Autoblog

Click above for gallery of the Super Snake

Despite the Shelby GT500KR's claim of supremacy over the dominion that is the open road, there is yet another Mustang that is even more extreme. Shelby's Super Snake package for the GT500 offers up to 725 horsepower and even more aggressive options for the suspension and braking systems. Available as a post-sale conversion for the GT500, the transformation can be performed at the Shelby facility in Las Vegas or at one of the official mod shops around the country. There have been a handful of owners who have already converted their GT500s, and one is already for sale on eBay. Something seems wrong with the seller's math, however, because a "Buy It Now" price of $200,000 is far more than the cost of a GT500 plus the $31,995 needed for the 725 horsepower conversion. We could understand the markup if these were in high demand, but pretty much any GT500 owner can send his car to get converted. So unless you really can't wait, keep your mouse away from the bidding button and just enjoy the gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Brad!

[Source: eBay Motors]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Shelby GT500 Mustang

Sometime around late 2003, I first saw the car that was at that time still known as Condor. Condor was the Ford internal code name for the SVT version of the yet to be publicly shown S197 Mustang. At that time, most everyone outside of Ford was still anticipating that this car would be the new Mustang Cobra. Somewhere along the line to launch, Ford had settled its long standing conflict with Carroll Shelby and Condor ended up wearing one of the other classic Mustang badges from the '60s. The Shelby GT500 eventually started rolling off the Flat Rock, MI assembly line in both coupe and convertible forms for the 2007 model year.

Ford recently dropped off a Grey 2008 GT500 coupe at the Autoblog Garage for a few days, and we just had to share. By coincidence, the GT500 arrived about three weeks after the Mustang Bullitt we reviewed. While the Bullitt was about as understated as a modern Mustang can get, the GT500 is anything but. The Shelby is slathered in stripes, badges, spoilers and driving lights. The GT500 also has a very different powertrain from the Bullitt. Find out how the GT500 compares to the stealth 'Stang after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for new high-res gallery of our GT500KR First Drive

Our initial drive of the Shelby GT500KR on public roads revealed that Ford, SVT and Shelby had addressed many of the issues that we had with the standard GT500. The KR's revised suspension is better balanced and more capable of handling the excessive amounts of horsepower and torque that the blown 5.4L generates, and a new short-throw Hurst shifter makes changing gears a joy instead of a chore. To top it all off, a Ford Racing cold air intake, new exhaust system, and 3.73 gears give the KR an extra kick in the pants. The changes were so spot-on that we wondered why Ford didn't build the GT500 this way in the first place.

With a ride like the GT500KR, however, only so much of the car can be experienced on public roads. At 540 horsepower and 510 lb-ft torque, the KR quickly reaches posted speed limits and the car stays well under its limits around corners. Fortunately, Ford let us loose to run hot laps around Miller Motorsports Park. Follow the jump to see how the "King of the Road" fared at the track.

All photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Click here to read First Drive: 2008 Shelby GT500KR, Part 1.

Click above for a high resolution gallery of the 2008 Shelby GT500KR

I have to admit, the Shelby GT500 was somewhat of a letdown. I have no complaints about the 500 horsepower or the muscular lines, but at nearly 4,000 pounds, it's got a serious weight problem. The iron block, 5.4-liter V8 and the addition of a supercharger puts much the weight in the worst possible place -- the front -- so the GT500 feels unmotivated around the corners compared to a regular Mustang GT. Other complaints include a suspension that doesn't seem up to snuff to handle the prodigious power, as well as a vague and rubbery shifter. Despite its shortcomings, the GT500 is one of the world's best performance bargains. Never before has such a powerful car been available for so little cash (although the Ford dealers did a pretty good job of ruining its value with markups). Still, one couldn't help but think that the GT500 could have been better.

All photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Check out First Drive: 2008 Shelby GT500KR, Part 2 by clicking here.

We've covered the scandal involving Unique Performance from the very beginning, and it now looks as if this sordid tale finally might get a bookend. If the idea of scraping off 13 gallons of bondo doesn't scare you, maybe you'd be interested in bidding on one (or more) of the 44 leftover Mustang body shells that are available for viewing here. Mustang not your thing? Prefer the Camaro? How 'bout the Chevelle? Even if you're not interested in any of its cars, Unique Performance owned plenty of other stuff, too. Take a look at these automotive lifts, for instance. There is some good stuff here, and you'll be helping to pay off the company's assorted debts in the process.

If you find yourself interested in anything on the Unique Performance fire sale auction list, you can inspect the works on Tuesday, March 25 from 9AM to 4PM. Lets hope that these classics end up in better hands than they were in at this company. Thanks for the tip, Cam!

