What do you think of the 2011 Shelby GT500?

[garagelogic]

Originally Posted by Morepwr

Great car. My friend has a 2009. I would like it better if it didnt say "shelby" all over it.

All over it? The name "Shelby" only apprears on the decklid lettering unless your friend has placed a bunch of aftermarket badging/lettering on it.

[ViperTomcat]

If I had the spare money..I'd own one.

[SSyanide]

Originally Posted by fazm

they are plenty impressive without mods lol.

the 2010 is capable of 11s stock, the 2011 will be AT LEAST as quick.

with just a tire, these will be low 11 cars

The famed Evan Smith only managed a best of 12.2 (one run only, most of his runs were in the mid to high 12's) in the last GT500, granted the new one has a few more ponies and a few more suspension upgrades, but there's also new weight to be found. Now, I'm not saying that with slicks and skinnies, great weather and an excellent driver you couldn't get 11's, but for the average joe-driver on the average track with street tires, you're gonna be lucky to hit mid to high 12's in either the old or new one. Still, most all the owners look for is the best numbers a pro driver put up and then apply them to their own cars, most of the guys I know in corvettes and camaros, look for the numbers the factory or pro drivers lay down, then go to the track to try and beat them.(in stock form, that is...). Now, once the modding starts, it's anyone's ballgame, look at garagaholic's numbers...just plain badass...so is Greg Biffle's in his "1st" gen GT500...very low 10's. Anything can be modded to go faster, money=speed.

[ViperTomcat]

Originally Posted by SSyanide

The famed Evan Smith only managed a best of 12.2 (one run only, most of his runs were in the mid to high 12's) in the last GT500, granted the new one has a few more ponies and a few more suspension upgrades, but there's also new weight to be found. Now, I'm not saying that with slicks and skinnies, great weather and an excellent driver you couldn't get 11's, but for the average joe-driver on the average track with street tires, you're gonna be lucky to hit mid to high 12's in either the old or new one. Still, most all the owners look for is the best numbers a pro driver put up and then apply them to their own cars, most of the guys I know in corvettes and camaros, look for the numbers the factory or pro drivers lay down, then go to the track to try and beat them.(in stock form, that is...). Now, once the modding starts, it's anyone's ballgame, look at garagaholic's numbers...just plain badass...so is Greg Biffle's in his "1st" gen GT500...very low 10's. Anything can be modded to go faster, money=speed.

Actually the 2011 GT500 is 100 pounds lighter and 10HP more powerful than the 2010.

So in every way possible (except for price) 2011 GT500>2010 GT500

[Sax1031]

Originally Posted by SSyanide

The famed Evan Smith only managed a best of 12.2 (one run only, most of his runs were in the mid to high 12's) in the last GT500, g

flat out wrong.

2010 Ford Shelby GT500 - Shelby Shakedown
Drag Testing The 540HP Shelby GT500.
From the October, 2009 issue of Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords
By Evan J. Smith
Photography by Mike Galimi, Mike Ficacci

The gang at MM&FF loves a good drag test, so when we were asked to test the new 540hp GT500, we aired up the slicks and grabbed our helmets.

The newest GT500 is all about refinement-from the deepest electronics, including navigation and active handling, to the 5.4L beast of an engine, and on to the outer Snake skin, which has improved aerodynamics and awesome styling. It has 40 more horsepower than the outgoing model, and engineers put as much of their efforts into the suspension and body to produce what we feel is the best street-going Mustang ever. It corners and stops with race car precision, and has perhaps the best steering feel of any Mustang before it. But in the end, readers want to know how quick it can cover the 1320. While drag racing is somewhat primal, anyone can relate to quarter-mile elapsed times and instantly rate a vehicle's performance.

With that, we were itching to test the new Shelby, especially after our not-so-successful attempt during the Ford press launch. Running at Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, California) on a cold, unprepped track and with a stiff headwind, we clocked a disappointing 12.67 at 115 mph. Knowing the KR ran 11s in stock trim with the same hp left us wanting another shot. We got our redemption this past May at Englishtown, when Ford dropped off this tester fashioned in white with red Le Mans stripes.

