Carroll Shelby were developing when the famed automobile designer died in 2012. In this regard, "Need or Speed" is quite clever, in that Shelby really was working on the Mustang GT500 at the time of his death. "Need for Speed" is, however, not a documentary, with the story deviating from reality when Aaron Paul's character is tasked with finishing Shelby's final Mustang by a former rival. The plot motors giddily into action movie melodrama from there.

Though the '13 GT500 was the last Shelby had a personal hand in developing, it was far from his first collaboration with Ford. The manufacturer first turned to Shelby in the early 1960s, with the initial collab resulting in the iconic Ford GT40 race cars that famously beat Ferrari at 1966's 24 Hours of Le Mans race. That story inspired the hit 2019 film "Ford v Ferrari."

In the years after, Shelby took a particular interest in Ford Mustangs, with his Cobra-badged Shelby Mustangs ranking amongst the most powerful available on the consumer market. As for the model year featured in "Need for Speed," it was likely the most powerful Mustang Shelby personally developed, boasting a V8 engine with 5.8L displacement, 650 horsepower, and 600 lb-ft of torque. While it may not have been capable of hitting 234 mph as it does in the movie, the '13 GT500 could still easily top 200 mph.