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New Shelby Cobra unveiled

Mustanglvr

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Dec 4, 2004
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3,258
:)CNN has a story under business news about the new Ford Shelby Cobra GT 500. The 450 hp 6 speed is the most powerful Mustang yet. The concept car was unveiled at the New York Auto Show. It was a collaboration between Carroll Shelby and Ford. Its been 35 years since Shelby and Ford collaborated on something. From the pictures they show of it, I can only imagine that the design of the new California Special will be pretty close to this. Especially the tail section. I would `nt mind having one of these although I still like the design of the 67 and 68 Shelby`s better. Rhonda
www.cnn.com
 

68gt390

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Feb 22, 2004
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I would have thought they would of done a little more for the side scoops then what it currently shows. Not really a lot of change from the 05 in regards to make it really distinctive other than the shelby lettering on the back. Hopefully they will make a few more changes before actual production to make it distinctive as a shelby. Just my thoughts.

Don 8)
 

390cs68rcode

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Houston Texas
[quote author=68gt390 link=board=1;threadid=1490;start=0#msg8796 date=1111589918]
I would have thought they would of done a little more for the side scoops then what it currently shows. Not really a lot of change from the 05 in regards to make it really distinctive other than the shelby lettering on the back. Hopefully they will make a few more changes before actual production to make it distinctive as a shelby. Just my thoughts.

Don 8)
[/quote]

I completely agree.
 

PB gtcs

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Dec 11, 2003
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161
Love the grill, but hard to think of a Shelby w/out fog lights. Love the turnsignal hood, stripes look great, rear is ok. Agree, needs the side scoops. Pretty car.

Brian
 
OP
OP
Mustanglvr

Mustanglvr

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I`m computer illiterate. So all I know is to go to www.cnn.com and click on Business news and then the story should be there in the list. Rhonda
 

case12

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Crystal Lake, IL
Here are the pictures and the caption: Casey

The 450-horsepower, supercharged 5.4 liter V-8 will outperform the current SVT Cobra Mustang, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and tops out at 155 mph, according to a spokesman for Ford.
 

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rvrtrash

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Apr 25, 2003
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I haven't wanted to buy a new vehicle in years (except for newer trucks when I put to many miles on them) and now, I want to buy a bunch. I really need a Ford GT, Shelby GR1, the hoped for new CS, the maybe never new Boss 351 and now this! You guys are killing me.
Steve
 
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PNewitt

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This new GT-500 is an absolute dissappointment.

It looks like they handed some designer at SVT "to come up with something", and it turned out like a plastic toy car next to the"Real" '68 GT-500.

www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/2005_new_york/0504_shelby_mustang/

SVT even had the gall to put their name on the valve covers--instead of "Shelby".

The real diss is the lack of unique taillights, and the "nose" looks like a sad face. No Side scoops. And the rear spolier is not very "realistic". Roush has a better rear spoliler.

Honestly, I am really unhappy with this. It looks like a "quick and dirty" attempt at doing this car. Too bad.

Paul N.
 

nfrntau

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I noticed the valve covers also.
It's hard to imagine a Shelby Mustang without the foglights. It would definitely make the car more appealing.
I just wonder what the spoiler and side scoops do to the car in a wind tunnel. Is it possible they opted away from these items for a purpose?
Don't get me wrong, I think they look cool too.
If they are building a top contender vehicle and these items adversely effect aerodynamics then they would leave them off.
The other styling changes or lack of them in this case I can't come up with an excuse for them. It is obvious that they didn't put too much effort into the project.
 

rvrtrash

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I have to admit, the part that got me excited was that Corvette Killer engine. The rest really isn't that much different.
Steve
 

68gt390

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Found out today that there are Fog Lights on the car. They are mounted in the bumpers at the bottom. Word also has it that SVT will team with Ford Racing Performance Parts to offer add-on items for the car.

How about we put together a list of add-on parts we would like to see for the car.

Functional side air scoops for air flow to rear brakes.
Shelby stamped valve covers (Drop the SVT crap). They already have there logo on the center cap on the wheels.

Don
 
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PNewitt

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When these new cars come out, everyone is expected to just fall in line and go along with whatever gets cranked out. Magazine and book writers rarely speak out, because it can get them cut out of the automotive press and corporate loop. However, sometimes, it takes that kid to point out that "The Emperor Has No Clothes".

This is one of those times.