[Source: Rosen Systems / 67 Mustang Blog]

Just two days ago, we reported that Unique Performance was in hot water. They had miserably failed to deliver hand-crafted continuation Shelby 427 GT500 "Super Snake" Mustangs to customers who had put up $7 million worth of deposits. Frustration grew to boiling anger when customers heard that the "skilled labor" had been supplemented by hardened criminals, and imperfections in each vehicle were being covered by nearly 13 gallons of Bondo body filler.

It has been a rough year for the management team at Unique Performance. Following a fallout with Carroll Shelby and a police raid, we're now learning that 25 felony cases have been prepared against company executives. Details haven't emerged, but we do know that investigators believe some of the inmates were illegally removing VIN numbers from the cars. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that hiring cons to do criminal acts can land you in the slammer too. Unique, and ironic.

[Source: 67MustangBlog]

This just keeps getting more interesting by the day. Back in 2002, Carroll Shelby partnered with Unique Performance to produce continuation Shelby 427 GT500 "Super Snake" models. Only one "Super Snake" was built in 1967, so each of these "new" cars, built on a vintage 60's Mustang platform with a registered Shelby VIN, was sure to be one hot collectible. Unique Performance would build 75 of these 575-hp monsters, each with a base price of $214,000. Investors, and speculators, quickly placed their deposits.

As the months went by, the cars weren't coming out of the Texas warehouse in a timely manner. Customers began to ask questions. As things often go from bad to worse, the relationship between Shelby and Unique Performance went down the drain and it wasn't long before the police came knocking on the door. Unique Performance was reportedly sitting on $7 million in deposits, yet customers weren't getting their muscle cars. Other companies, such as Foose Design, quickly severed their relationship just as the police moved in to confiscate 61 incomplete body shells.

Case closed? Not even close. Now we have word that Unique Performance utilized hard-core Texas prison inmates to help build the cars, and each of the hand-built Mustangs contained over 13 gallons of Bondo body filler. VIN numbers were illegally removed, and some parts of this re-built American classic were coming from Taiwan. If there ever were a hot demand for continuation "Super Snake" Shelbys, we're betting the secondary market for this particular model is drying up rather quickly. Thanks for the tip, Cameron!

[Source: 67MustangBlog]

One week from today, we'll be watching Knight Rider, the 2-hour telemovie that resurrects KITT as a new car (Mustang) with a new voice (Val Kilmer), a new driver (Mike Traceur, son of Michael Knight), and, if ratings are good enough, a probable weekly gig in primetime next Fall. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. Before that can happen, the pilot needs to be a success, and we're as interested as everyone else in seeing what the network and executive producer Doug Liman have cooked up. Liman's body of work as a director and producer is so money that despite our fears, the Knight Rider reboot could actually work.

Then again, based on some of what we've seen in the commercials and promos so far, it could just as easily wind up being a giant black hole of suck. On the upside, we expect to be entertained either way. The latest TV spot introduces us to KITT's new, raspier voice and magic disappearing shifter. If you have any issues watching the fancy-schmancy NBC embed above, the YouTube version's pasted after the jump.

[Source: Knight Rider Online]

click above for more live and studio shots of the GT500 GT-R

The return of Godzilla to SuperGT kicked off last week with the official unveiling of Nissan's GT500 GT-R and our colleagues at Autoblog Chinese snapped off a dozen shots of the race-ready coupe in its new black and red livery. Nissan hasn't released details on what will be powering the new GT-R racer, but speculation and rumor says that Nissan might utilize the 4.5-liter V8 that's currently under the hood of its 350Z GT500 vehicle. We balk at the idea of not utilizing the 3.8-liter twin-turbo'd V6 found in the showroom version of the GT-R, but we can understand if the new motor might not be up to snuff yet for the punishment it would have to endure in SuperGT.

Click the image above for more pics of Carroll Shelby's 1969 Shelby GT500

When the GT500 KR was unveiled at New York this past spring, we pressed Ford's SVT team as to why the SVT badging was absent from their creation. Their answer was so simple and obvious that it bears repeating. A 500 HP SVT Mustang doesn't sell for $30,000 over invoice, but if you add Carroll Shelby's name to it, a killer car becomes an instant sensation. Much of the street cred Shelby currently has was earned during the 1960s, when Carroll took the Mustang from a "secretary's car" to a hot-rod pony car.

Mr. Shelby is apparently too caught up living in the present to give much thought to what he did 40 years ago, as he plans on putting his 1969 Shelby GT500 convertible up for auction in January at Barrett Jackson. The vintage hotrod, which has nearly 70,000 miles on the odometer, is sure to fetch quite a premium over an already valuable '69 owned by some lucky schlep. The great-looking collectible is powered by a 428 Cobra Jet engine and has recently undergone a restoration. If you want to get in on the bidding action, make sure to get a lean on your mortgage, or just show up rich. It's gonna fetch a bundle. The press release is available after the jump.

[Source: Shelby via Jalopnik]