2007 Ford Shelby G.T.500

Ah yes, the proof is in the pudding, isn't it? Let's just say, it's straight from the Snake's (SVT) mouth....

 

Gotcha I really appreciate you keeping us informed. Is this more like what we may see?

Hood Vents (Functional?)


New Splitter Shape


Tail Light Not On Spoiler, No Shelby Name, No Diffuser

 

Spit this back to the snake who spoke with venom... Tell him to log-on to this website & see what people want/say about the car that we have all come to fall in love with!

I say keep the "SHELBY" lettering where it's at & move the 3rd break light to the bottom or top of the rear window or use a single line of bright L.E.D.'s in the spoiler (simular to the older STS Cadilacs ). And also tell them to add a independant rear suspension while their at it.

What we don't need is a faint,Genuine imitation copy of a reworked new Mustang GT. We want the real macoy with 500 ponies.

 

Almost forgot...Thanks for the pictures it helps.

 

Not a fan of those stripes around the vents. This still isn't the the final model. It's still a year or so away. There will be small changes here and there, I'm sure.

 

Coldwater.... I completely agree with you. That tail was what I fell in love with.
Come to think of it, that's the part that I like the most.

I actually did tell them that the spoiler with the S H E L B Y lettering was a beautiful feature of the car. He agreed, but cited that the cost to "retool" a rear deck lid to accomodate the lettering would be cost prohibative.
Don't forget, that in one of the articles about the new GT 500 (I think it was Motor Trend) they were contemplating a larger, more powerful engine, as an option. But they felt that it would increase the price, thus placing it in a different catagorey of car. (i.e. you could but a new vette or start looking at the viper)
they also nixed the idea for a independent rear suspension for the same reason: cost
I believe they are trying to target a market that would be willing to pay $40-$45K for a real muscle car. But adding the "non-essential" items, according to them (i.e. IRS, Real SHELBY spoiler, Hi HP engine) would take this car out of that range.

It's really too bad that the cost factor is what's driving the decision-making proccess on the design, suspension and powerplant options on this car. Not the desire to make the ultimate, no holds barred, Successor to a legend.

 

+1 on the IRS. And not to add more confusion but a friend I go to school with mentioned the V-10 in the Cobra.

 

2007...Yeah unfortunately I think that's exactly what they're thinking of doing to the rear deck and splitter. It's really a shame to loose the look that the NY show car has. But, if it's any consolation, I don't think they're loosing the S H E L B Y lettering, just moving it to one side on the rear.
I do believe the vents will be fuctional, as the whole pursuit is to have them accomodate the intake of air from the grille, across the engine and out the vents for cooling and drag coefficients. I hope they don't look like those in your pics, though I'm not sure.
BTW, where did you get those pics? What model car was it being presented as? Just curious, as it seems that the very things I was told were be addressed on the upcoming GT 500 are exactly shown on the car pics that you have.

 

Re: 2007 Ford Shelby G.T.500 (UPDATE)

BLU SHLB;
Thanks for the info. Couple of comments, the scoops will have to be after market, dump the three tail lights for the cougar lights and put the
S H E L B Y name on the front of the hood as they did in 1968. What do you think;
Mcqueen

 

Re: 2007 Ford Shelby G.T.500 (UPDATE)

McQueen,

I'm all for getting it to look correct.....BUT what about preserving it's orignality?
I too was already trying to think of ways to modify it, if they did change the design.
I was thinking you could easily put the S H E L B Y lettering across the back lid, as in the show car. It would just go under or over the third tail light. At least it would look better than putting it off to one side
As far as the hood goes, you could swap it out, but then you have to consider that the aftermarket hood may not sufficiently exhaust the incoming air from the grille at higher speeds. Not that any of us would EVER go above the posted speed limits (at least not at a rate that is triple the posted limit )

 

Here's two links -
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=29510
http://forums.modulardepot.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65330

And here's a video -
http://svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202295

 

Why can't they leave well enough alone ?? JUST GOTO PRODUCTION
WITH THE NY AUTO SHOW VERSION... of course with the minor changes
required to meet DOT standards and meeting any performance and cooling changes required. We want what you showed us !!!

