Shelby
GT500KR: King of the Road Motoring
Channel Staff - 3/Apr/2007 | 
Shelby
GT500KR: King of the Road
Regal
Road WarriorTo name any car
the King of the Road is a very big call. This would mean that all other
cars would bow down and swear fealty to this vehicle's immense power
and influence - so is this new Mustang really the king? And if they
sell 1000 of them in 2008, will all of them have to share the throne? With
a scintillating 403kW of power hitting the rear skids, the new Shelby
special edition will be bloody quick, no doubt about that, and it looks
spectacular with hints of the late '60s muscle car era and enough
modernity to keep the movers and shakers happy. And how's this: there's
also a chance of the Mustang returning to Australia in the future. The
2009-2010 Mustang redesign is expected to use many
parts from the upcoming 2008 Ford Falcon. And the new Ford Falcon is due to hit the road
in May 2008 - or possibly earlier as the design has now been finalised
and has been shown in all its glory to production line workers. The new
Falcon platform has been designed to be easily adapted to be a
left-hand drive models as well, which lends credence to reports that
the Falcon platform may underpin a large rear-wheel drive car in the
States, such as the Crown Victoria, a pursuit car favoured by
the
constabulary. -
Feann Torr, Editor |
With a 5.4-litre supercharged engine
outputting 403kW or 540hp, this car
has enough grunt to dominate the road
The motor sports rear diffuser helps to
generate negative lift at the rear of the car
With its stylised engine hood with twin scoops
and vents, the Shelby GT500KR is a sight to behold
|
New
York, USA —
The new Shelby GT500KR is a new car with an old-fashioned take on
performance. Take a rear-wheel drive American coupe, add a range of
eye-catching visual upgrades and give the engine an forced induction
kick thanks to a supercharger and you've got another special edition
Mustang on your hands. Ford says it
is unwilling to wait for the impending pony car war to heat up with the
upcoming Chevrolet Camaro, and wants to extend the Mustang's
leadership position by feeding the enthusiast
demand for more models, features, performance parts,
and importantly more special
editions. The Blue Oval has
confirmed that it will commit to at least one new Mustang
‘feature’
vehicle per year: in 2007 it is the Shelby GT, and for 2008
there
will be at least two including this one, the Shelby GT500KR
and the previously
announced Mustang Bullitt. Only
1000 Shelby GT500KR units will be built, and it will go on
sale in the US in May 2008. Powered
by a supercharged V8 engine developing well over 500 horsepower
(370kW+), the new Shelby GT500KR - the KR being an acronym for King of
the Road - is built for speed, but it's creators also wanted it to have
superior handling abilities. Three
groups - Ford SVT, Ford Racing and Team Shelby - worked together to
develop the
KR's suspension tuning. "The production Shelby
GT500 was maximised to deliver the perfect balance between ride and
handling," said Jamal Hameedi, chief nameplate engineer at Ford
SVT. "In
that same ride versus handling continuum, the KR will lean heavier
towards all-out handling while still making it drivable on the street,"
said Hameedi. Ford explains that a
number of chassis
engineers worked closely with the engine department in a holistic
approach to the development of the KR, tuning the suspension to best
optimise the engine enhancements: "We aren’t fixing our
attention on one or two attributes, but working on the vehicle as a
whole," stated Gary Patterson, vice president of operations for Shelby
Automobiles. "The throttle response,
power delivery, exhaust note, and
handling should all gel together to deliver a total driving experience." Accordingly, the GT500KR benefits
from unique spring rates, dampers, stabiliser bars, and
a new strut tower brace, which were all designed specifically
for the KR to enhance its handling abilities. This
new King of the Road Shelby Mustang is also a celebration of
the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500KR and is being
touted as the most powerful production Mustang ever built. "I’m proud to once again be a part of an
historical moment, bringing back the ‘King of the
Road’ Mustang, and collaborating with Ford SVT and Ford
Racing" said Carroll Shelby, the man behind the famous performance car
name. "I’m committed to continuously upping the ante when it
comes to performance, and it’s great to be doing it with
Ford." The history behind the Shelby
GT500KR is significant, where the original 1968 Shelby Cobra GT500KR
was a mid-year introduction, based on the
1968 Shelby GT500. Ford added 'Cobra' to the Shelby's moniker to help
usher in the beginning of a new performance era at the company, and the
Cobra name referred to the new 428 Cobra Jet V8 that was planted under
