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2011 GT500 Pictures - Small 1 evening review


Ezkill

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Well I'll start off by saying the price of admission was most certainly worth it and that includes the long wait, tour of AAI lots and hours of frustrating phone calls. I'd definitely do it all over again if given a second chance. I won't have anything too new to report that's not already known about the 2011 but I'll give my thoughts and impressions of the vehicle.

 

Before I start I want to thank my lovely wife. She put up with a lot of my crap from me due to the long and frustrating wait for this car, so for being supportive and not getting sick of the car before it came, you're #1 in my book. She even got a pink "Shelby Girl" shirt for the occasion. OCD, thanks for coming out and seeing the car as it was picked up. It was great to meet you and we'll have to get the pose together soon and watch the camaro's and/or ricers slink away. All of the Shelby guys on the forum. YOU guys made the wait tolerable, YOU guys helped me find my car, YOU guys gave me information that no one else could. YOU guys rock.

 

I picked up the car on a very overcast Friday, May 28th but that wasn't going to stop me. In retrospect it was the right day to get the car as it's rained all weekend and been really cold so I've not been able to drive the car saturday or sunday. I also haven't been able to clay, polish, glaze and wax the car because I really didn't want to wash it in the rain. I could have done most of it in the garage but I'd like to get it out on the driveway to wash it so I'll hold off. The paint straight from Ford is....awesome. Pictures do not do this paint justice, it's highly reflective, glossy, smooth and beautiful. The grabber blue has so much depth of color it has to be seen in person to be truly appreciated. There were a few light scuffs in the paint that I couldn't see outside or at the dealers but noticed under the fluorescents in my garage. I tackled them quickly with Showcar's polish just to make sure they would come out and they all came out immediately. They were not deep enough that you could actually feel them with the edge of a fingernail. I'll still have to do the entire car next friday but I just wanted to make sure everything visible would come out. Fit and finish on the car is wonderful A+.

 

The interior. What can I say. I had a 2007 GT and the difference is incredible. The 2007 design was nice and had a lot of really nice things going for it but this one is a cut above. I've driven BMW's, Mercs and all kinds of "high end" cars and the quality of the interior is not out of place amongst that group. Yea there is a bit more plastic then in some of the afore mentioned vehicles but it's tastefully done and well integrated. Soft touch plastics, upgraded materials, suede in the seats, steering wheel and on the shifter and e-brake boot. The stitching is perfect, the fit is perfect, no creaking or rubbing. The lighting is novel and looks really sharp so I'm keeping it on for now. The lighted doorsills are pretty cool. I mean everything in it screams expensive import. This is a truly grown up and matured vehicle, in short it's ....perfect for the Shelby. This is an american muscle car and the interior reflects that personality to a tee.

 

You'll notice from the picture that I ripped out the factory supercharger muffler and put the for piece in before I even left the dealership. So yes the 2010 piece does fit the 2011. I wanted the full supercharger whine when the supercharger activated for the first time. Sounds kind of silly, but for me it was part of the experience. Money well spent.

 

The drive home was an experience to say the least. I had people giving me thumbs up, one guy jumped out of his Jetta and started taking pictures. I had people I've never met from my street piled up in my driveway wanting to see the car. My street is rife with BMW's, Mercedes, Lexus's and everyone wanted to come see the "lowly" mustang...lol. Back to the car. Leaving the dealership it was a very smooth and refined drive, the steering is fast and precise, the shifter throws are short...at first I thought I couldn't get the car into gear but it was and the throw is just that short. It sounded great from the outside that exhaust has an awesome note. I took it easy for the first little while and just blipped the throttle to see if it had boost yet. Finally after about 11 km's i saw the boost gauge jump and as luck would have it I was pretty clear of traffic so I tested the skinny pedal. The experience went from refined ride to freak show. All hell absolutely broke lose as the tires hooked, supercharger whined, exhaust roared and I went ever so slightly over the speed limit in a few heart beats. I've driven some pretty impressive vehicles but this car is an absolute monster of a package straight from the factory. It throws you back in the seat and tries to strangle you while breaking traffic laws in about 4 seconds in second gear. All I can say is WOW. My wife described the ride as scary smooth. Good description in my mind. With that flat torque curve it really keeps the same pressure on you the whole time you're rushing forward. You don't even realize how fast you're already going until you look at the gauges.

 

The SVT package is incredible. The stripes that I hated in pictures are excellent in person. All of the SVT package changes still make for a pretty nice ride that's smoother then my 2007 GT was. The wheels are so nice in person and the car has an incredible factory stance with the SVT package. One of the better factory stances I've seen on any vehicle. I haven't had a chance to do a lot of driving because of the weather but the first impressions are of a really decent ride. It's a really refined car that's pretty grown up. It's a Shelby through and through but it's also a swanky enough vehicle for me to able to pick up a client for lunch.

 

I'll update my driving impressions and pictures as I get more but for now, three thumbs up...is that even possible? If I had three thumbs, it would definitely be three thumbs up.

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....All of the Shelby guys on the forum. YOU guys made the wait tolerable, YOU guys helped me find my car, YOU guys gave me information that no one else could. YOU guys rock.

 

 

We're all in this together! :)

 

Congrats man. Really happy to see all you guys finally getting your cars!

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That's so awesome, I'm so going to take picture and make a time line of my car cuz I mean let's admit it we love our cars it's awesome to have pictures of the journey from birth, to deliver to all the drives you take with her.

 

Great first impression write up also, looking forward to hearing what else you think of her after you've had even more seat time. You look stoked in the picture, also the right hand placement on your wife is classic :hysterical:

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Great first impression write up also, looking forward to hearing what else you think of her after you've had even more seat time. You look stoked in the picture, also the right hand placement on your wife is classic :hysterical:

 

 

LOL....yea I didn't even notice that until after I posted the pic. Good habits die hard!

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Get used to the extra attention....GT500's are a Rockstar of a car. People always flip out when they see mine...always cameras going off and people asking questions when you park.The narrow stripes look pretty sweet on the Grabber Blue. Enjoy your new ride...it''s awesome!!!

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LOL....yea I didn't even notice that until after I posted the pic. Good habits die hard!

 

Well after all you did buy a "Grab-her Blue" car!! lol

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I like the color but couldn't get my wife to go for it. I like Grab"her" blue for sure.

 

 

Before I start I want to thank my lovely wife. She put up with a lot of my crap from me due to the long and frustrating wait for this car, so for being supportive and not getting sick of the car before it came, you're #1 in my book. She even got a pink "Shelby Girl" shirt for the occasion. .

 

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