Shelby GT design team meetings

[AndyGJ]

Now that we all know what the correct color choice is for an SGT for 2006-07-08 (didn't want to leave our SGT-H brothers out), can someone help me figure out what the correct color is for a 2013 Boss 302?

 

Anyone?....anyone?....anyone?....Bueller?....Bueller?

[FordFan1]

Now that we all know what the correct color choice is for an SGT for 2006-07-08 (didn't want to leave our SGT-H brothers out), can someone help me figure out what the correct color is for a 2013 Boss 302? Anyone?....anyone?....anyone?....Bueller?....Bueller?

 

I don't like yellow or green normally but for a Boss color my first choice is the 2013 Yellow and black

 

I thought I would like Grabber Blue but once I saw it I changed my mind

GL on your choice

[Akos (AJ)]

While it has been a few years, I do remember how we came up with some of the details on the cars. We have actually decided some of the final details while we were building the first 6 cars in the summer of '06. The PBF badge wasn't available yet, so the concept cars had the old style badges made by Scott Drake. But it wasn't wide enough so you could see the bottom hole of the GT badge peeking out.

 

The scoop was created by Vince LaViolette overnight. In a strike of genius he took a Cobra scoop, cut it in half and added a strip in the middle to match the proportions of the Mustang hood. I think Amy told Carroll over the phone about the idea and when it was "blessed" it went on the car. vince had to make a couple for the 2 cars going to the unveiling...

 

I'm always very happy to see any of the GTs on the street, the other day I saw two almost back to back.

[JeffJ]

While it has been a few years, I do remember how we came up with some of the details on the cars. We have actually decided some of the final details while we were building the first 6 cars in the summer of '06. The PBF badge wasn't available yet, so the concept cars had the old style badges made by Scott Drake. But it wasn't wide enough so you could see the bottom hole of the GT badge peeking out.

 

The scoop was created by Vince LaViolette overnight. In a strike of genius he took a Cobra scoop, cut it in half and added a strip in the middle to match the proportions of the Mustang hood. I think Amy told Carroll over the phone about the idea and when it was "blessed" it went on the car. vince had to make a couple for the 2 cars going to the unveiling...

 

I'm always very happy to see any of the GTs on the street, the other day I saw two almost back to back.

 

 

Thanks so much. An entire page off topic. Please stay on topic. This is not the color thread unless it's about why black and white were originally chosen! Or Orange for the California cars, or VB.

 

 

AJ, your post is exactly what this topic is about!! Perfect AJ, Thanks!

[07SGT]

At the risk of reigniting a firestorm; the universe appears black for several reasons. First the universe (space) is generally considered a vacuum. Secondly because there is insufficient light to reflect off of the infinite amount of space in outer space. Yes, the planets reflect light if the light is sufficient, meaning they are within range of the source of light. But the further light travels the light spectrum bends, shifting colors and eventually failing to reflect off of a distant planet so that we may see the object. I say that the universe is infinite because it is still growing, still expanding, from the big bang. Eventually space will become finite as the expansion reaches its pinnacle, then it will slowly start to decline until every mass is drawn back to its origin. But again, my comments were meant in jest. Amazing how sensitive a subject this could become So to clarify, black is still the absence of reflected light or, hence, the absence of color. However, if you had both a black SGT and a Performance White SGT in a totally darkened room you would not be able to see either as neither would reflect light. And that is another reason why I buy White vehicles. Besides being classic they are more visible at night and therefore generally safer. I hope that doesn't offend too many. Again, with all the problems in the world we all face.......it was a joke!!!!!!!!

[Akos (AJ)]

Thanks so much. An entire page off topic. Please stay on topic. This is not the color thread unless it's about why black and white were originally chosen! Or Orange for the California cars, or VB.

 

 

Really? "Shelby GT Design Team Meetings" has nothing about color in them. I answered a specific request.

 

The short story on the colors is that black and white were decided together with Ford marketing. Since it was the first time we were doing a pre-title program, we wanted to minimize the variation so it was easier to build the cars both at AUto Alliance and at Shelby.

