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Filed under: Motorsports , SEMA , Marketing/Advertising , Ford , Shelby In the hustle and bustle of SEMA last week we missed the announcement that Shelby Automobiles will be sponsoring the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motorspeedway in March. The race will actually be lengthened to 427 miles and will be called the 'Shelby 427'. We think it would be more historically appropriate for Shelby to sponsor a road racing event, but the company's proximity to the race track and the better marketing reach make NASCAR a logical choice. In conjunction with the sponsorship, Shelby will be offering a 427 package for the GT500. Hoping for a 427ci engine conversion? So were we, but prepare to be disappointed. The 427 package will be a simple badge job and will include "Mr. Shelby's personal autograph as well as many other event-related add-ons." Those who purchase the package will also receive race tickets and the possibility to serve as the race's honorary starter...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Tuners , Auction Action , Supercars , Ford , Shelby Click above for gallery of the Super Snake Despite the Shelby GT500KR 's claim of supremacy over the dominion that is the open road, there is yet another Mustang that is even more extreme. Shelby's Super Snake package for the GT500 offers up to 725 horsepower and even more aggressive options for the suspension and braking systems. Available as a post-sale conversion for the GT500, the transformation can be performed at the Shelby facility in Las Vegas or at one of the official mod shops around the country. There have been a handful of owners who have already converted their GT500s, and one is already for sale on eBay. Something seems wrong with the seller's math, however, because a "Buy It Now" price of $200,000 is far more than the cost of a GT500 plus the $31,995 needed for the 725 horsepower conversion. We could understand the markup if these were in high demand, but pretty much any GT500...
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Filed under: Garage , Sports/GTs , Ford , Driving Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Shelby GT500 Mustang Sometime around late 2003, I first saw the car that was at that time still known as Condor. Condor was the Ford internal code name for the SVT version of the yet to be publicly shown S197 Mustang. At that time, most everyone outside of Ford was still anticipating that this car would be the new Mustang Cobra. Somewhere along the line to launch, Ford had settled its long standing conflict with Carroll Shelby and Condor ended up wearing one of the other classic Mustang badges from the '60s. The Shelby GT500 eventually started rolling off the Flat Rock, MI assembly line in both coupe and convertible forms for the 2007 model year. Ford recently dropped off a Grey 2008 GT500 coupe at the Autoblog Garage for a few days, and we just had to share. By coincidence, the GT500 arrived about three weeks after the Mustang Bullitt we reviewed. While the Bullitt was about as understated...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sports/GTs , Ford , Shelby Click above for a high resolution gallery of the 2008 Shelby GT500KR I have to admit, the Shelby GT500 was somewhat of a letdown. I have no complaints about the 500 horsepower or the muscular lines, but at nearly 4,000 pounds, it's got a serious weight problem. The iron block, 5.4-liter V8 and the addition of a supercharger puts much the weight in the worst possible place -- the front -- so the GT500 feels unmotivated around the corners compared to a regular Mustang GT. Other complaints include a suspension that doesn't seem up to snuff to handle the prodigious power, as well as a vague and rubbery shifter. Despite its shortcomings, the GT500 is one of the world's best performance bargains. Never before has such a powerful car been available for so little cash (although the Ford dealers did a pretty good job of ruining its value with markups). Still, one couldn't help but think that the GT500 could have been better. Gallery...