Since we brought you the full '10 GT500 drive report (with technical specs) in the July '09 issue, we'll get right to the point of the matter.

Like the KR, the new GT500 produces 540 hp and 510 lb/ft of torque, but it doesn't share the sticky 18-inch tires and 3.73 gears. Instead, it has longer-lasting Goodyear tires (19s on coupe models, 18s on convertibles) and a 3.55:1 final drive. Despite this, we still expected 11s. Best of all-we got them on the first try. Using Mickey Thomson E.T. Street tires (26x11.5x17-inch), we blasted into the 11.80s and 11.70s right off the bat at E-Town. Sure we made some runs using the stock tires, but we saved that until the end.

We encountered mild weather and a good track, but had trouble finding the sweet spot for launch, even with the M/Ts. On our first attempt we went with a 4,400-rpm launch, dropping the clutch and planting the throttle. The GT500 spun hard, then grabbed and bogged, resulting in an 11.85. Then we lowered the rpm to 3,800 and reduced the spin enough to run 11.78 at almost 119 mph. We also cooled the blower using fans for this run. A back-up run within a half hour gave us an 11.80 at 117.

Knowing max power could only be had with a cool blower, we let the GT500 sit for 45 minutes, with ice chilling the blower and the inlet elbow. We then aired the tires down to 15 psi., performed a Second-gear burnout and staged shallow. Using another 3,800-rpm launch and a smooth clutch release produced the best 60-foot time of the day (1.77), and after three clean powershifts, we were on our way to an 11.592 at 118.45 mph, just one tick off the best time in the KR.

Considering the KR ran 11.589/122.16, we were pleased and decided to swap back the stock F1 rubber measuring 285/35ZR-19-inches. On our first try we ripped off a clean launch (1.91 60-foot) and despite spinning all the way through Second, we mustered an 11.95 at a screaming 120-plus mph. It was our best run on the stock tires. We attribute the big mph to the wheel spin and the shorter overall height. Looking back, the KR ran 11.928/120.77 on it's sticky 285/40/18-inch F1 tires.

Ford has put together a stout package that is relatively affordable and has amazing potential. With a few tricks, just about anyone could run 10s and still enjoy all that Ford has engineered into the car. Now we just need a long-term tester to prove our point.

2010 Shelby GT500 Scorecard
Run 60-Foot 1/4-Mile/MPH
1. 1.852 11.855/117.66
2. 1.850 11.784/118.93
3. 1.825 11.805/117.36
4. 1.778 11.592/118.45
5. 1.91 11.951/120.29* <--- stock tires and all

http://www.musclemustangfastfords.co...est/index.html

[Sax1031]

I like this also:



540hp my ass. Even if you go with a 12% drive train loss that is around a 570hp vehicle.

[THE EVIL TW1N]

Originally Posted by SSyanide

The famed Evan Smith only managed a best of 12.2 (one run only, most of his runs were in the mid to high 12's) in the last GT500, granted the new one has a few more ponies and a few more suspension upgrades, but there's also new weight to be found. Now, I'm not saying that with slicks and skinnies, great weather and an excellent driver you couldn't get 11's, but for the average joe-driver on the average track with street tires, you're gonna be lucky to hit mid to high 12's in either the old or new one. Still, most all the owners look for is the best numbers a pro driver put up and then apply them to their own cars, most of the guys I know in corvettes and camaros, look for the numbers the factory or pro drivers lay down, then go to the track to try and beat them.(in stock form, that is...). Now, once the modding starts, it's anyone's ballgame, look at garagaholic's numbers...just plain badass...so is Greg Biffle's in his "1st" gen GT500...very low 10's. Anything can be modded to go faster, money=speed.

where did you get 12.2 from?

