Shelby isn’t slowing down even after 6 decades
Most petrol heads are already familiar with the story of Shelby American, Inc. For anyone who is still a bit lost, Shelby American is an American high performance vehicle manufacturer founded in 1962 by former racer Caroll Shelby. The brand is responsible for one of my personal favourite cars and this year, it turns sixty.
Not one to ever do anything small, Shelby decided to celebrate this milestone in a grand way, by introducing a limited-edition Ford Mustang model called the GT500KR. In case anyone was wondering, the “KR” stands for King of the Road (obviously). This is also a nod to the original KR mustang from 1968.
Moreover, fans of the Shelby brand, myself included, will already be familiar with Shelby GT version mustangs such as the GT350 and GT Super Snake but this new KR version is more special. The usual 5.2 litre Coyote V8 that the Mustang is known for is paired with a 3.8 litre Whipple supercharger to add even more power.
Where the regular Shelby GT500 makes 760hp, this one makes over 900hp FROM FACTORY. I’m not sure if anyone remembered how big a deal the Dodge Challenger Demon was when it came out but that car had 808hp and was the fastest accelerating car in the world at the time, so imagine how quick this Mustang will be?
On top of that, Shelby is a unique company that has managed to steal the hearts of a generation with their iconic cars in Hollywood and an era of car enthusiasts in the process. This was none other than the iconic replica of the historic Shelby GT40, an amped up version of the Ford GT in the 2019 Hollywood film, Ford V Ferrari.
Now I have been a huge fan of American muscle cars from a young age, mainly thanks to the Fast and the Furious franchise, but I am glad that this movie really helped a lot of my friends, particularly here in Malaysia, learn a bit more about the history of these amazing machines.
I was very excited when I heard Shelby would be doing something special for their 60th birthday and I couldn’t be happier that they chose the era defining Ford Mustang to bestow this gift upon as the Mustang has been, is and always will be, one of my personal favourite cars and I am glad Shelby gave us a special version for this year.
What do you guys think about this limited edition Mustang? I personally will always be biased to prefer the Bullit version purely for it’s manual only gearbox but I do think this new version is rather tempting. Oh, and of course, Happy birthday Shelby American. Thanks for 60 years of making miraculous cars and here’s to 60 more.
