Ford says its Special Vehicle Team (SVT) division carried over the gains made with the special edition Shelby GT500KR to the more widely produced Shelby model. The new GT500 also gains the GT500KR’s whopping 510 pound-feet of torque.
Compare with the old GT500, this new supercar model gets more aggressive styling, particularly in the nose. The horizontally mirrored trapezoidal shape of the grille in the upper and lower front fascia is meant to echo the oval shape of the Shelby Cobras of the '60s. The upper grille is tilted forward at a steeper angle than the GT and the grille surround is separated entirely from the hood. The hood of the GT500 still has a functional air extractor allowing some of the massive heat generated by the blown V8 to escape.
The engine for the new Shelby is still a twin cam 5.4L V8 with a supercharger. The updates bump output from from 500 hp at 6,000 rpm to 540 hp at 6,200 rpm. Twisting force also goes from 480 lb-ft at 4,500 rpm to 510 lb-ft at the same peak speed. The iron block from the F-150 was used with the top end of the GT engine, which pushed the car's weight up over 3,900 lbs.
The exterior of the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 draws design cues from the original design cues of the Shelby Cobras of the Sixties while making history of its own with the most aerodynamic body ever on a Mustang. Ford engineers worked to keep the flow of air through the engine compartment to the minimum necessary while also reducing the amount of air under the body.
