With the successful launch of the Shelby GT behind it and retiree GT-H Hertz rental Mustangs selling as high as $90,000 at auction, the Shelby leviathan continues to chug forward and spew forth special-edition Mustangs. In New York, Shelby launches the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, a special-edition GT500 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the original “King of the Road.” The GT500KR is the second product—after the GT500—to wear the almost-defunct SVT badge, reminding us that Ford still claims it has a performance division.

In 1967, the New York auto show played host to the launch of the original GT500KR, a version of the Shelby Mustang powered by a 428-cubic-inch Cobra Jet V-8 rated at 335 horsepower. With the ’08 model’s supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 underhood wearing a Ford Racing Power Upgrade Pack (revised ignition timing and throttle calibration, plus a cold-air intake), the 2008 KR outdoes its predecessor by 205 horsepower—a margin greater than the entire output of some V-8 Mustangs of the 1980s—with 540. That herd travels rearward through a six-speed manual with a short-throw shifter to a shorter 3.73:1 rear end (stock is 3.31:1) for quicker giddyap, while snorts and whinnies get an extra edge from a revised exhaust system.

The King knows that some of its subjects wind and dip, so the GT500KR gets a unique Ford Racing suspension tune. “The production Shelby GT500 was maximized to deliver the perfect balance between ride and handling,” says Jamal Hameedi, chief nameplate engineer, Ford SVT. “In that same ride-versus-handling continuum, the KR will lean heavier toward all-out handling while still making it drivable on the street.”

Beyond the yawning hood vents and racing stripes already in place on lesser GT500s, the GT500KR gets the signature hood, reminiscent of the original KR, in carbon fiber with two forward-looking mail slots at the leading edge of the hood feeding the blown 5.4′s appetite for air and twist-down hood pins for a more secure racer flair. The stick-through pins on the Shelby GT we tested recently actually vibrated out of their posts on rough roads. The Cobra badges in the grille and on the fenders add wings proclaiming them as the badges of not just any Shelby Mustang but the 40th-anniversary GT500KR. Rocker stripes on the Shelby mimic those on the original car, right down to the typeface used for the lettering.
The Triton engine uses four valves per cylinder (versus three in the iron-block truck version) and the cylinder heads from the Ford GT, which has an aluminum block.

Ford will begin selling the new Mustang in the spring of 2008 and will only build 1000 examples. We figure the S-word on the hood and the slight power bump below should be good for about a $12,000 premium, putting the King of the Road solidly into the mid-$50,000 arena. Prepare your checkbooks now, Shelby enthusiasts, or gird them for a bigger hit later, for all things Shelby appreciate.
Carroll Shelby and Ford officials smugly say, much as they did 40 years ago, that with the introduction of the GT500KR everybody else will be trying to catch up again.

Hermann Salenbauch, director of Advanced Product Creation and SVT, says the Shelby GT500 is the most successful vehicle SVT has ever done—by almost every parameter including profit and performance.

There still will be a 2008 GT500. The KR is in addition.

And for those who can’t snag one of the 1000 GT500KRs up for grabs by starting to make nice now with their local dealer, aspects of the King will be available to those with a Shelby GT500 through Ford Racing and Shelby Automobiles.

There will not be a convertible King, but the convertible version of the Shelby GT-H, customized for Hertz, is to be unveiled this weekend. Like the first GT-H, the car will be shipped to Shelby in Las Vegas to be modified.

And Ford officials still promise the return of the Bullitt.

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Positive response on the auto show circuit in 2002 helped persuade the company to produce the car in limited quantities, and the first production versions appeared in 2005. It is a very high-performance, two-seater vehicle with a strong styling resemblance to its racing ancestor and performance to match. The powerplant is a mid-mounted supercharged 5.4 litre V8, producing 550 horsepower (410 kW) and 500 foot-pounds force (680 N·m).

Specification:

2011 Ford Focus Sedan

2011 Ford Focus Sedan Interior

Ford Focus Sedan

One particularly saucy mule was wearing sticky Pirelli P Zero Corsa r-compound tires (yes, the same rubber found on fire breathers such as the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, among other supercars), which leads us to believe the ’11 GT will come with an even more potent Track Pack than the current car’s which employs Pirelli P Zero tires. Engineers were also tweaking the car’s adjustable shocks, but those may have been employed simply for development purposes. We put in a request with the engineers for more brakes, too, as the ones on the 2010 Track Pack get overheated quickly during a race-track lapping session.

2011 Ford Mustang GT

Lap times? If the Ford folk are to be believed, the current 2010 Mustang GT with the Track Pack can run a 1:39.7 or so and the ’11 car with the super-sticky tires was lapping in the low 1:38s, or roughly on par with our 414-hp BMW M3, whose brakes have seen better days and whose driver would not be considered a GingerMan expert. Either way, it looks as though the ’11 Mustang GT will obliterate the current car.

2011 Ford Mustang GT Interior

We’re still expecting a new, all-aluminum 32-valve 5.0-liter V-8 making about 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque—dubbed “Coyote”—to become the GT’s powerplant, bringing output in line with the 426-hp Chevy Camaro SS and 376-hp Dodge Challenger R/T. (We expect that this time around the “5.0” will actually displace 5.0 liters as opposed to the previous engine’s 4.9 liters).

This special edition Mustang GT looks right at home on the airfield with its WWII aviation-inspirated paint schema sporting a Satin Silver base with Yellow trim across the full front end and wing along with “propeller tip” accents on the wheels between the split-spoke five-start pattern. Additional badging includes a white AV-X10 strip on the back quarter-panel and Dearborn Doll fuselage pinup art on the front fenders.

The AV-X10 “Dearborn Doll” is based on the 2010 Mustang GT with the Glassroof option. However, a series of modifications make this car unique by pulling from the Ford Racing Performance Parts bin. The most significant upgrade is the 4.6-liter V8 engine with supercharger kit that increases output to 550 horsepower. This power plant is mated to a six-speed manual with short-throw shifter. The Mustang also gets a FR550S peformance exhaust and FRPP Handling Pack featuring lowered springs, dampers and an anti-roll bar setup. The Shelby GT500 donates the lower rear fascia and rear wing for better aerodynamics. And 19″ forged-alloy SVT GT500 wheels give the car a solid and aggressive stance.

One of the coolest features of the 2010 Ford Mustang AV-X10 “Dearborn Doll” is the glass roof which incorporates a large translucent stars and bars theme. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Inside, there are illuminated AV-10 sill plates, aircraft-themed instrumentation, custom worn-in bomber-jacket leather trim, military olive-khaki lined door inserts and cockpit style seats. There is even an “Engine Start” button custom mounted in the middle of the center console.

We’ll provide an update with the sale price of the 2010 Ford Mustang AV-X10 at auction. This is a pretty compelling offering for which some lucky suitor at the Gathering of Eagles will surely be proud.

Specifications:

In the very beginning there was a fairly complicated, oddly design that included a “Detriot – Mich.” tag and spelled out “Ford Motor Co.

In 1912, the Ford logo made a complete change over to a very simplistic oval design.

The famous Blue Oval finally came around in 1928. It set the basic shape and color of future Ford logos, although it was much “fatter” than the current logo.

This next blue oval doesn’t have an exact date of release, but it was used throughout the years leading up to the Centennial logo. It was basically a longer, shorter version of the logo from 1928.

This last logo is the blue oval that Ford released in 2003 in honor of the 100 years Ford Motor Company had been around. It was named the “Centennial Blue Oval”.