The most powerful Mustang ever, the 2008 Shelby GT500 KR is to be unveiled at the New York International Auto Show. This new car will mark once again Mustang as KING OF THE ROAD, at the 40’th anniversary of the 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500KR.
The one who has been responsible for keeping the original Shelby muscle car spirit is Doug Gaffka, Ford SVT chief designer, together with his team and Shelby team.The carbon composite hood has been custom designed and it was mainly supervised by Gary Davis, vice president of production and product development for Shelby Automobiles. He has managed to give a visual indication of the extra horsepower that lies underneath the hood, by sculpting a modern version of the original hood scoop.
The polished aluminum, Shelby-designed 20 inch, forged and polished wheels bring once again the exclusive spirit to front. The models that will enter production will arrive at the customer with the 18-inch version of the design.The engine is a 5.4 L supercharged V8 which brings the “King of the Road” to 540 horsepower and 510 lb-ft. of torque. A six-speed tranny helps power to get to the rear wheels.The Shelby Team has worked closely with Ford’s SVT and Racing teams in order to recalibrate suspension and to bring improvement to the steering and handling. Features of recalibration include advancing the ignition timing and also re-mapping of the electronic throttle settings. This will bring a quicker throttle response for better off-line and middle range acceleration.As expected, the production will be a 1000 units limited one and it will start arriving to Ford Dealers in the spring of 2008. Every single one of the limited 1000 KR models will be identified 40’th anniversary KR badges on fenders and grille.
