A one-off Shelby Mustang GT500, modified to produce 850bhp, has been unveiled at the Laguna Seca racing track during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
Ford Motor Company, Shelby American and Ford Racing built the GT500 – with help from many others – in honour of the 50th anniversary of the original Shelby Cobra. It’s also a tribute to the man who created the Cobra – the late Carroll Shelby.
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Starting with the 5.8-litre 662bhp 2013 Shelby GT500, ‘Friends of Carroll Shelby’ built this one-of-a-kind Shelby GT500 Cobra. Bolting on a Ford Racing Whipple supercharger was the first step – boosting power by a healthy 188bhp.
Shelby American provided a specially designed bonnet and the distinctive wide-arch body kit, Shelby Wilwood brakes and the new 20-inch wheels – 13-inch wide at the rear, shod with 345-section Michelin tyres for extra traction.
The body is finished in Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White stripes, the colour scheme of choice for many Cobra roadsters built in the 1960s.
Following its debut appearance at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, this car will be taken on tour around the US, and ‘used in a special way at the end of its tour, a way Carroll would appreciate’.
