Performance Hardware: 475-horsepower supercharged V-8, 6-speed manual transmission, race-tuned suspension, four-piston Brembo brakes
Performance Design: Mustang heritage with aggressive muscular front-end design, Le Mans racing stripes, unmistakable "Cobra" logo and Shelby nameplate
DETROIT, Jan. 8, 2006 - What happens when a legend from Texas reunites with a legend from Dearborn? The most powerful Mustang ever.
After 40 years, racing legend Carroll Shelby and the Ford Mustang are back together with the introduction of the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500.
Performance legend Carroll Shelby first put the muscle in the pony car.
The collaboration between Shelby and Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) is yielding an instant collector's Mustang that builds 475 horsepower in its 5.4-liter supercharged V-8.
A modern interpretation of the Shelby Mustang of the 1960s, the Ford Shelby GT500 uses advanced engineering to attain the performance that made the original GT500 the king of the road.
True to the original GT500, it will be available both as a coupe and as a convertible when it goes on sale in the summer of 2006.
"When Carroll was developing the original GT350 and GT500, he wanted to build the most powerful, most capable Mustangs of his day," says Hau Thai-Tang, director, Advanced Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team. "Our goal was to build the most powerful, most capable Mustang ever."
Serving as touchstone and inspirational leader for both the concept and the production versions, Shelby was impressed by what the team has accomplished.
The rear spoiler of the Ford Shelby GT500 echoes that of the classic GT500, while the rear air diffuser is inspired by the modern Ford GT.
"It's one thing to put 450 horsepower in an exotic supercar," says Shelby. "It's another to put that much power in something as affordable as a Mustang. The fact that they not only met their goal but pushed on to 475 horsepower is a remarkable achievement."
Shelby knows something about creating modern supercars. He served as a senior adviser on the team that developed and built the 550-horsepower Ford GT.
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