First Drive Review
Among the Shelby GT's top traits, claims the press release, is that "production is limited in volume, assuring its exclusivity." What it doesn't explain is that sales volumes have a way of staying small when a special-edition model costs 40 percent more than the model it's based on and boosts horsepower by just six percent. On top of that, there's the 500-hp supercharged Shelby GT500 that costs only six grand more than the Shelby GT. But either way, there shouldn't be a problem moving the claimed limit of 6000 Shelby GTs (pretty much a version of the rental-only GT-H that you can now purchase new) per year, especially considering how much attention the GT received during our recent drive.
The $36,970 Shelby GT—ours was $38,970 with an uplevel stereo, leather seats, and the interior upgrade package—starts life as a regular Mustang GT, built in the Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant, and is then shipped to the Shelby factory in Las Vegas for the $10,530 transformation to Shelby GT. When it comes out the other side, the 4.6-liter V-8 makes 319 horsepower, a gain of 19 ponies over a Mustang GT. Extra hardware includes a cold-air intake; a slightly more aggressive engine-computer tune—necessitating premium fuel—a high-flow exhaust; a welcome inch-and-a-half drop with stiffer shocks, springs, and anti-roll bars front and rear; and a short-throw Hurst shifter for the five-speed manual (a five-speed automatic is optional). Probably no Shelby owner cares that EPA fuel-economy ratings drop from 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway for a Mustang GT to 16/23 for the Shelby GT. The Shelby wears the Mustang GT's optional 18-inch wheels and P235/50ZR-18 BFGoodrich g-Force T/A all-season tires. Cosmetically, GTs come in your choice of white or black (all rental GT-Hs are black), with silver stripes. The GT wears the GT-H's brushed aluminum grille, and the hood gets a fake, riveted-on scoop. Thankfully, there's no rear spoiler.
Potential buyers should know that the Shelby GT is more expensive than an Audi TT or Nissan 350Z and that all the upgrades (not including the stripes and hood scoop, which we don't necessarily consider upgrades, anyway) are available from Ford Racing Performance Parts for a total of $2656.
