The sizzle is fading....

[philip 87]

Relax...Think about this. Your Shelby GT will out run ANY GT500 on any road course! Horsepower is not everything. It's balance! The Shelby GT is a well thought out car with a great suspension, horsepower and looks. The heavy front end of the GT500 cannot keep up with your car on a road course and by the time you hit the straight aways the Big Block cars will not catch you. I don't care about the S/C they may have. Also Shelby is not noted for Drag racing. Never was. Even though he produce a handful in the sixties. You now own a real Shelby. We all hoped they would be made again with hopes of buying one and we did!!! Enjoy your car! S/C if you like. S/C has crossed my mind too but decided to leave it the way Shelby made it.

But let me remind you about the history of the Shelby mustang if I may.

 

Remeber,when Ford introduced the mustang in 1964, Ford immediately wanted to add some performance advertisement for their new car.

Carroll Shelby was the obvious choice considering his record with the Cobra "powered by Ford" and his abilities to win races and "put the mustang on the map".

It was very much like today. Very much. Keep in mind that the Mustang was really a glorified Falcon. Hardly a performance car.

Shelby tested the car and simply added this and that off of Ford shelves and some mods of his own and a stripe package to create the GT350. The advertised HP was 306 for the street versions as you may know. Ofcourse he made race cars that looked the same but were a completely different animal all together. These were the cars that made the SHELBY what they are today. The small block Ford!!! Like you have in your car.

It was never the big block cars. They would only go in a straight line.

How is it like today?

Well, the mustang is well established so no need to put it on the map.

The parts needed then came off of Fords shelf like today,difference being they are Ford racing parts. No need for specific Shelby produced performance parts because todays basic non modified Mustang GT is a far superior car then a vintage Shelby.

Also Ford does not need to have Shelby race the cars today to promote the Mustang because Ford does it themselves under the Ford racing banner.

You have a great car...........Philip 87

[ilmor]

One more thing of note is that, had Shelby expended the effort and resulting costs to produce, say, a 350 hp or greater Shelby GT, those costs would have been passed along to the buyer, plus additional ADM, profit, guzzler, taxes, tag, title and insurance. In other words, one may now think it should have more power, but it certainly would not have come for free. At that point, the Shelby GT MSRP would have been priced too closely to the MSRP of the GT500. I think that the upcoming (if it really is coming) GT350 will have this same issue.

[HORSBYT]

+1 for Ilmor and Philip!

 

Also, again....... The Mustang aftermarket is huge. Don't like the SGT the way it sits, MODIFY! I can HARDLY think of any other car out there current that has the aftermarket presence and support than the current and past 20 year Mustangs! I think the BEST thing Ford has EVER done for their owners is given us an endless blank canvas. Do with it what you will.... and enjoy!

[greaser]

+1

thats the way it was in the 60s with the mustang also and one of the things that lead to it being the icon it is.

 

edit

shelby has stated that he took a secrataries car and made it into a racer and from the autocross finishes this year i would say he has done it again.

[philip 87]

FYI....

We will see a GT350 next. And I am confident it will be built at Shelby's plant. Not Ford.

I have been following this with great interest and ask many questions to folks who should know.

I was thinking it would be a V6 with a S/C but I am told it is a V8. Turbo? Maybe.

Not written in stone but I am confident about seeing this GT350 very soon.

I still love my Hertz Shelby!!!! Wish it were a manual tranny but I'll keep her...LOL

Philip