2008 Ford Shelby GT500 Coupe Preview

Shelby Cobra GT500KR Turns 40

Ford and Shelby Automobiles have produced the most powerful production Mustang to date, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the original 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500KR.

Ford once again teams up with legendary Mustang tuner Shelby Automobiles to produce the Shelby GT500KR in honor of the 40th anniversary of the original 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500KR. This is the third production high-performance vehicle brought to market by the collaborative efforts of these two companies, and follows on the heels of the 2007 Shelby GT500.

Crafted in the vein of the original Shelby muscle car, the “King of the Road” (i.e. KR) Mustang houses a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine that produces 540 hp — making it the most powerful production Mustang to date, 40 hp more potent than the Shelby GT500. The rear-wheel-drive racer has a six-speed manual transmission with a short-throw shifter. It will be produced in a limited edition of 1,000 coupes and will go on sale in spring 2008.

Cosmetic touches include exterior “40th Anniversary” badges, unique striping as well as a numbered dash plaque and seat headrests embroidered with Carroll Shelby’s signature. The car also features a custom composite hood with bulging scoops, which indicate the extra horsepower teeming below. The Shelby-designed 20-inch, forged polished aluminum wheels with custom center caps that were inculded on the pre-production model showcased on the 2007 auto show circuit will give way to slightly more practical 18-inch wheels on production models.

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