Ok the S H E L B Y, needs to stay right where it is at !!! Off to the side would look awkward. From what I can see as another post mentioned there is plenty of room to move the center brake light to the trunk lid and still fit the "SHELBY" lettering in the same space. Make the center brake light thinner than on the GT, and move the SHELBY down 1/4 inch and center the light between the lettering and the bottom of the spoiler. Now serisously, How hard is that? Is that going to Add 2-5K to the price of the car from a design change off the GT.

Did anyone esle notice that the medalion on the Trunk lid had changed also ? In the pics is just shows a standard PONY medalion. instead of the Cobra with GT500 on it. HMMMMMMM

Im sorry, when Im driving my Mustang GT500 I want anyone that pulls up behind me to notice that it is a High performance S H E L B Y and not just a soupped up Mustang GT. I want the average joe to be able to recognize the differance without being a MUSTANG geek !!! LOL Is that Vein of me in a way... hehehehe

BTW loved the pics, great job, thanks for sharing it had lots of good insight into the changes we might see, and might not enjoy.

 

Personally, I think Ford just put some of the GT500 goodies on a GT real quick and pushed it out the door to get a public reaction on the hood and splitter. Just take a quick look at the obvious last minute stripe job.

Take a look at the interior shots, you'll also notice the Shelby marking on the steering wheel is gone and was replaced by just a snake. Also the seats had snakes embroidered into them. The only hint of Shelby on this car is the GT500 lettering, all the other Shelby insignia is missing.

Just my guess and .02.

 

Thanks for more input on the story. Here’s my take from a production stand point in making car parts for a living. I currently work for a multi-plant company based in Michigan who is an automotive supplier of injection molded plastic interior trim pieces. We specialize in the engineering, manufacture and assembly of feature based A/C registers, consoles and trim panels for the New Ford 500, Freestyle & Mercury Montego just to name a few. Some of our other plants make the A/C vents for the new 2005 Mustang.

The Rear Spoiler & Deck lids are more than likely made from a Plastic resin with fiberglass filler for strength. (Not sure haven’t checked the current model) . Most, not all, injection molds get used for a year or two then the new & improved or slightly tweaked version comes in for the next model year. Then the old one sets on the shelf for what they call service parts or replacement parts. At this point Ford considers it mostly paid for or severed it purpose.

The problem with this has been previously mentioned about looking to much like a regular 2005/2006 Mustang GT with after market add-ons & not giving the SHELBY its own Identity other than the Price Tag , new Grill & Cobra Badges. If they know they are going to build it & they will, they have time to design the molds for both Steel stamping & plastic correctly with “Inserts” so they can be taken out of the molds & replaced with other “Inserts” to do it our way like the one in the Magazines & auto show.

Ford doesn’t make the mold, they have the suppliers make the molds for them at a cost of 100k to 500k, some even at 1M depending on the size & if the new mold is for steel or plastic & if it’s built here in the USA , Canada , Portugal or some place in China . They (FORD) have the option of re-working the existing mold(s) to try to do what they want if it was built with that option in mind to begin with. Either way it can be done relativity quick if they finalize the plans now & not 3-6 months from now so engineers can start designing it & getting the molds built.

One last thought… More than likely, from what you have described, FORD is more interested in making maximum $$$ from the existing Mustang tooling, fixtures & assembly equipment to keep the cost down. If this is true,they are more than likely going to mass produce it in smaller volumes of (15 - 25,000 units per year) & market it like the Corvette's & Vipers so everyone can afford one…well maybe not everyone, but the elite car enthusiast will.

well that's my take on it...Make it & they will come

 

Yeah!.....The new "revised" tail SUCKS!

 

Can I change my vote? I loved the original concept and only wished that it had more of a Shelby identity and less SVT badging. This latest concept loses the charm and nostalgia we saw in the first car. It is a Mustang, it is not a Shelby.

robin

 

The final car is not going to be done for months. It is a Shelby Cobra GT500, you will see all 3 of those words/badges on the production car.

 

I don't know why they would show a car as a Shelby GT500 without any badging. They should have taken the GT500 and skunk stripes off also if they are trying to get a stealth look.

I am not pleased with this version but I will hold final judgement until arrival of the production car.

robin