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]] The Shelby Mustang was a Tuner Sports Car from the 1960s . It was a series of Ford Mustang s which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby 's company and sold as a series. The program was factory-sponsored and production was eventually moved in-house. The spirit of the series continues today in the special Mustang Cobra models. 1965 The first Shelby version of the Mustang appeared in 1965 . All '65 Shelbys were painted white with (optional) parallel blue stripes from nose to tail. They also featured rocker panel stripes with the GT350 name. The engine was a modified ''K-code'' 289ci Windsor V8 with special "Cobra" valve covers, tri-Y Header s, a special Intake Manifold and Holley Carburetor increased power from 271 to 306 hp (162 to 228 kW). 1966 The 1966 was differentiated in body color (non-white versions were introduced - colors included blue, red, green and black, as well as the original white) and trim. The "LeMans" stripes were continued as an option, as in 1965. It featured special quarter-panel windows and rear air scoops on each side and an optional automatic transmission. A fold-down rear seat was now standard as well. Where early 1965 cars had black engine blocks, 1966 and later cars had the 289 engine was painted blue. Shelby struck a deal with the Hertz Car Rental company to produce a special line of GT350s for rent which were subsequently sold to the public after their rental-car lives were finished, . These GT350H cars are quite rare and sought-after today, with some examples selling for more than $120,000. Shelby produced 1000 of these cars; 800 in black, and 50 each in red, white, blue and green. The black cars all had gold stripes, whereas the colored cars only had Shelby side stripes, without the LeMans top stripes. Shelby would repeat this trick in 1987 with the Shelby CSX-T . 1967 People all around the world still view the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 as one of the best sports cars ever built by the Ford Motor Company. A sudden rise in interest in the car came about after the release of the popular 2000 movie “Gone in 60 Seconds,” a remake of the original "Gone in Sixty Seconds" from the '70s. Though both versions featured a Mustang named Eleanor, the original Eleanor was a '73 Mustang Mach 1. The 2000 Eleanor was a modified '67 GT-500, that featured extensive external body upgrades, as well as performance additives such as nitrous oxide. The "Eleanor" GT-500 proved so popular, Shelby started production of special resto-modded Mustang GT-500Es. Cervini's, a well-known manufacturer of hoods and body kits for Mustangs, began manufacturing an "Eleanor" body kit for the S-197 Mustangs that crossed the modern Mustang from Ford with styling cues taken from the Eleanor of the 2000 movie. 1967 represented the first redesign for Mustang. The front grille kept the running pony in the corral, but vertical and horizontal bars returned, and the grille opening was enlarged. The side scoops, though non-functional, were designed as two smaller scoops with inlets and were painted the body color. The 1967 Shelby Mustangs distinguished themselves from their more plain Ford cousins with elaborate use of fiberglass. A larger fiberglass nose was fitted, together with fiberglass hood, fenders and trunk lid. The hood featured an intimidating dual air intake scoop and the cut-off rear end showed an angular spoiler which blended into the rear fenders. The plastic rear roof windows gave way to impressive air-extraction scoops. A protruding lower front spoiler was a popular extra. Here you see the 428 cid V8 engine with the "Le Mans" cylinder heads and the (1968) "Cobra Jet" air intake of the GT-500 shown on this page. Really a piece of no-nonsense engineering: there's no substitute for cubic inches (and oversized fittings) as they say in America. It's all accessible and relatively easy to maintain for a thoroughbred car. Like stated the GT-500 engine cranked out close to 400 hp and with the car weighing some 1360 kg, it had a ratio of 3.4 kg per horsepower. Compare that to the 5.7 kg per horsepower for the contemporary and more nimble Porsche 911 S and you'll understand this car was a thrill to drive. The 1967 Shelby Mustangs can be regarded as the last true Shelbys and are the most interesting of all in my opinion. Early 1967 Shelby Mustangs showed driving lights placed close together in the center of the grill (as shown in the picture above); later models had these lights on the opposite sides of the grill. This was due inpart to legal issues with state laws. Not to mention performance benifits of incresed airflow into the engine compartment. In all the 1967 Shelby Mustang looked aggressive and potent and left no doubts about the abilities of the car. The new 1967 Mustang was followed with a new Shelby. It featured a 1967 Mercury Cougar tail light panel minus the chrome trim, a flip-up spoiler, and two sets of air scoops on each side. This was also the first American car to feature a factory roll bar. This year also saw the introduction of the GT500 alongside the continued GT350. The new GT500 featured a 428 in³ (7 L) FE Police Interceptor Big-block V8 . This is also one of the most famous Shelby Mustangs. A modified GT500 clone, known as Eleanor, featured alongside Nicholas Cage in the 2000 remake of 'Gone in Sixty Seconds'. 1968 Shelby lost the lease for their factory at Los Angeles International Airport in late 1967 so production of the Shelby cars was moved to Ionia, Michigan under Ford Motor Company control. 1969 & 1970 Carroll Shelby terminated his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969. The GT350 and GT500 for the 1969-70 model years received extenisve facelifts. Ford was heavily involved with design and style decisions, with Shelby having very little input. Production of Shelby Mustangs ceased with the 1970 model year. The 1970 models were in fact leftover 1969 models. 2006 SHELBY GT-H Ford will introduce the ''Shelby GT-H'' version of the Mustang at the 2006 New York Auto Show in April. Like the original GT350H from 1966, the GT-H features gold-on-black paint and will only be available at the Hertz car rental agency. A modest power bump over the regular Mustang GT results in 325 hp (242 kW) and 330 ft·lbf (447 N·m). Features include a 5-speed Automatic Transmission , and a package from Ford Racing including a 90 mm cold air intake kit, muffler kit, X-pipe, and a cat-back exhaust. Just 500 will be built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original. 2007 SHELBY COBRA GT500 Shelby Mustang at the New York International Auto Show]] Shelby and Ford will return with a Shelby-branded Mustang, the Shelby Cobra GT500 for 2007 . Introduced at the 2005 New York International Auto Show , the GT500 uses a 5.4 L '' Modular '' Supercharged V8 . 475 hp (354 kW) and 475 ft·lbf (644 N·m) will be available, designed to outperform all previous Mustangs. A Tremec 6-speed Manual Transmission , suspension tuning, a body kit, and 18 inch wheels will complete the car. The right to purchase the first 2007 Shelby GT500 was auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction on January 21 , 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona for $648,000. Proceeds will benefit the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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