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When Ford first announced the Shelby GT500, the horsepower rating the automaker gave SVT's delicious new creation was 475. As we're all well aware, the car's actual rating wound up being 500, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast-forward to April 2007 in New York and the introduction of the further-Shelbyfied GT500KR, a hi-po version of the already monstrous GT500 that reaches into history and borrows the classic "KR" moniker. The GT500KR was announced as having 540 horses underneath its double-scooped, pinned-shut, carbon-composite hood, meaning it would be more adept at immolating tires than the GT500, whose talent in this department is unassailable.

Last week, Carroll Shelby paid a visit to Ford's proving grounds in Dearborn, where the GT500KR prototype was among the cars being flogged and photographed. According to Mustang fansite StangsUnleashed, it was there that Ford announced that the KR would receive an additional 10 horsepower over what had already been confirmed, giving the car a grand total of 550. And then, enthusiasts and tire manufacturers wept with joy.

[Source: StangsUnleashed]

Gallery: Carroll Shelby w/ GT500KR Prototype