 

The grabber orange came about to offer a special edition to the California dealers. Why orange and not something else? Carroll wanted something that would stand out.

 

Vista Blue was originally supposed to be also a special edition and then became the "other" color. That was alsodone to differentiate from the '07 model. And blue has always been a color close to Shelby...

 

Am I forgiven for being "off-topic"?

 

AJ

[07SGT]

I, for one, took no offense. And while I love the Classic Performance White I must admit I also very much like the orange as it will be much more collectible some day. There was a rumor that Ford only chose black as they could get a good deal on the paint cheap. Apparently there was a Russian tractor company that painted all their tractors black and went out of business. They had a lot of paint in stock and sold it cheap.

[2+2]

While it has been a few years, I do remember how we came up with some of the details on the cars. We have actually decided some of the final details while we were building the first 6 cars in the summer of '06. The PBF badge wasn't available yet, so the concept cars had the old style badges made by Scott Drake. But it wasn't wide enough so you could see the bottom hole of the GT badge peeking out.

 

The scoop was created by Vince LaViolette overnight. In a strike of genius he took a Cobra scoop, cut it in half and added a strip in the middle to match the proportions of the Mustang hood. I think Amy told Carroll over the phone about the idea and when it was "blessed" it went on the car. vince had to make a couple for the 2 cars going to the unveiling...

 

I'm always very happy to see any of the GTs on the street, the other day I saw two almost back to back.

 

Thanks very much . This is the kind of information I am hoping to hear. When you say "we', does that mean you worked for Shelby? What was your job? So it sounds like Carroll did have the final say on ideas. Did you ever hear Carroll say he wanted certain looks, or that he does not like the spoiler, ect ? It sounds like Amy B. was pretty vocal.

When you say Vince cut a Cobra scoop in half, are you saying the SGT scoop is not the same as the original Cobra scoop? Is it chopped or shortened. I thought it was exact dimensions. I would love to hear more about our Shelby GT's.

[Akos (AJ)]

I heard the same story. But I thought it was an Italian tractor company, not Russian. Their name was Lamborghini...

[Akos (AJ)]

Thanks very much . This is the kind of information I am hoping to hear. When you say "we', does that mean you worked for Shelby? What was your job? So it sounds like Carroll did have the final say on ideas. Did you ever hear Carroll say he wanted certain looks, or that he does not like the spoiler, ect ? It sounds like Amy B. was pretty vocal.

When you say Vince cut a Cobra scoop in half, are you saying the SGT scoop is not the same as the original Cobra scoop? Is it chopped or shortened. I thought it was exact dimensions. I would love to hear more about our Shelby GT's.

 

 

When I say "we" I mean Amy, Joe Jacuzzi, Gary Davis, Gary Patterson, Vince and myself. I was the director of production at the time. I designed and ran the production line for the GT-H, GT and the KR. I also ran the Terlingua program. In other words, my team built your cars...

 

It was a very informal and close collaboration on all cars. Obviously everything was ran by Carroll and got his approval on the key aspects.

 

The SGT scoop is wider than the Cobra scoop. We were going to use the GT-H hood, but on a pre-title car like the SGT that would have required crash testing the cars. So we had to keep the original hoods. Vince took a Cobra scoop off the shelf, cut it in half, added an inch or so in the middle and proposed it to the team. We all liked it including Carroll, and the rest is history...

[JeffJ]

Really? "Shelby GT Design Team Meetings" has nothing about color in them. I answered a specific request.

 

The short story on the colors is that black and white were decided together with Ford marketing. Since it was the first time we were doing a pre-title program, we wanted to minimize the variation so it was easier to build the cars both at AUto Alliance and at Shelby.

 

The grabber orange came about to offer a special edition to the California dealers. Why orange and not something else? Carroll wanted something that would stand out.

 

Vista Blue was originally supposed to be also a special edition and then became the "other" color. That was alsodone to differentiate from the '07 model. And blue has always been a color close to Shelby...

 

Am I forgiven for being "off-topic"?

