Shelby 1000, Give or Take

 

 

 

       The Shelby 1000 makes 950 hp on the street, 1,100 on the track.  At the New York Auto Show, Shelby announced a package that he can add to existing Shelbys that delivers  950 hp. on the street and  1,100 horsepower on the track.

      This is one of his "post-title conversions," ie. done after you already own the car and send it to his shop for a massage. The street version is not cheap-- a mere $149,995.  this is after you bought the 2013 GT500 at $48,810.  At Shelbys they take the factory-stock 5.4-liter V-8 , tear it down and add new rods, a new piston and other bits. They improve the  stopping with 6 pistons in front and 4 pistons in the rear, and beef up the suspension with new struts, sway bars and bushings.  A new solid drive-shaft is added connected to a 9-inch rear end.  the preview was marred only by Shelby accidentally releasing a doctored press photo that showed the car lifting the front tires off the ground on acceleration. That "wheelie" was the work of Photoshop and was intended originally only to be for internal use but somehow it got released and a USA Today editor spotted it.

    Shelby American plans to produce about 1,000 of the monsters, and Shelby's business head, John Luft , said  about a quarter of them have already been ordered.  Sadly, none were available to be seen at this year's fabulous Fords Forever Event at Knott's Berry Farm in California.  Perhaps at next year's meet we will see what $198805 can buy.