I have on order a 2010 Grabber Blue Shelby GT-500. I wanted to ask if you feel it is a "real" Shelby? Being that they aren't being produced in a Shelby facility, will it be a collectors item, or be seen as a "fake" Shelby 20-30 years down the road?
It will always be a quality collectible car. I wouldn't worry that far down the road. Statistics say you won't own it in 20-30 years...plus, there will be no more gasoline by then, anyhow.
The amount of "involvement" in the 2010 GT500 by CS is minuscule. I love this topic that bursts forth every year on all these forums. Is my $50,000 Mustang a real Shelby? To be brutally honest, the "Shelby" badging on the GT500 is just a licensing agreement. Ford thinks it can sell more cars with that name than with "Cobra" or whatever other moniker they might own. The reason everyone is so hot on owning a "real" Shelby has more to do with perceived resale value down the road - the "collectible" thing. That's too bad, because there are (or shortly will be) more modern "Shelbys" than all the '65's, '66's, '67's, '68's and '69/'70's combined. By the way, the '07's have lost about half their value in two years. The Shelby American years were truly great, and it is wonderful to pay homage to them, but that was almost 50 years ago and for better or worse the new cars are not part of that.
Part II. 1968 and 1969/70 Shelbys were made by Shelby Automotive in Ionia. Most of the same cast of characters involved at the two previous facilities continued their input into the cars. The string was stretched but not broken. The new GT500's are built at Ford by Ford with no interim involvement by Shelby. The 08/09 GT500 KR went through the Shelby facility in Vegas and commanded about $30,000 more for the privilege. The '07-'10 ad infinitum GT500's are more akin to the Ford factory cars of the '60's. i.e. Boss 302's, Mach 1's than the original Shelby Mustangs.
Having just gotten back from a Las Vegas Shelby Factory & Museum tour a week ago. I feel an obligation to say something. I was not in the market for a new car when I went in to my local Ford dealer. The new Mustangs, GT 500's, Bullets, Roush's, and Saleen's didn't really interest me. But having grown up in Southern California and taking my 1964 Mustang into the LAX Shelby shop to get my disc brakes worked on (Ford dealers at the time didn't know how to make them work properly), I knew that someday I would own a "real" Shelby. April a year ago when I laid my eyes on that beautiful Vista Blue 08SGT, I had to have it. I'd finally gotten my wish. The new Shelby's produced at the Shelby Factory are every bit as "real" as the original Shelby's. No they aren't race cars, neither were the original Shelby Mustangs. They have upgraded suspensions, exhaust systems, rear end gearing, and body parts. If I'm not mistaken this was a replication of the original Shelby Mustang conversion process. The new KR's are clearly "Shelby's," as are the GT 500's receiving the "Super Snake" and "40th Anniversary" conversions being done at the Factory. I didn't buy my SGT for its resale value. I bought it because it fulfilled my dream to own a real Shelby. I love the handling as compared to the GT 500's I've been in. I will probably go to the Shelby Factory to have a supercharger installed (making my Shelby a GTSC), for a bit more of that great Shelby performance. I certainly don't have a problem with Mustang GT, Bullet, Cobra, etc. owners who upgrade their rides with suspension, blowers, NOS, etc. they obviously love their cars, too. But, I do kind of get upset when going to car shows and see the factory built Shelby's classed with the Ford Shelby versions. However, this may change in the future as the numbers of the Ford built "Shelby's" continue to increase, just like it did when Mach 1's, Boss Mustangs, SVT's, Cobra Mustangs were added. The latest car show I attended had over 60 different Mustang classes. 4.6 SHLB
The cars provided through Shelby in Vegas are indisputably "real" Shelbys. I was referring to the GT500 specifically. Again, Ford can call it's SVT products anything they like and they chose to license the Shelby name for marketing purposes. Having your Mustang modified at Shelby to their specifications makes that car a Shelby. SGT, Super Snake, KR - these are Shelby products just as cars modified at Roush are Roushs. etc.
What characters worked at Shelby American and then AO Smith besides the Ford oversite people? Anyway, history will tell how well these cars will do.. One thing that made the 1960s Shelbys special was the sorry cars from the 1970s. If we continue to increase performance from now on these new cars may not fair as well. If in 2 years you have to pick from a pink Barny Frank Mobile or a Harry Reid Special with a big block briggs, then yea, a 2010 GT500 will be collectible and represernt the good old days.
You act like there were no Shelbys built in the 1980s which there were and they still are around. It will take time for the new Shelbys to match the numbers of the '60s,'70s and '80s.
