What is a Shelby Mustang exactly?
Some you may have heard us brag about being one of only 3 official Shelby Mod Shops in Canada, but what does that mean exactly, and what is a Shelby Mustang?
With thanks to Shelby.com, TheCarSource.com, Wikipedia, Ford and other materials here is a quick summary of what that means, and why they are just so cool and powerful. Buckle up!
Carroll Shelby, an ex-Texas chicken farmer became a successful race car driver, but due to health problems in 1961 he was forced to leave racing. Shelby wanted to remain in the racing community but was unsure how to do so. Then he had a thought. What if he took a big American V8 engine and put it into a frame similar to a European sports car?
He decided to approach a auto maker with this idea. Funny enough, he started by talking to Chevrolet. They refused on the basis that they already were building the Corvette and did not want to complete against their own car. So off to Ford he went.
Ford had no sports car of their own and they had just developed a very powerful V* engine that they wanted to use to replace the big block engines of the 50s. In 1962 a prototype of the Cobra was exhibited at a New York automobile show and the press went crazy for it. This made Ford very happy and they immediately funded Shelby to develop his cars. With his idea of a light frame and chasis and the new lighter V8, this car was about 1000lbs lighter than the Corvette but with similar horsepower. Shelby Cobras became a force on the racetrack and on the street.
The Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang which was built by Shelby American from 1965 to 1968, and from 1969 to 1970 by Ford. Following the introduction of the fifth generation Ford Mustang in 2005, the Shelby nameplate was revived as a new high-performance model, this time designed and built by Ford.
Since 2005 there have been several Shelby releases then, just when you thought they couldn’t possibly add more horsepower, Ford released the 2013-2014 Shelby Mustangs. The 2013-2014 models feature a 5.8 L 32-valve V8 supercharged engine. This new engine is capable of producing a blazing 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft. of torque. This model is capable of reaching top speeds of 200 miles per hour and a fast 3.5 second 0-60 time. Though not cheap, its price tag is unheard of for its performance capabilities.
Though some Shelby's are made in factory there are official Shelby shops that can take a Ford Mustang from any Ford dealer and mod it with the appropriate parts to create your own customized Shelby Mustang.
Dale Adams Automotive is proud to be one of only 3 official Shelby shops and we have created the most amazing Shelby Mustangs. If you are interested in learning more, give us a shout.
Rest in peace Carroll Shelby, have faith in knowing that we will take great care of your 'other' children.
Dale Adams
Dale Adams
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