 

AJ

 

 

Sorry, I think you mis understood my point. You were exactly ON topic. Colors have nothing to do with this topic unless it was about why certain ones were decided upon by Ford and Shelby. Your post is exactly what this topic was supposed to be about. Sorry, not bashing your post, it's all the other posts about which color is better. But hey! Thanks for helping on why the colors were chosen!

[07SGT]

It would appear that we actually have a very knowledgable person in our midst re the concept, design, inspiration, et al of the SGT. I am sure we can all learn a lot of history from him. And re the tractor assembly plant it was in Belarus. The Minsk Tractor Factory, MTZ. But again, we can all learn a lot if our informed person chooses to say more. And I agree that color was a very important part of the background of the SGT. Obviously it was important if CS limited the first year to only two colors. I am sure there were marketing and logistical reasons and more. And then there were only two colors in 2008 and again this was not done arbitrarily but rather for purpose. I for one would like to hear much more about the history of the SGT from the insider.

[harristotle]

When I say "we" I mean Amy, Joe Jacuzzi, Gary Davis, Gary Patterson, Vince and myself. I was the director of production at the time. I designed and ran the production line for the GT-H, GT and the KR. I also ran the Terlingua program. In other words, my team built your cars...

 

It was a very informal and close collaboration on all cars. Obviously everything was ran by Carroll and got his approval on the key aspects.

 

The SGT scoop is wider than the Cobra scoop. We were going to use the GT-H hood, but on a pre-title car like the SGT that would have required crash testing the cars. So we had to keep the original hoods. Vince took a Cobra scoop off the shelf, cut it in half, added an inch or so in the middle and proposed it to the team. We all liked it including Carroll, and the rest is history...

 

 

Thank you for chiming in! That's some interesting info. on the hood. Could you possibly explain why silver was chosen as the stripe color? I always thought the white cars should have had blue stripes and the black ones white stripes... I would guess the simplicity of "one size fits all" could have been a factor.

[07SGT]

Just my opinion, but I think the silver stripes were chosen so as to be used on both black and white. Also, I believe the blue was being held in reserve for the GT 350 of the future. Is that correct? A lot of us wondered why the SGT was not called the GT 350 from the beginning but CS apparently had plans for a GT 350 in the future. I do not know if Ford or CS held the rights to the name GT 350 at that time.

[harristotle]

Just my opinion, but I think the silver stripes were chosen so as to be used on both black and white. Also, I believe the blue was being held in reserve for the GT 350 of the future. Is that correct? A lot of us wondered why the SGT was not called the GT 350 from the beginning but CS apparently had plans for a GT 350 in the future. I do not know if Ford or CS held the rights to the name GT 350 at that time.

 

 

I'm curious of the GT350 thing as well. Our cars seemed to really fit the spirit of the original GT350. Heck, motor trend had a whole article back in 07 that compared the 65 GT350 to the 07 SGT.

[Akos (AJ)]

Thank you for chiming in! That's some interesting info. on the hood. Could you possibly explain why silver was chosen as the stripe color? I always thought the white cars should have had blue stripes and the black ones white stripes... I would guess the simplicity of "one size fits all" could have been a factor.

 

 

We always knew that we'll do a GT350. Therefore, the white car with blue stripes and the blue car with white stripes was "reserved" for the 350. And the black car just looked really good with the silver stripe...

[Akos (AJ)]

It would appear that we actually have a very knowledgable person in our midst re the concept, design, inspiration, et al of the SGT. I am sure we can all learn a lot of history from him. And re the tractor assembly plant it was in Belarus. The Minsk Tractor Factory, MTZ. But again, we can all learn a lot if our informed person chooses to say more. And I agree that color was a very important part of the background of the SGT. Obviously it was important if CS limited the first year to only two colors. I am sure there were marketing and logistical reasons and more. And then there were only two colors in 2008 and again this was not done arbitrarily but rather for purpose. I for one would like to hear much more about the history of the SGT from the insider.

 

 

Hey, my NDA is up

[07SGT]

Thank you for confirming why the blue stripes were not used. Did Ford or CS hold the market rights to the term GT 350? Does Ford still own the rights to Cobra, and GT 500?

