15 Manliest Cars On The Road

8. Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

Let’s face it: Not every man can drop a quarter-million dollars on a car. That’s why the Mustang GT500 makes the list. Priced at $54,600 new, it is one of the most affordable sports cars on the market.

You still get a lot for the money, including the legendary Shelby GT500 badge that originated in the 1960s. The Mustang is equipped with a 5.8 Liter V8 that puts out 662 HP. That’s a lot of horses tucked under the hood of this famous pony car.

Any car offering 662 hp for less than 60 grand would represent a serious performance bargain, even if all it could do was drive in a straight line. The Shelby GT500, however, not only accelerates with alarming brute force, but it turns and stops surprisingly well, too, making it a hoot at the track.

Unfortunately, the unrefined interior and lumpy ride aren’t as pleasant. Still, the GT500 looks and sounds as wicked as anything on the road, and when it comes to hp for the money, it has few peers.

With a car like this, you inevitably focus on the numbers. The $54,995 GT500 coupe turns in a 0-to-60 sprint of 3.5 seconds. Ferociously tall gearing means third gear is good for 140 mph and first gear is long enough to reach highway speeds.