Facts on the Shelby GT500 Cobra
The high-performance Shelby GT500 Cobra Mustang is produced by the Ford Motor Company. Today's Shelby GT500s revive the original concept of taking a production Mustang and equipping it with unbridled performance equipment. Retired racing pro Carroll Shelby developed the GT500 in 1968. Ford brought back Shelby and the GT500 for the fifth generation models.
Other People Are Reading
-
Origins
-
Shelby developed from 1968-70 the GT500 Cobra that featured either a 392-cubic-inch or 428-cubic-ince V-8 performance engine with a suspension package and sport styling.
New Generation
-
Ford sought to recreate the Shelby mystique with its fifth generation Mustangs by creating the GT500 Cobra for the 2007 model year.
-
Debut
-
The GT500 Cobra coupe concept car debuted at the 2003 North American International Auto Show, but it wasn't available to the public for another four years.
Big and Bad
-
The Ford Special Vehicle Team, which designs limited production high-performance Fords, collaborated with Shelby to develop a 500-horsepower 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 engine for the new GT500.
Force-Fed
-
Under Shelby's tutelage Ford's team developed a supercharger to force-feed the air/fuel mixture through a blower at 8.5 pounds per square inch to boost horsepower.
Supercar
-
For 2010, the GT500 assumed high-performance supercar status with its V-8 engine boosted to 540 horsepower and 510 foot-pounds of torque to compete against Dodge Viper and the Corvette.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Ford Motor Company
