In thinking about the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500, we pondered about how best to classify the car – is it simply a brute muscle car, or a sophisticated sports car? If you're of the mindset that a muscle car is all about raw power whereas a sports car blends power with capable handling, than the GT500 definitely falls into the muscle column.

Straight line performance is a given in the Shelby. With the traction control engaged, a mash of the throttle causes the meaty Goodyears to sink their fangs into the pavement which causes the tail to squat and the front end to rise, despite the burdensome supercharged V8 it's supporting. Keep on it in first gear, with that right still firmly planted, and the rear tires will begin to spin after initial launch – not to where there's a loss of control, just to where the engine's power refuses to be completely restrained. Yes, this is where the adrenaline kicks in and a smile refuses to be denied. Depress the stiff clutch, flick the short-throw shifter into second as fast as humanly possible, drop the clutch and tires chirp as bite number two causes the front end to rise again. Same goes for third, and sometimes fourth. The six-speed gearbox allows you to ram through the gears, provided your calf muscle is strong enough to man-handle the clutch, but likely because of the tremendous horsepower and torque is must deal with, the tranny lacks the fluidity of more refined six-coggers from Honda or Mitsubishi. However, this is a true muscle car – if you've never had a callous or dirt under your fingernails, this probably isn't the ride for you anyway.

To say the Shelby GT500 is powerful is obviously an understatement. Under full throttle it does, in fact, do a pretty good job of holding you against the back of your seat. The exhaust emits a noticeable rumble at idle, an alluring song replaced by roaring and supercharger whine as pressure is applied to the go pedal (were he alive today, Beethoven could've taken a few pointers from Ford's exhaust tuners). With that kind of temptation at our disposal we only saw 14.2 mpg after a week of driving, but some might be surprised that fuel economy was actually that good. Thanks to the large discs, braking was never an issue, and we found the pedal easy to modulate. What's less impressive is the Shelby's handling, which despite benefiting from SVT tuning and steering tweaked for added response, leaves a lot to be desired. Whether cruising around town or bolting down a desolate country road, the ride is stiff. That, coupled with large stabilizer bars, helps prevent any noticeable body roll in hard cornering. But the Shelby's weight is front-biased (57 percent front/43 percent rear in coupe trim, 56/44 in convertible trim), so the front end has a tendency to push, even with the Goodyear rubber offering grip. And the GT500 feels big. Indeed, it's a large, weighty car, all of which the driver feels when trying to take tight corners at a good clip. Adding insult to injury is a steering system lacking road feel and responsiveness, and seats that lacked enough bolstering to prevent us from sliding around when the route got especially aggressive. Just weeks before, we drove a Cadillac XLR on the same stretch of road, and were much more impressed by its handling than the Shelby GT500.

That may not come as a surprise to many folks, especially those who expect little more form this ultimate Mustang than straight line performance. However, chances are most everybody will be surprised to discover that the GT500 is a comfortable cruiser. Again, there's that stiff clutch to contend with, but get past that and you'll enjoy supportive bucket seats, padded armrests, well-placed controls, and ample room up front (the rear seat is quite cramped). When rolling along the highway, the firm ride is somewhat offset by those inviting bucket seats, and the engine is subdued as the tach needle spins relatively low in sixth gear.