Shelby Mustang

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1965 Shelby GT-350R Racing Version

The Shelby Mustang was a performance muscle car from the 1960s. It was a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby's company and sold as a series. The program was factory-sponsored and production was eventually moved in-house. The spirit of the series continues today in the special Mustang Cobra models.

1965

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The first Shelby version of the Mustang appeared in 1965. All '65 Shelbys were painted Ford "Wimbledon White", with (optional) Ford "Guardsman Blue" parallel stripes (called Le Mans stripes) from nose to tail. Although most of the 1965 Shelby's you see today have Le Mans stripes, less than 40% of the 1965 GT 350's came factory equipped with them. All GT 350s featured rocker panel stripes with the GT350 name. The engine was a modified K-code 289ci Windsor V8 with special "Cobra" valve covers, tri-Y headers, a special intake manifold and Holley carburettor increased power from 271 to 306 hp (162 to 228 kW). Approximately the first 300 GT 350s produced were "rear battery" cars, meaning the car's batteries were trunk-mounted. Customer complaints of acid-fumes led to the creation of the Cobra Battery Caps, which vented the acid fumes outside of the car by way of hoses exiting through the trunk floor panels. An estimated 50 1965 GT 350s (around serial number 200) came equipped with the very rare Cobra battery caps. Vehicle production changed shortly thereafter, leaving the battery in the engine compartment. Today, the most desirable of the 1965 GT 350s are the units with factory installed rear batteries.

Production #'s: Street Prototype 1 unit, Competition Prototype 2 units, Competition Shelbys 34 units, Street Models 516 units, Drag Racing Models 9 units.

1966

The 1966 was differentiated in body colour (non-white versions were introduced - colors included blue, red, green and black, as well as the original white) and trim. The "Le Mans" stripes were continued as an option, as in 1965. It featured special quarter-panel windows and rear air scoops on each side and an optional automatic transmission. A fold-down rear seat was now standard as well. Where early 1965 cars had black engine blocks, 1966 and later cars had the 289 engine painted blue.

Shelby struck a deal with the Hertz car rental company to produce a special line of GT350s for rent which were subsequently sold to the public after their rental-car lives were finished. These GT350H cars are quite rare and sought-after today, with some examples selling for more than $120,000. Shelby produced 1000 of these cars; 800 in black, and 50 each in red, white, blue and green. The black cars all had gold stripes, whereas the colored cars only had Shelby side stripes, without the Le Mans top stripes. Shelby would repeat this trick in 1987 with the Shelby CSX-T.

Production #'s: GT350 2,380 units (6 were special order convertibles for Carroll Shelby)

1967

The new 1967 Mustang was followed with a new Shelby. It featured a 1967 Mercury Cougar tail light panel minus the chrome trim, a flip-up spoiler, and two sets of air scoops on each side. This was also the first American car to feature a factory roll bar

This year also saw the introduction of the GT500 alongside the continued GT350. The new GT500 featured a 428 in³ (7 L) big-block V8. This is also one of the most famous Shelby Mustangs. A modified GT500 clone, known as "Eleanor", was featured alongside Nicholas Cage in the 2000 remake of Gone in Sixty Seconds, and a blue GT500 is prominently featured in the manga series Gunsmith Cats.

Production #'s: GT350 1,175 units, GT500 2,048 units

The Guns N' Roses video, "Don't Cry" features a Shelby GT-350 with the guitarist Slash at the wheel.

1968

Shelby lost the lease for their factory at Los Angeles International Airport in late 1967 so production of the Shelby cars was moved to Ionia, Michigan under Ford Motor Company control.

The GT-500KR (KR standing for "King of the Road") was introduced more then half way through the '68 model year. Boasting a reworked version of the 428 engine, the GT-500KR was rated at 335 Horsepower. To keep insurance costs down, the engine was rated much lower then its true power (estimated as being closer to 400 HP). Today these are arguably the most sought after muscle cars ever made.

Two 1968 Shelby Mustang Coupe prototypes were also produced called "Little Red" and "Green Hornet". "Little Red" was later crushed. "Green Hornet" survives today. Although a Shelby Mustang Coupe was never put into production these prototypes did eventually lead to the introduction of the Ford Mustang GT/CS California Special.