And again, from what I had heard, is that CS wanted a GT 350 with a much better engine and knew of Ford's Coyote 5.0 plans and decided to wait for that engine. Is that correct? I think the SGT was just a stop gap measure to get Ford and Shelby some quick publicity and sales and keep the performance image of Ford alive until they had something better. Correct?

[Akos (AJ)]

Thank you for confirming why the blue stripes were not used. Did Ford or CS hold the market rights to the term GT 350? Does Ford still own the rights to Cobra, and GT 500?

And again, from what I had heard, is that CS wanted a GT 350 with a much better engine and knew of Ford's Coyote 5.0 plans and decided to wait for that engine. Is that correct? I think the SGT was just a stop gap measure to get Ford and Shelby some quick publicity and sales and keep the performance image of Ford alive until they had something better. Correct?

 

 

I believe Shelby owns the GT350 and GT500 names, and Ford owns the Cobra name and logo. You are correct on the engine. I don't think that 7700 cars were a stop gap. These cars had a very important role in keeping the doors open at Shelby and letting the company grow to what it is today. Without the GT there wouldn't be Shelby today. So there would be no KR, SuperSnake, GTS, GT350 etc...and probably the GT500 would be an SVT Cobra once again....

[2+2]

bestia, thank you for sharing your stories. Your input is exactly what I was hoping for. You did a great job as director of production.I bet you looked out at that parking lot full of plain jane white and black Mustangs often and wondered if you would ever convert them all. . What an exciting time that was. I love the story about the scoop and did not ever hear about the crash test part. How did all the discussions about the gas gusler tax go ? How often did Carroll come to the meetings? Was Carroll on the daily conference calls? What about the black wheels on the black cars?

 

I remember asking Amy if she was going to drive the first SGT off the line, and she said she wanted to let the production guys do that. Was there a ceremony when certain cars came off the line.

 

I really like the silver stripes. And I choose Vista Blue because of the metalic paint.

[Akos (AJ)]

bestia, thank you for sharing your stories. Your input is exactly what I was hoping for. You did a great job as director of production.I bet you looked out at that parking lot full of plain jane white and black Mustangs often and wondered if you would ever convert them all. . What an exciting time that was. I love the story about the scoop and did not ever hear about the crash test part. How did all the discussions about the gas gusler tax go ? How often did Carroll come to the meetings? Was Carroll on the daily conference calls? What about the black wheels on the black cars?

 

I remember asking Amy if she was going to drive the first SGT off the line, and she said she wanted to let the production guys do that. Was there a ceremony when certain cars came off the line.

 

I really like the silver stripes. And I choose Vista Blue because of the metalic paint.

 

 

I not only looked at them, but drove most of them. Especially at the beginning of the program while I had to staff-up. I would spend the weekends in the parking lot lining up the cars according to their VIN # and final destination, so the production team can work on the right cars on Monday mornings.... It was exciting but it was a blur too, 14-15 hour days 7 days a week to make it happen.

 

Carroll was on the phone with Amy multiple times during the day and we didn't do anything that was not blessed by him. He has always been very active in the day to day operations of the company and the design of each car.

 

The black wheels on the black cars was the plan from the beginning. We simply didn't get the right wheels from Ford on time before the unveiling. Those came in a couple of months later. I actually prefer them to the chrome wheels.

 

We had a small in-house ceremony for the first car, I believe the pictures made it into the GT book. I believe Gary Davis drove the car off the line, but I might remember incorrectly...

[07SGT]

Very interesting and informative. I always thought that CS had sold the rights to Cobra, GT 350 & GT 500 back around 1968 when Ford took over production but I understand that Ford and CS have a complicated agreement as to whom can use what and when.

[ilmor]

This is an enjoyable topic. Too bad Amy isn't around to add her stories.

[07SGT]

I am just waiting for Randy to confirm that my answer re space is correct?

