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In what is likely a muscle-car first, Ford is announcing today that the next generation of its most powerful Mustang will be able to top more than 200 miles per hour.

The new 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 will be powered by the most powerful production V-8 engine in the world, a 650-horsepower brute that's a full 100 horsepower more than the one it replaces. At the same time, it raises questions about how much horsepower becomes too much to be safe.

The car, which engineers say will just top 200 mph, will be street legal and suited for use as a daily commuter car, in addition to being a weekend racer. It gains speed not only from the new engine, but also from styling tweaks that will be given to all Mustangs for the next model year as Ford tries to regain the sales lead from Mustang's archrival, the Chevrolet Camaro.

All of the new Mustangs are being introduced formally Wednesday here at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Automakers typically make small changes to cars to gain a little more horsepower and a little more speed, but the Mustang is unusual in making such a quantum jump. The current Shelby GT500 is electronically limited to 155 mph.

Ford has made 200 mph cars before, including a supercar called the GT a few years ago. Other automakers offer exotic supercars -- with sky-high prices to match -- that go 200-plus mph. There's even a Chevrolet Corvette version that is rated in excess of 200 mph. And General Motors is introducing a new version of the Camaro called the ZL1 that has a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 producing 580 horsepower. Chevrolet vows it will produce "blinding acceleration."

But the Mustang is a common Detroit sports car, with four leather seats and a trunk. The goal was to "put the Shelby back on top of the Mustang pyramid," said Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer of Ford's performance vehicles division. "We saw we could take a major leap (by) changing the gearing around and tweaking the horsepower" to achieve new levels of speed.

It happened as engineers made improvements to present-day Mustangs and then track-tested them. Hameedi says the cars started to routinely hit the 155 mph speed barrier, leading to the decision to remove it.

And he says the car is safe as well. The new one has advanced Brembo brakes to stop the car faster and a limited-slip differential for better traction. But is it too fast for the average driver to handle?

"Years ago, that may have been a concern," Hameedi says. "But now with all the technology in these cars they are extremely safe to drive."

Price, mileage yet unknown

The new Shelby will arrive in showrooms next summer, slightly behind the other new redone Mustangs. The current Shelby costs $49,605, and there is no estimate yet of how the new one will be priced.

This particular Shelby was created in Ford's own factories and is not to be confused with the aftermarket performance versions modified by Shelby American, the specialty company of automotive racing icon Carroll Shelby.

There is no formal estimate yet on gas mileage.

All 2013 Mustangs will get a redesigned grille, a new hood and special lighting. All have high-intensity discharge headlights. Even the regular Mustang will become more powerful. The V-8 version will produce 420 horsepower.

The new Mustang will come with a six-speed automatic transmission that also allows drivers to manually choose the gears.

The Mustang, introduced in 1964, is Ford's best-known model. A full redesign is not expected for at least another year, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary.

After initially besting the Camaro in sales, Mustang fell behind and never caught up in monthly stats. The two also face off against the Dodge Challenger, another muscle car that's been a steady performer for Chrysler.

Camaro handily outsold Mustang last month, as it has during the year, according to Autodata. For the first 10 months of the year, Chevrolet sold 76,368 Camaros; Ford, 61,516 Mustangs; and Dodge, 33,254 Challengers.