What Is It?
2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible
What's Special About It?
"Our goal was to build the most powerful, most capable Mustang ever." Those are the words of Hau Thai Tang, director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT). With a confirmed 475 horsepower and a reworked version of the latest Mustang chassis, Hau and his team may have done just that. It's called the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500.
First shown to the public as a near production coupe concept last year, the coupe and convertible shown at Detroit are full-production cars and mechanically identical. Both go on sale this summer.
Getting the big horsepower number required the addition of a Roots-type supercharger to Ford's 5.4-liter V8. It runs 8.5 pounds of boost through four valve aluminum heads sitting on top of an iron block. And they're no ordinary cylinder heads, they're the same ones used in the Ford GT supercar as are the piston rings and bearings. A six-speed manual is the only transmission.
Hau's team also upgraded every component of the Mustang's suspension, including the springs, shocks and sway bars. Unlike some previous SVT Mustangs, however, the GT500 sticks with a solid axle rear suspension instead of an independent setup. SVT's engineers point to the Mustang's solid finishes in recent road racing events as confirmation that a solid axle rear end can deliver serious handling. MacPherson struts are used up front.
They didn't skimp on the brakes either, fitting the GT500 with four-piston Brembo calipers, 14-inch vented rotors up front and 11.8-inch vented discs in back. The 18-inch wheels get 255/45 Goodyear Eagle F1 tires up front and 285/40s in back.
All the styling cues first seen on the GT500 coupe concept remain except for one. In a nod to the original GT500, the Shelby convertible goes without the full body stripes down the middle. Ford designers also went out of the way to point out the cloth top used on the convertible. "We also went with a cloth top material as another measure of substance and authenticity. The fabric used is the same used on the 2002-'03 SVT Mustang Cobra, the Thunderbird, Jaguar and Ford's other high-end convertibles," said Doug Gaffka, design director.
What's Edmunds' Take?
With all the attention focused on the pony car concepts from Dodge and Chevrolet, Ford's most powerful Mustang ever went completely overlooked. Ford will get the last laugh, however, when the GT500 goes on sale in the summer and the Challenger and Camaro are still nothing but concepts looking for a business case. — Ed Hellwig
2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible
What's Special About It?
"Our goal was to build the most powerful, most capable Mustang ever." Those are the words of Hau Thai Tang, director of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT). With a confirmed 475 horsepower and a reworked version of the latest Mustang chassis, Hau and his team may have done just that. It's called the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500.
First shown to the public as a near production coupe concept last year, the coupe and convertible shown at Detroit are full-production cars and mechanically identical. Both go on sale this summer.
Getting the big horsepower number required the addition of a Roots-type supercharger to Ford's 5.4-liter V8. It runs 8.5 pounds of boost through four valve aluminum heads sitting on top of an iron block. And they're no ordinary cylinder heads, they're the same ones used in the Ford GT supercar as are the piston rings and bearings. A six-speed manual is the only transmission.
Hau's team also upgraded every component of the Mustang's suspension, including the springs, shocks and sway bars. Unlike some previous SVT Mustangs, however, the GT500 sticks with a solid axle rear suspension instead of an independent setup. SVT's engineers point to the Mustang's solid finishes in recent road racing events as confirmation that a solid axle rear end can deliver serious handling. MacPherson struts are used up front.
They didn't skimp on the brakes either, fitting the GT500 with four-piston Brembo calipers, 14-inch vented rotors up front and 11.8-inch vented discs in back. The 18-inch wheels get 255/45 Goodyear Eagle F1 tires up front and 285/40s in back.
All the styling cues first seen on the GT500 coupe concept remain except for one. In a nod to the original GT500, the Shelby convertible goes without the full body stripes down the middle. Ford designers also went out of the way to point out the cloth top used on the convertible. "We also went with a cloth top material as another measure of substance and authenticity. The fabric used is the same used on the 2002-'03 SVT Mustang Cobra, the Thunderbird, Jaguar and Ford's other high-end convertibles," said Doug Gaffka, design director.
What's Edmunds' Take?
With all the attention focused on the pony car concepts from Dodge and Chevrolet, Ford's most powerful Mustang ever went completely overlooked. Ford will get the last laugh, however, when the GT500 goes on sale in the summer and the Challenger and Camaro are still nothing but concepts looking for a business case. — Ed Hellwig
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