Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang revealed

Ford has taken the covers off the road-legal race-ready 500 horsepower Shelby Mustang GT350 ahead of this week's Los Angeles motor show.

The exact power figures are still under wraps but Ford says the new 5.2-litre V8 (up from the Mustang's 5.0-litre) will pump out "more than 500 horsepower", or 373kW in modern terms, an extra 50kW on top of the standard V8.

But it seems the high-revving engine won't get much of a boost in torque, with Ford saying it will simply have "more" than the current Mustang's modest 540Nm output.

Instead, Ford has focused its energy on handling, giving the Shelby Mustang GT350 magnetically controlled shock absorbers (the same technology used by Ferrari, Audi, Corvette and HSV) and fitted massive brakes: 394-millimetre rotors clamped by Brembo six-piston calipers up front and 380-millimetre rotors with four-piston calipers at the rear.

Ford has fitted a lightweight six-speed manual gearbox, and added body strengthening to improve stiffness by 28 per cent, to make it more precise in turns.

Super-wide and super-sticky 19-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres (10.5-inch wide at the front and 11-inch wide at the rear) provide the grip.

Before you get too excited it's worth noting the Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 is not confirmed for Australia; CarsGuide understands we will instead get the still-secret supercharged Shelby Mustang GT500 successor in two years.

The regular Mustang is due in Australian showrooms with a choice of four-cylinder and V8 power in coupe and convertible form in the second half of 2015 priced between $50,000 and $70,000.

It's the first time in the 50-year history of the nameplate a right-hand-drive Mustang has been made on a Ford production line.

Extra detail for engine geeks from the Ford media bulletin:

"The new 5.2-liter engine is the first-ever production V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft, an architecture typically found only in racing applications or exotic European sports cars. Unlike a traditional V8, where the connecting rods are attached to the crankshaft at 90-degree intervals, this design evenly spaces all crank pins at 180-degree intervals."

We have no idea what this means but we expect it will sound great.

Take a closer look - inside and out - at the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang here.