2007 Shelby GT500
2007 Ford Shelby GT500: Most Powerful Mustang Ever
- Performance Inspiration: Carroll Shelby and Ford Special Vehicle Team join forces to create a modern successor to the famous Shelby GT500 of the late 1960s
- Performance Hardware: 500-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
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.
The collaboration between Shelby and Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) is yielding an instant collector's Mustang that builds 500 horsepower in its 5.4-liter supercharged V-8.
A modern interpretation of the Shelby Mustang of the 1960s, 2007 Shelby GT500 uses advanced engineering to attain the performance that made the original GT500 the king of the road.
True to the original Shelby GT 500, 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.
"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 500 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.
2007 Shelby GT 500 Power Play
As expected of anything with Shelby's name on it, the heart of the car is what's under the hood. 2007 Shelby GT500's supercharged 5.4-liter, 32-valve V-8 evolves from Ford's experience with tuning its modular, or MOD, engines. Output is a brawny 500 horsepower.
The engine is force-fed an air-and-fuel mixture via a "Roots-type" supercharger providing 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. The GT500 uses a cast-iron engine block. It borrows from the Ford GT program aluminum, four-valve cylinder heads, piston rings and bearings, adding a high level of performance durability to the drivetrain. "Powered by SVT" camshaft covers add the finishing touch to the engine.
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