[chevydude26]

pretty awesome looking i love it...only mustang i would consider getting in a vert though

[Mr. Wyndham]

I think it needs tires suited to its performance capabilities.
Otherwise...it acts like a GT with a supercharger.

[Sax1031]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

I think it needs tires suited to its performance capabilities.
Otherwise...it acts like a GT with a supercharger.

At least if you get the 2011 GT500 with the SVT package it will come with better tires.

[rez333]

Here are some interesting sales numbers I pulled off the net:

There are over 10k Porsche 911s sold every year in N.America.
There are about 100k BMW 3 series sold every year in N.America.
Ford sold 66k Mustangs last year in N.America
Ford sells about 4.5k Shelby GT500s every year.

That means that there are 50% more 3 series than Mustangs on the street and more than double as many 911s as there are Shelbys.

Furthermore because BMWs all look alike, it appears there are many more BMWs than Mustangs. So as far as "me too" cars are concerned, BMWs are it.

[THE EVIL TW1N]

Originally Posted by rez333

Here are some interesting sales numbers I pulled off the net:

There are over 10k Porsche 911s sold every year in N.America.
There are about 100k BMW 3 series sold every year in N.America.
Ford sold 66k Mustangs last year in N.America
Ford sells about 4.5k Shelby GT500s every year.

That means that there are 50% more 3 series than Mustangs on the street and more than double as many 911s as there are Shelbys.

Furthermore because BMWs all look alike, it appears there are many more BMWs than Mustangs. So as far as "me too" cars are concerned, BMWs are it.

im not sure why people keep talking about GT500's ive only seen a handful of them on the road, id like to see more of them but it seems the owners are stingy and scared to get their cars a little dirty

[81z28355]

Originally Posted by THE EVIL TW1N

im not sure why people keep talking about GT500's ive only seen a handful of them on the road, id like to see more of them but it seems the owners are stingy and scared to get their cars a little dirty

I wish I could buy one and get it dirty. I ordered my GT-500 the first week of February. I just got off the phone with the dealer rep for my area and she told me how it's a collector edition car and not everyone that orders one will get it. went on to say that way the price of the cars stays up and that if I want one I will need to get it from another dealer not in my area that still has an open allocation for 2011. My other option is to have my dealer keep calling other dealers and buy their allocation.

Another fun GT-500 fact is that the dealers pay a fee to Ford just to get one car a year.

All I can say is I'm just about ready to say the heck with it and buy a Camaro and build the F@$% out of it with the money I save.

So it may be a sweet car, but dont expect to pay much under MSRP or dont expect to be able to get it from a dealer close by your home.


I sure hope GM does NOT do this with the Z/28. If they can get info out before I can get my hands on a Shelby and if its not going to be a special car GM may just get my $50k Ford doesnt seem to want.

Ok done ranting now.

[rez333]

Originally Posted by 81z28355

I wish I could buy one and get it dirty. I ordered my GT-500 the first week of February. I just got off the phone with the dealer rep for my area and she told me how it's a collector edition car and not everyone that orders one will get it. went on to say that way the price of the cars stays up and that if I want one I will need to get it from another dealer not in my area that still has an open allocation for 2011. My other option is to have my dealer keep calling other dealers and buy their allocation.

Another fun GT-500 fact is that the dealers pay a fee to Ford just to get one car a year.

All I can say is I'm just about ready to say the heck with it and buy a Camaro and build the F@$% out of it with the money I save.

So it may be a sweet car, but dont expect to pay much under MSRP or dont expect to be able to get it from a dealer close by your home.


I sure hope GM does NOT do this with the Z/28. If they can get info out before I can get my hands on a Shelby and if its not going to be a special car GM may just get my $50k Ford doesnt seem to want.

Ok done ranting now.

your dealer doesn't know what she's talking about. It's not a "collector's car". It can be ordered by any dealership with allocation. That's it. Just call around. I have had no problems. One dealership I talked to had a 5 month wait from order to delivery. Another I talked to had no-one in line up so it will take about 3 months from order to delivery.