Interesting topic. I guess to some people, it's all about status and how they THINK they or the cars they buy are seen by others. I had my "$50,000 Mustang" at a show just last week... Casual onlookers love these cars, as evidenced by the constant gawking and kind comments. All afternoon, people are stopping and looking the car over, asking questions, etc... As a nice older couple are telling me how much they like my car (especially the color, as it is the same Grabber Orange as the one they had as a young couple!) some "fellow" walks up with a rather loud mouth and starts spewing this same crap about it not being a "real" Shelby like the ones over in the "classic" section and how Carrol Shelby had nothing to do with the car, etc etc... (Kind of like the "candid reality" presented in this topic thus far) I kindly waited for him to finish his uninvited ranting... When he finally shut up and everyone around kind of looked at him like "who the hell is THIS guy??" I said "Well, if I had bought the car because I was worried about what people like you think, I suppose I'd be feeling pretty crappy after having been put in my place by your unsolicited opinions." I added "This just in! Some people aren't concerned about where the car was built or if it's a "real Shelby" or not. They buy them because they happen to like the car's looks, power and style. And by the way, where the car was made does not make it any less fun to drive, look at or enjoy, and as long as we're informing people, it will out-accelerate, out-stop, out-handle and get much better mileage than any one of those "real Shelbys" over there" It wouldn't have made a bit of difference to me personally if Ford had called this a "SVT Cobra" like they did with my '94 SVT Mustang Cobra. I'm a MUSTANG FAN and have been for years. I'll enjoy my MUSTANG regardless of what name is on the decklid, and I will modify it and personalize it to my liking and desires as I see fit, because it's never going to be anything other than what it is; an automobile. You can't take it with you. There's some interesting people you meet in these "circles" where pretenses reign supreme. To the OP: if this was a true and honest concern of yours, you might have wanted to ask your question before you ordered your GT500, not after. I'm guessing your post is just a plant to inspire the same kind of comments already made here. If it wasn't, please accept my apologies. You'll love your GT500 regardless of how much or how little Carroll Shelby had to do with it. These are the best-performing factory-built Mustangs FORD has ever produced. Enjoy the car! If you're one of those people just remember that in a relatively short timespan, you, "real shelbys" and "fake shelbys" won't matter to anyone; they will all be gone from this earth. Life. Live it. Love it.
Well the reason I asked this question first is that I saw an auction on TV and saw how much the Shelbys from the '60's went for. Being that the '10 isn't built by Shelby, I thought I'd ask the question to the Forum. SVT, I couldn't agree with you more. To me, cars are about generating emotion, whether it is a Mustang, or a Prius for that matter. I have an emotional tie to the Mustang so that is why I bought it. I did think about resale, but 30 years is a long time away, so I’ll do exactly what my intention was in the first place… to drive a gorgeous car. My OP did exactly what I wanted to do… generate emotion and thoughts!
What makes a car valuable is the rarity. How many are produced is the question you should ask. If they make 1,000,000+ new GT500s then the answer is no. The 65, 66 and 67 Shelbys' were a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby's company and sold under the name Shelby GT with identification badges Shelby Cobra. From 1968 the model became the Shelby Cobra GT. So the reason the 65, 66, 67 are rare is they were in produced by Ford and sent to Socal to Shelby for limited production, so a low amount were produced and have survived. Really at the time they were just cool mustangs and nobody thought about their value 30 plus years down the road. The 68's and 69/70's have a different pedigree as not being produced in Socal and less of Shelby's involvement but are still Shelbys nevertheless. I am not sure where the new cars fit into the Shelby history...are they a extension of some very cool cars from the 60's? Or are they an attempt by an auto manufacturer to cash in when these cars from the 60's sky rocketed in value? I sometimes think if Gone In 60 Seconds had not come out what the value of a Shelby would be. It seems that movie did more for the older cars then Ford could ever do. Personally, I dont really care for the new cars. I think they are cheaply done on the inside, I wish they had done more with the interior, it lacks soul. They are fun to drive, so who cares if the cars are Shelbys or not...they are fast and have some hq on tap.The funnier thing is the people that drive them think they are tough and can crush anything, I had a dude pull up next to me in a white/blue stipe GT 500 recently, dont think he realized my 67 GT500 runs an all aluminum 490, tremec 5 speed, 370's and frame connectors. He probably just thought...damn, those old Shelbys are fast. This was on the 405 North near and Jamboree a few weeks ago if you are on here.
He was probably in the break in time where the supercharger doesn't kick in yet.. I wouldn't celebrate too hard!
whether it's real or memorex, i love mine and don't plan on getting rid of it (performance white w/ dark blue stripes). not interested in resale value or racing. maybe just adding to the list. i get a super special feeling inside everytime i fire my baby up (the word YES and a nice heh, heh, heh always comes out). was thinking on changing out the exhaust (borla, for the monster sound), but, for now, will stick to stock. sounds alot different, in a great way, than when i first got it. enjoy... i do... the 2010 shelby is quite comfortable and my pony will giddyup...
if you compare the 2010 shelby supersnakes actual performance to the 2010 stock gt 500, its somewhat surprising how little you get for the $30k pricetag. for the most part its mostly just some nice looking exterior upgrades.. whether the stock gt 500, developed by ford's svt, has shelby's fingerprints on it or not, its an awesome performing machine, and NOT so easy to improve upon.
