The same iconic chap who shoe-horned V8’s into AC sports cars to produce the wonderful Cobra series and the Shelby Mustang of the late 60’s, has now done it all again, with 1000 horsepower V8’s in the new Mustangs.
At the New York International Auto Show, 50 years after the company made its debut, Shelby American, Inc., a division of Carroll Shelby International, unveiled the world’s most powerful series of muscle cars. Named the Shelby 1000, the street-legal car is the high performance dream of founder Carroll Shelby. The Shelby American team enhanced the power, braking and handling of the 2012 Ford Shelby GT500 to create a hyper-performance muscle car available in both street and competition versions.
Wheel–standing Shelby 1000.
“We launched Shelby American with the Cobra at the 1962 New York Auto Show,” said Carroll Shelby. “The 289 Cobra was considered pretty radical at the time. For our return 50 years later, I wanted something just as incredible that will show how far we’ve come and where we’re headed for the next 50 years.”
Having just achieved 800 horsepower with the famed Shelby GT500 Super Snake, he believed that they could enhance Ford’s well-engineered car even more.
Shelby himself was actively involved in every aspect of the Shelby 1000’s development, from the design to the testing and ultimately his final approval.
The Shelby1000 will be offered in both street and Shelby 1000 S/C “off-road” track versions. The street legal, pump gas version dyno’s out at approximately 950 BHP, while the track oriented version is rated at over 1,100 BHP.
Shelby’s enhancements didn’t stop at the engine. “This car is the total package,” noted Gary Patterson, vice president of operations. “It was conceived as the ultimate Shelby and honed during substantial testing. It’s the most powerful Shelby based on a Ford Mustang that has ever been built at Shelby American.”
The brakes include 6 pistons in front and 4 pistons out back. The driveshaft is a stronger unit while the suspension includes new struts, sway bars and bushings. The hood, rear panel and splitter are functional pieces for performance.
The result is a Shelby with subtle, yet substantial changes. From the interior touches to the hood, wheels and aerodynamic styling, the car is stripped to its bare essence. In keeping with its 50th anniversary theme, a limited production of 100 Shelby 1000s will be built. Each will be numbered and documented for the Shelby registry.
Shelby American is now accepting orders for the limited edition Shelby 1000. Those interested in reserving a car should contact the Shelby American Sales team at www. shelbyamerican.com.
And the price – and this is in the USA, the Shelby 1000 starts at $149,995 and the track S/C version starts at $154,995, but that is not including the base GT500. A completed Shelby 1000 is then expected to be approximately $200,000 (six million THB), but that is in the US. I would hazard a guess at 18 million THB landed here in LHD form.