the KR's custom fiberglass hood. It was the engine that would once
again vault the Mustang to the head of the pack. "The
return of the Shelby GT500KR further establishes Mustang as the true
king of the pony car segment," said Robert Parker, who is the manager
of the Ford Car Brand. "With the unveiling of the new KR we are staying
true to the promise we made our loyal Mustang fans to continue
Mustang's prowess by bringing new, exciting and more powerful Mustangs
to market." While the name
‘King of the Road’ may have been the perfect fit
for the world’s most powerful Mustang, it also provided
Shelby the chance to steal the thunder from cross-town rival General
Motors. As the legend goes, Shelby learned that GM was planning to
introduce a high-performance model and call it ‘King of the
Road.’ Since he had always
wanted to use the name, and as one to never miss an opportunity, Shelby
set his organisation in gear, registering the name and designing new
badging for the Cobra Jet-powered Mustang, christening it the GT500KR,
and bringing Ford's 'King of the Road' to market before GM ever got a
chance to apply the name to their product. Ford
SVT's design chief Doug Gaffka and his team worked closely
with Carroll Shelby and the Shelby team to make certain the new KR was
crafted in the spirit of the original Shelby muscle car and just like
its 1968 namesake, the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR builds on the
strong foundation of the Shelby GT500, and packs an extra 40 horses
under its custom-designed carbon composite hood. "This was a great effort between Ford and Shelby
Automobiles," said
Gaffka. "The Shelby team and I were in constant contact melding
Carroll's classic design cues with some modern concepts and ideas and
finessing them into the design of the new KR." The
show car wears exclusive, Shelby-designed 20-inch, forged, polished
aluminium wheels with special custom center caps, mounted on Pirelli
rubber, though production models will arrive with an 18-inch version of
the
wheel design. The bulging engine hood is secured by a pair of
stainless steel, twist-down hood pins while the composite front apron
houses a pair of chrome-trimmed, functional brake ducts to cool the
large 14-inch, vented Brembo front brakes. Side
stripes
are true to the original KR right down to the font used for the
'GT500KR' lettering, while the classic LeMans-style striping that races
down the center of the car has been deleted between the leading forward
edge of the hood scoops and the front of the hood, accenting the scoops
and giving the KR its distinctive face. "That was
Shelby's idea," said
Gaffka. "It’s a special touch that adds some down-the-road
differentiation. There will be no doubt that it’s a 'King of
the Road'
Mustang that’s filling up your rearview mirrors." Each KR model is identified by special 40th
Anniversary
KR badges on the fenders and grille explains Ford, plus distinctive
body colored mirror
caps and Shelby lettering stretching across the front of the hood and
along the rear portion of the deck lid. A special Shelby VIN tag is
affixed to each vehicle, mounted in the engine compartment. There's also an
all-leather interior featuring Carroll Shelby signature embroidered
headrests and an official Shelby CSM 40th Anniversary GT500KR dash
plate mounted at the top of the center stack. But one of the most
impressive aspects of the new car is it's 5.4-liter V8. Just
like its namesake, the 2008 'King of the Road' packs a walloping dose
of Ford performance power under its overbearing composite hood scoops.
The
Ford SVT-engineered 5.4-litre supercharged V8 is treated to a Ford
Racing Power Upgrade Pack that boosts power to an estimated 403kW
(540hp) and torque of 690Nm (510 ft.-lbs.). The extra power
comes thanks to the supercharger and revised ignition and throttle
calibration and there's also a cold air intake system that replaces the
stock unit. The Shelby KR's engine
calibration
modifications include advancing the ignition timing as well as
re-mapping of the electronic throttle settings to provide quicker
throttle response for better off-line and mid-range acceleration, and
the increased throttle response will be met with a sharper roar from
the
Ford Racing-inspired exhaust system. Power
is delivered to the
rear wheels through a Tremec TR6060 6-speed manual transmission and
3.73:1 rear axle ratio, upgraded from the standard GT500's 3.31:1. Gear
selection is courtesy of an all-new Ford Racing short-throw shifter
making its debut on the KR. Topped with a white ball, the new shifter
is 25 percent shorter than the unit on the GT500 providing for crisper,
sharper shifts claims Ford. Related
articles:
- Ford
Mustang Giugiaro Concept (2006)
- Ford
Shelby GT500 Road & Track (2006)
- Ford
Fiesta Zetec (Road Test)
- Ford
Territory Turbo (Road Test)
- Ford BF
Falcon vs Holden VE Commodore (Road Test)
- Ford
Mondeo (2007)
- Ford
iosis X (concept) |