[SGT/SC#0471]

At the risk of reigniting a firestorm; the universe appears black for several reasons. First the universe (space) is generally considered a vacuum. Secondly because there is insufficient light to reflect off of the infinite amount of space in outer space. Yes, the planets reflect light if the light is sufficient, meaning they are within range of the source of light. But the further light travels the light spectrum bends, shifting colors and eventually failing to reflect off of a distant planet so that we may see the object. I say that the universe is infinite because it is still growing, still expanding, from the big bang. Eventually space will become finite as the expansion reaches its pinnacle, then it will slowly start to decline until every mass is drawn back to its origin. But again, my comments were meant in jest. Amazing how sensitive a subject this could become So to clarify, black is still the absence of reflected light or, hence, the absence of color. However, if you had both a black SGT and a Performance White SGT in a totally darkened room you would not be able to see either as neither would reflect light. And that is another reason why I buy White vehicles. Besides being classic they are more visible at night and therefore generally safer. I hope that doesn't offend too many. Again, with all the problems in the world we all face.......it was a joke!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Hey Jokings not allowed!!

 

Just kidding, I actually have no idea about space but sounds great, I am an artist.

[AndyGJ]

Great stuff....any more details you can think to throw in would be great!!!

 

One question I had....why was the 2008 production limited to around 2,200 units? Had the economy had enough impact at the time to pull back on production units? I thought most all the 2008 production was done by March of 2008 and the economy started its downward course in October 2007...well into the 2008 MY run.

 

Was the lower number just to try and make the 08 MY feel more exclusive?

 

Thanks,

Andy.

[Akos (AJ)]

Great stuff....any more details you can think to throw in would be great!!!

 

One question I had....why was the 2008 production limited to around 2,200 units? Had the economy had enough impact at the time to pull back on production units? I thought most all the 2008 production was done by March of 2008 and the economy started its downward course in October 2007...well into the 2008 MY run.

 

Was the lower number just to try and make the 08 MY feel more exclusive?

 

Thanks,

Andy.

 

 

The plan was always to make less for the second year, depending on the speed that the dealers were moving the '07s. It was a first time program, we were not able to forecast what the sales volume would be anyways. I also think that Carroll wanted less cars for the '07s too, but then he made a compromise with Ford marketing that wanted more than 10K units....

[tpow96]

I not only looked at them, but drove most of them. Especially at the beginning of the program while I had to staff-up. I would spend the weekends in the parking lot lining up the cars according to their VIN # and final destination, so the production team can work on the right cars on Monday mornings.... It was exciting but it was a blur too, 14-15 hour days 7 days a week to make it happen.

 

Carroll was on the phone with Amy multiple times during the day and we didn't do anything that was not blessed by him. He has always been very active in the day to day operations of the company and the design of each car.

 

The black wheels on the black cars was the plan from the beginning. We simply didn't get the right wheels from Ford on time before the unveiling. Those came in a couple of months later. I actually prefer them to the chrome wheels.

 

We had a small in-house ceremony for the first car, I believe the pictures made it into the GT book. I believe Gary Davis drove the car off the line, but I might remember incorrectly...

 

 

AJ, I agree: great info. Thanks.

 

The chrome wheels at the unveiling explains the AutoArt 1:18 scale version of the SGT. They must have just

used photos from that occasion in a rush to get something out.

 

I have another question about the scoop. As you say, the prototype was one Vince cut in half and expanded for

the SGT hood. Were the production versions from the same vendor using the same material? It is interesting now

to know that the pre-titled nature of the SGT that a bunch of us appreciate also led to the problems with the

original scoop.

 

-Tom

[Akos (AJ)]

Were the production versions from the same vendor using the same material? It is interesting now

to know that the pre-titled nature of the SGT that a bunch of us appreciate also led to the problems with the

original scoop.

 

 

No. Vince hand made the scoops from Cobra stock for the concept/prototype cars in the summer of 2006. Then while we were waiting to start the production, we had a local vendor tooling the scoops up. However, the nature of the material and process (RIM) they were using led to the deformation of some of the scoops on the actual vehicle. We had a different vendor retool those scoops and those were the replacements for the cars that were already in customer hands in addition to going on the production cars.

The fastening method had to change also because of this shift.

 

AJ

[Doug_GT350]

This is an enjoyable topic. Too bad Amy isn't around to add her stories.

 

I concur!!! This is a fun read!!!