The '65-'67 Shelbys and the Shelby Automotive/Ford cars of '68-'70 ALL had a sense of individualism. The Shelby enthusiasts have been waiting for over thirty years for a way to recapture that spirit. The early cars had "seat-of'the-pants" engineering, and race on Sunday, sell on Monday attitude. They stood out from the regular Mustangs in so many ways. Carroll had a hand in every aspect, and the engineering and styling teams worked together so well, producing cars that were greater than the sum of their parts. Shelby had created a true history for the Mustang; something that every Mustang owner could be proud of. They knew that every Shelby had a little bit of GT-40 in it. Just pick up any issue of SAAC's "Shelby American", and there is that unique Shelby mythos.

This new GT-500 may have a hot SVT engine, but it does not stand apart from it's Mustang root. There is the Shelby name, but it's tied to the SVT name; so it's really an SVT Mustang with a Shelby badge. So what? As much as I'm NOT enamoured with the Saleen cars, the new S-281 has more success as a stand-alone vehicle than the GT-500. What Shelby did in '67 and '68 was cleverly make a few fiberglas pieces that completely transformed a Mustang into a completely new car. A style that still rings strong, by the popularity of the GT-500-E, and how the '68 styling cues ended up on the 2005 overall.

As a designer myself, I find the comment "form follows function" a bit of as misnomer, since if that were truly the case, most of the historic Mustang design cues wouldn't be on the car to begin with. The '67 Shelby prototype "Little Red" had only one problem. The front of the hood made the car lift up, and limited it's speed to 140. I, actually would have preferred that Camilo Pardo had designed the Mustang, and repeated the "GT-40-to-Mustang" trickle down design thinking from 1965. He is the only designer at Ford that has the knack for translating the original Mustang design cues into a contemporary translation. The design team on the new Ford GT, and the Cobra Coupe should have been in on this Shelby GT-500 project. They had the thinking right on both cars. This car--after all the hopes and desires of Shelby Mustang enthusiasts for over 30 years--falls short. If there was a unique body design part, it COULD have been made by one of many outside OEM vendors out of carbon fiber, fiberglass, or other materials as a limited run.

The appeal of the Shelbys has always been the uniqueness of the look of the car. The Shelby team in the 60's would have found a way to make anything happen in design and/or engineering "by hook or by crook". (this car at least could have retractible shoulder harnesses mounted in the roof, just as Fred Goodell made happen from an F-4 Phanton ejector seat he saw at an L.A. airshow).

Why is there no IRS suspension? Ford touts the "solid axle" like it was something new and exciting, because marketing doesn't want anyone to ask "why not IRS"? Shelby had an IRS ready to go in '68. It was on the "Green Hornet" prototype. IRS is a Shelby type of unique item. I guess the bean counters nixed that idea. If you're going to have that kind of HP, you're going to want IRS to handle the corners. Otherwise, it's just useless as another straight-line musclecar. IRS would have truly made this an ultimate Mustang (until the next one comes out).

SVT has a formula for doing their cars. Big engine, tweak the suspension, leather interior, and name badges. Period. This is the corporate way to produce cars on budget, and let marketing (and the magazines) hype this for the consumer. The real Shelbys of the 60's were not dictated by corporate suits telling them what and what not to do. They just did it. Clever design and engineering by folks that by today's standards would be called "radicals'. In that spirit of that original Shelby team, in my opinion, this car is a failure--in that it will never recapture that spirit.

Paul M. Newitt
GT/CS Registrar, and SAAC Member.
 

hookedtrout

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Well said Paul! Now cut and paste it in an email to Mustang Monthly so they can let you say it and not get themselves in any trouble. I agree whole heartedly, a big let down that does not set itself apart from the GT Mustang, I'd be ashamed to have my name on it if I was Carol Shelby. Man I wish I was.

Hook
 
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PNewitt

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I sent a copy to Donald Farr at MM already. He responded by saying that there is a lot of response already.

There are those who say that '67 was the last year of the "real" Shelbys, since they were hand built at Shelby American at the L.A. Airport ('68-'70 cars were made at A.O. Smith in Livonia, Mi.). I wonder what those same purists think about this new Shelby.

Other companies like Roush, Saleen, etc., are more "seat of the pants" type of engineering and design than SVT.

I do wonder what Carroll Shelby is thinking....and those guys in Texas that make the GT-500-E.

Paul.
 

68gt390

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Very well put Paul!!!!!.
I seem to remember that with the original Shelby's, Ford brought Shelby into the game to help them spruce up their toys and make Ford a winner (which by the way he did), and Ford was along for the ride. Now it seems that Shelby is along for the ride. The worm has turned.

Don :(
 
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