5 Big Honkin' V8s

Here we have a legendary name behind the car: Carroll Shelby. An older-fashioned supercharger blows 500 horsepower out of the iron-block V8 (5.4 liters and 32 valves), making a whine that sounds even more powerful (or maybe just louder) than the CTS-V.

How can we make an old-school, solid-axle car like this - it doesn't even have stability control - number one? Ask the seat of our pants. The GT500 is a super muscle car that handles. It's 225 pounds lighter than the M3 convertable, and doesn't carry an exotic price tag.

The Tremec 6-speed manual gearbox shifts directly, with the responsive throttle reacting beautifully to our every blip on downshifts. The Shelby suspension is stable, and the Brembo brakes are good (though not like the CTS-V's). It's the most likely to get loose, but when it does, no fear, it's easy to catch. The rush is what it's all about.

Click here to see our Shelby GT500 video Road Test.