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Filed under: Tuners , Sports/GTs , Ford , Shelby Click on the image for more live shots of the 2009 GT500KR We got a chance to visit Shelby Automotive out in Las Vegas a week or so ago to witness the first 2009 GT500KR going through final assembly. Although the KR was originally intended to be an '08-only model release, demand for the new King of the Road was high enough that Ford and Shelby decided to keep on rollin' for another year and plans to offer an additional 746 units for 2009. As a refresher, these beasts are powered by a 540-horsepower version of the GT500's supercharged V8. If you love special edition versions of the Mustang like this one but aren't ready yet to buy, fear not... we have a feeling that there will be many more to choose from in the coming years. Gallery: First Shelby GT500KR's Gallery: 2008 Shelby GT500KR - LIVE Travel and lodging for this media event was provided by the manufacturer, as were the photos, since our camera was stolen on this...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Etc. , GM , Pontiac , Holden , Australia Coupes seem to be somewhat resurgent lately, and the stupendously awesome Pontiac G8 GXP might be set to lose a pair of doors. While that would make it essentially a repeat of what came here as a revived GTO not too long ago, the name is not likely to return. The basic idea has been outlined in the Holden Coupe 60 , itself starting out as an updated GTO, but turning out much cooler. The neo-ponycar wars will require the fitment of the 400 horsepower LS3 to run with the Shelby GT500KR , Challenger , and cousin Camaro . The newly unveiled G8 GXP serves as the benchmark for what this coupe will likely come equipped with. That means big 19-inch wheels, uprated suspension, a meaner fascia and, most importantly, an available Tremec six-speed manual transmission. There should be a GT version, too, with "only" 361 horsepower, which should still offer a significant kick in the pants for less cash. The biggest...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sports/GTs , Auction Action , Ford , Shelby While we wouldn't give high ratings to the Knight Rider pilot movie on NBC, we are still fans of the star of the show, KITT. When Ford and Barrett-Jackson announced that a pair of KITTs would be sold in Palm Beach this year, we immediately went to check the balance in our savings account. The two cars auctioned were not actually KR models, but regular GT models made to look like the KR for the movie. The "hero" KITT still has quite a few upgrades, including a Whipple supercharger system, Brembo brakes, upgraded suspension and exhaust, and an interior with props for the movie, while the "attack" mode KITT has the stock motor with an automatic transmission and a KR body kit with two-tiered spoiler. The auction, which will donate all proceeds to the Salute to Education charity, started slowly but climbed steadily to $160,000. At that point, Mark Fields of Ford got on the microphone and announced the winning...
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Filed under: Time Warp , Convertibles , Auction Action , Ford , Shelby Click above for a high resolution gallery of the car Anything with Carroll Shelby's name on it automatically has a higher value, and even more so if his name is on the pink slip as well. This 1969 Shelby GT500 Convertible has been owned by Carroll since new. The only other 1960's Shelby that he still owns from new is the very first Shelby Cobra, CSX2000. The car underwent a five year rotisserie restoration that was finished up in September of 2007. Bidding for the car started at $100k, then quickly rose to $300 within a few seconds, then up to $500 where it stalled. Bidding slowly creeped past $600,000 and finally rested on $675,000. The winning bidder? You guessed it - Ron Pratte, the same guy who bought the Cobra SuperSnake last year. Gallery: Barrett-Jackson 2008: Carroll Shelby's personal 1969 GT500 Convertible Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Coupes , Sports/GTs , Marketing/Advertising , Ford , Celebrities Click image for a gallery of the GT500 in I Am Legend Product placements in films get a lot of virtual ink here at Autoblog, probably because we all like cars (obviously) and are, for the most part, movie buffs. The carmaker placement king over the last year was unquestionably Transformers , which did more to expose (and evangelize) the new Camaro to the masses than GM's marketing department could ever have hoped. The Bond films are always good for some car-related water-cooler discussion, and last year also saw VW use The Bourne Ultimatum to shill for the Touareg 2. Ford's been kind of off the blockbuster radar since Casino Royale , but makes a tidy comeback in the new Will Smith thriller, I Am Legend . Over the holidays, I managed to slink away from the wife and kids for a couple of hours to catch the film with some friends. As a movie it's imperfect but very entertaining, with a nice performance...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Car Buying , Tuners , Ford , Shelby The world's first Shelby-sanctioned third-party installer will soon open at Tasca Ford' s Cranston, Rhode Island facility. Tasca has the benefit of very close relationships with both Shelby...
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