Mustang_Scotty Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 I did a search for Shelby KR on other forums because I wanted to read more of what people have to say about this awesome car. I must admit there isn't alot of posts on TS about this car. I guess in reality there really is nothing else to say...it's perfect. So I stumbled across this thread on the Ford GT Forums. This guy owns a Ford GT, 427 Shelby Cobra, Carrera 4S PDK and this is why he picked the KR. Maybe he's on here I don't know but I found it an interesting read and everyhting he said is the reason why I'm glad I own this car. It's info we all probably know but I liked his theory of the car especially when he owns other exotics. I was following the KRs since early '08. I love the car. I finally bought mine this past October. A 2009 Torch Red KR for $61K. I felt it was a reasonable price and $10K above a standard GT500. The KR was star crossed at the start except for the initial batch fetching six figures but then the economy tanked and production was slow making most late to dealers and now competing against new 2010's in a bad economy. Alot of people thought the initial buy in price was steep at $83K MSRP. It was. Some questioned whetther the Supersnake was a better buy for the money in view of the fact it offered more power and more eye candy for the same or a little more money. The SS is a POST title conversion though. Fact is I was thinking of the Supersnake but decided on the KR. I think the fact that the KR is PRE title Mustang and the first joint venture Mustang between Shelby and Ford since 1967 (except for the Mustang SGT) sold as a new car off of dealer floors made it more special (at least to me and I thought for collectibity). Ford to a large extent controlled what SAI could and could not do with the KR as it had to meet all DOT standards and Ford's quaility control standards. The SS hood is fiberglass and IMHO not as nice as the KR hood. The cost for the KR was in large part a function of the cost of all the testing to make various parts pass DOT safety standards, most notably the carbon fiber hood which is very expensive in and of itself but when you are only making 1600 of them (instead of 7000 of them) the cost matrix jumps exponentially. Remember this car is a pre title production car not a post title conversion. Truth be told the KR is actually faster then the SS 0-60 and I believe faster in the 1/4 mile from the posts I've read on the Team Shelby forum. The KR is actually under rated by Shelby and Ford in terms of power. Shelby and Ford rate it at 540hp. It actually dynos stock at the rear wheels around 510hp making crank hp about 590hp. With 3.73 gears it will definitely snap your neck back. While the SS has more brute hp it has a hard time hooking up and just melts its tires while the KR is hooking up and gone. But the real charm of the KR is its handling it is a very balanced car and SVT/FRPP did a great job with the suspension while retaining ride comfort. It handles the way a GT500 should handle. Very neutral without understeer and hooks up coming out the turns. Its skid pad numbers have been reported at 1g. Some SS guys actually complain their Eibach suspension is too stiff for the street. They only made 1600 KRs. Thats less then 1/2 the number of FGTs. I don't know if they will be collectible in the future. I think so but who knows in todays world. I didn't buy it for that. I bought it becasue it is the first Pre title Mustang Muscle car from Shelby and Ford since 1967 and 1968 and there is only 1600 of them. You can buy '08 in the mid to upper $50Ks and '09s for low $60ks. '08 is the anniversary year with 1000 produced. '09 only 571 were produced. I chose Red because only 220 were made in Red plus it matches the FGT. Vista Blue is the least produced color with 190 made. Black 500. Silver the rest. The suspension and KR specific parts cannot be purchased by anyone unless you already have a KR and need a replacement. You must return the damaged part. Example, you can't buy KR 18" alcoa wheels without returning the damaged wheel(s). Same goes for the hood etc... I don't think either year has a real advantage over the other. It is a really cool car and exhaust note is worth the price of admission. Don't know how many are left on dealer lots but my thought is once they are gone from the dealers the prices will go up. In choosing between a new 2011 and a KR? I would still choose the KR. Auto makers are constantly improving the breed and performance. The new aluminum block is really nice and they will make approximately 7000 GT500 in 2011 alone with aluminum blocks and at least that many each year thereafter but....there are only 1600 KRs. Hope this helps. P.S. if you buy a KR with a production date prior to August 2008 make sure the dealer addresses the clutch TSB issue. Search the Team Shelby forum for more info. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durward1 Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 Well said I have both an 07SS vert and an 08KR (with upfit) The KR is a better accelerating, handling, sounding machine . But that SS vert draws many more looks and comments around here Durward1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach 1 1970 Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 I had a Ford GT and now own a 08 red KR . That was a great read and agree 100%. I sold my FGT in 2/10 for a little profit but it was a scarry car to drive fast and expensive to keep happy. The KR is easy to drive fast and has that SHELBY dna .Put the extra money in a stock( AKAM )and doubled my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbypt Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 Definitely, a great story! I still can't believe that I got one of these KRs. When the news was out about the return of the KR, I thought no way will I be able to purchase one. They will be very limited, I won't have enough money, etc... But two things happened. Dealers tried selling them for too much money and then the economy took a plunge. That allowed me the opportunity to get mine for $60,000. I hope to give it to one of the kids when I pass on, and they can drive and talk about it for the rest of their life too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springer Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 The KR's are very nice Shelbys. Interesting read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REAL ONE Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 That was my post on the Ford GT Forum. My forum name is Waxer on the Ford GT Forum. Glad you like the post. I still stand by it. The KR draws alot of attention especially by other Ford nuts and especially Mustang fans. Had a guy drive up to the car the other day in a 1966 Mustang convertible who saw the KR at a local small cruise night. He was taking his kid home from a baseball game when the spotted the KR and they pulled in just to look at it. There was even a guy who owned a vintage Camaro who came over at the cruise night and couldn't stop talking about the KR. The car definitely has a Charisma or "carisma" as the case may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang_Scotty Posted June 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 The only thing is I think most people when they see the car think it's a regular GT500. If you don't know what you are looking for when you see the rocker stripe KR they still dont realize the overall aspect of this car. Sometimes when I say KR or King of the Road people say "what?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REAL ONE Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 My attitude with people who aren't car enthusiasts and don't know (and probably don't care) or not knowledgeable enough to know what a KR is "who cares about them anyway". I mean really. These cars are "enthusiast" cars aimed at performance and muscle car enthusiasts. Not soccer moms or liberal eco geeks who wouldn't know a legendary muscle or performance car if it bit them in the arse. These cars weren't intended for them or directed at them. Let them keep their Honda mini vans and Volvos. There were two guys at a major cruise night ask me what the Ford GT was when I had it there. I said "its a Ford GT" pointing to the rocker panel lettering. They said "whats that?". I then said well "did you ever hear of the Ford GT40". They said "What? no, not really". I then said "never mind" thinking these two are beyond help and not wanting to waste my time trying to "educate these two on a subject they probably really couldn't care less about".. Point is there are a lot of people that are not car people or enthusiasts and have no clue. I don't waste my time with them since these cars weren't intended for them, directed at them and candidly if they don't have enough interest to at least have educated themselves with at least some of the basic major automotive icons why should I even be wasting my time with them or caring what they know or don't know? Answer. I shouldn't. Importantly, real car enthusiasts and muscle car guys know what the KR's are. They know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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