Production #'s: GT350 Fastback 1,253 units, GT350 Convertible 404 units, GT500 Fastback 1,140 units, GT500 Convertible 402 units, GT500KR Fastback 933 units, GT500KR Convertible 318 units
 

1969 and 1970

Carroll Shelby terminated his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969. The GT350 and GT500 for the 1969–70 model years received extenisve facelifts. Ford was heavily involved with design and style decisions, with Shelby having very little input. Production of Shelby Mustangs ceased with the 1970 model year. The 1970 models were in fact leftover 1969 models.

2006 Shelby GT-H

Ford introduced the Shelby GT-H version of the Mustang at the 2006 New York Auto Show in April 2006. Like the original GT350H from 1966, the GT-H features gold-on-black paint and will only be available at the Hertz car rental agency. A modest power bump over the regular Mustang GT results in 325 hp (242 kW) and 330 ft·lbf (447 N·m). Features include a 5-speed automatic transmission, and a package from Ford Racing including a 90 mm cold air intake kit, X-pipe, special performance suspension, and Ford Racing "GTA" axle-back mufflers. Just 500 will be built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original.

2007 Shelby GT

The 4.6 litre, 325 hp (242 kW) Ford Shelby GT slots between the 300 hp Mustang GT and the 500 hp Ford Shelby GT500. It is essentially a retail sale version of the Hertz rental-only Ford Shelby GT-H, except a manual transmission is avaliable. The Hertz Shelby GT-H attracted so much attention that Ford dealers and customers asked for a version of their own. Like the GT-H, the Shelby GT is modified at Shelby Automotive factory in Las Vegas. Production of the Shelby GT began in December 2006, for sale beginning in January 2007. ^[1]

2007 Ford Shelby GT500

Shelby and Ford returned with a Shelby-branded Mustang, the Shelby GT500 for 2007. Introduced at the 2005 New York International Auto Show, the GT500 uses a 5.4 L Modular supercharged V8. 500 hp and 475 ft·lbf (644 N·m) will be available, designed to outperform all previous Mustangs. A Tremec 6-speed manual transmission, suspension tuning, a body kit, and 18 inch wheels complete the car. The name "Mustang" does not appear in the official model name nor does it appear as branding on any part of the vehicle.

A collaboration of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) and Carroll Shelby, the GT500 will be produced in limited quantity for three years (approximately 10,000 units/year) on the line at Ford's Flat Rock, Michigan (AutoAlliance) assembly facility.

The right to purchase the first 2007 Shelby GT500 was auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction on 21 January 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona for $648,000. Proceeds will benefit the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation.

Performance

The heavy iron block V8, with supercharger and water-to-air intercooler, shifts the weight bias further forward than the standard Mustang GT (57/43%; front/rear), but the car is said to handle predictably and ride comfortably. According to Car & Driver, a Corvette Z51 was deemed to be a better performance vehicle based on the tests performed, but the Shelby was found to be more practical, and to offer a more comfortable ride. They stated that the Shelby offered the "best [overall] bang for the buck around."^[2]

The January 2007 issue of Road and Track featured a comparison test between the Shelby GT500, Mustang GT/CS, Corvette Z51, and Corvette Z06.^[3] The 500 hp GT500 performed 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds where as the 400 hp Corvette Z51 made it in 4.5 seconds. The 505 hp Z06 completed this in 3.6 seconds. The GT500 performed a quarter-mile test in 12.8 seconds at 113.2 mph where as the Corvette Z51 made it in 12.8 seconds at 112.5 mph (Z06 in 12.0 seconds at 121.0 mph). These results may be due to the GT500 (3950 lb) being 660 lb heavier than the Corvette Z51 (3290 lb). In comparison, the 300 hp Mustang GT/CS had a 0-60 mph time of 5.3 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 13.9 seconds at 103.0 mph.

Top speed of the GT500 is 150 mph electronically limited compared to the Z51's 186 mph non-limited.^[3] Even without the electronic limitation the Shelby is not expected to pass 170 mph according to Ford Engineers whose comments were based on wind tunnel experiments and drag co-efficient numbers (0.38).^[4]