Here's what I read last night in the June 2005 Hot Rod:
"The launch of a production GT500 is still too far off to carve anything in stone, but as we followed the buildup of the Shelby GT500 show car Ford commissioned for a press introduction at the '05 New York Auto Show, we got every indication that the car you see here is at least as close to the planned production model as the '05 Mustang concept was to its eventual factory version, if not closer. The most important thing to note about the concept car, which was built by the show car division of Saleen Special Vehicles in Troy, Michigan, is that it was designed to mimic a production vehicle as closely as possible. . . ."
"With its final calibration far from set, SVT will only admit to 'at least 450 hp' at this point, but we expect that number to creep up quite a bit as the Shelby's fall '06 launch approaches, and we wouldn't be surprised if the final tally falls close to the 500 mark (knock, knock, Z06!) During our behind-the-scenes peak at the concept car buildup, we heard more than a few comments about this being possibly the first 500hp production car under $40,000. If Ford can pull that one off, the Shelby legend will indeed grow beyond epic."
So . . . Fall '06? 500 hp? $39,999 MSRP? Time will tell. I'm guessing a "'06.5" release, or later, a claimed 450 hp but an actual 500, and a mid to high $40's MSRP. Ford just won't be able to say no to an extra $5K profit per car. 5,000 cars, that's $25 million.
One thing the "'06" GT500 will have in common with its '67-'70 predecessors: "Due to the increased weight of the iron block 5.4L, Thai-Tang says the new Cobra will gain up to 350 pounds compared to a base GT and lose some of its front-to-rear weight balance. He estimates that the GT500 will likely see about 56-57 percent of its static weight on the front wheels compared to 53-54 percent for the currrent 4.6L GTs."
Yikes. A supercharged 329 ci, 500 lb-ft engine and a 60/40 weight distribution? 100 yd burnouts will be yours!
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