2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible

The Ford Special Vehicle Team (or SVT for short) has worked together with track legend Carroll Shelby on the production of the brand new GT500, calling it “a modern interpretation of the Shelby Mustang of the 60s”. Shelby himself was brought to the launch at the Cobo Arena in one of these new vehicles. The launch was timed perfectly to rival the Camaro and Challenger concepts revealed by the marque’s two Detroit competitors.

The first Mustang to be tweaked by Shelby came in the mid 1960s, with his production of the GT-350R model. The range later came to include the GT-500KR (the so-called “King of the Road”), boasting a 428 cu-in Cobra Jet V8 engine. More than 14,000 Shelby Mustangs were purchased until the range was discontinued in 1970.A number of “hot” Mustangs were produced in the 1990s by Ford’s SVT, but the consensus was that these were just not as good as the Shelby versions. With Shelby back in the fold as senior consultant on the GT500, SVT are left to concentrate on the engineering side. The new GT500 is available both as a convertible and a coupe, and boasts a 5.4 litre super-charged V8 powerplant, producing 475bhp. Transmission is through a 6-speed manual gearbox, mirroring the set-up in the Mustang FR500C racer. SVT have improved and fine-tuned the shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, springs and brakes, making use of a number of FR500C components.As ever, the new Shelby Mustang does away with the pony motif, replacing it with the well-known Cobra badge. There are a number of subtle hints which suggest the influence of the original Shelby models, such as the widened grille openings to the front, the slant of the headlights, the bulge of the bonnet, the spoiler and the wheel caps which display SVT logos. Again in deference to the original range of Shelby Mustangs, the new GT500 convertible does not feature the full-length white stripes which are found on the coupe version.Inside, the cockpit is suitably dressed, with high-bolstered sports seats, pale instrument dials, and high-quality aluminium trim. The decision has been taken to move the speedometer and tachometer to improve driver information access. The interior leather upholstery is available either in charcoal black, or a combination of charcoal black and crimson red. Both colour schemes feature the cobra logo on the seat backs.Fans of the muscle car genre will be pleased to hear that the GT500 is only the first of a number of high-performance Mustang variants in the pipeline. According to one company spokesperson, “The GT500 points to a brand new era in Ford’s performance future.”