The 1965 and 1966 GT350s were delivered from Ford's San Jose Assembly Plant for modification by Shelby, originally in Venice Beach and later at Los Angeles International Airport.
As a promotional move, Ford leveraged its role as the major shareholder of Hertz to persuade the rental car giant to purchase 1,003 fastbacks, including two prototypes.
[10] A small number of the consumer sales 1966 models were factory fitted with Paxton superchargers, but not the No-Spin limited slip differential, for an additional $670, (~$6,292 in 2023) the engine was rated at 440 hp (328 kW).
The GT500 was added to the lineup, equipped with a 428 cu in (7.0 L) Interceptor V8 engine with two 600 CFM Holley four-barrel carburetors mated to a mid-rise aluminum intake manifold.
Documented plans to introduce a convertible mid-production year were shelved due to supply, production and financial problems that happened as soon as the first cars started to arrive at Shelby's Los Angeles facility in September.
Ford Racing Performance Group provided Shelby its FR1 Power Pack to add 25 horsepower to the existing Mustang GT powertrain with an additional 10 ft-lb of torque.
They included black exterior with "Barrett-Jackson Red" LeMans Hood and Side Stripes, Barrett Jackson Edition door sill plates, black interior with the Shelby GT serial number plate, special gas cap insert, autographed photo of Carroll Shelby, Craig Jackson, Amy Boylan, and Steve Davis.
Presented in concept form, the new GT350 had a supercharged version of the brand new 5.0-liter V8 engine in the 2011 Mustang GT as well as performance upgrades from Ford Racing, Borla, Cragar, Baer and more.
[citation needed] After being revealed at Barrett Jackson in 2010 as a celebration of the original 1965 Shelby GT350s 45th anniversary, the 2012 GT350 made its world debut at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show.
The extensive body kit upgrades included a revised front fascia, side rockers with brake ducts, rear bumper, and decklid.
Keeping the powerful engine under control was an upgraded suspension system designed by Shelby to give the Mustang a reduced body roll and more variability to create custom track setups.
Changes for the 2013 model year also included a one piece drive shaft, more powerful brakes, cooling enhancements, and a color coordinated billet aluminum engine cap set.
[citation needed] The base upgrade package used 20-inch wheels, fitted with BFG G-Force Comp2 tires and a Panhard suspension bar to stiffen up the chassis.
[39] Shelby GT also features cold air intakes, custom 20" WELD Venice wheels with high-grip Michelin tires, Ford Performance supercharger, Wilwood brakes, adjustable rear control arms, dash-mounted 3-gauge pod for track boost, fuel and oil pressure, race seats, roll cage and harness.
The Super Snake includes special CSM badging, Shelby floor mats, sill plates, a dash-mounted gauge pod made from carbon fiber and stuffed with AutoMeter gauges, Ford Performance short-throw shifter, an upholstery upgrade, racing seats, five-point racing harnesses, Shelby valve covers, and a carbon-fiber latch cover.
Modifications for the Terlingua include a Whipple supercharger mated to the new Mustang GT 5.0 L V8 engine producing over 750 hp (560 kW) and an exclusive Eibach sway bar and adjustable coilovers.
All KRs were built by AutoAlliance International on the normal Mustang production line and then shipped to Shelby Automobiles Incorporated (SAI) where final assembly was completed.
One of the main new characters of the show is KITT (voiced by Val Kilmer), an advanced artificial intelligence housed in a GT500KR that was colored black with dark gray stripes, using the GT500KR's hood scoops for its famous red scanner.
The improvements in handling and performance gives the 2011 Shelby GT500 a skidpad rating of 1.0g,[61] and a Virginia International Raceway lap time of 2:58:48, making it as fast as, and sometimes faster than, cars such as the M3, Audi R8 V10, Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Porsche GT3 around this racetrack.
The 2013 models had various improvements and differences compared to the GT500 of 2012 including new front end sheet metal along with standard HID headlamps, along with a new LED tail light assembly.
Larger Brembo front disc brakes with six-piston calipers, reinforced axle tubes, and aero tweaks to help the car reach 200 mph (320 km/h)+ safely.
The Exterior received the usual "Shelby 1000" decals and an overlay package with a functional carbon-fiber hood, front lip spoiler, rear bumper and side skirts.
It has a track-focused chassis tuning, wider front fenders housing 295-width Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, significant aerodynamic changes to include lowering the hood around the engine, active-exhaust, six-piston Brembo brakes with semi-floating rotors, MagneRide damping option (the first MagneRide-equipped Ford), light weight Tremec six speed manual transmission, Recaro seats and various weight reduction efforts.
[72][73][74] At the 2015 North American International Auto Show a more track-focused, hardcore and limited production version of the GT350 was unveiled called the GT350R, benchmarked against the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and Porsche 911 GT3.
The GT350R retains the GT350's 5.2-liter flat plane crank V8 engine, producing the same power, but grip was significantly increased by the means of wider Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, Carbon Revolution carbon fiber wheels (the first ever fitted to a mass-production road car) each weigh approximately 15 pounds less than the aluminum wheels on the GT350, and significantly more downforce thanks to a larger splitter and carbon-fiber rear wing to keep the car stuck to the ground.
Items like the air conditioning, stereo, trunk floorboard, all the carpeting, the rear seats, and the backup camera could be removed from the factory resulting in the GT350R weighing 130 lb (59 kg) less than the GT350.
As with previous production-based Mustang race cars, Multimatic Engineering was approached by Ford Performance to develop a complete race-only version of the S550 Shelby GT350R.
[79] The #15 Multimatic Motorsports Shelby GT350R-C driven by Billy Johnson and Scott Maxwell continued on to win 6 out of 10 races as well as the 2016 Team, Driver, and Manufacturers Championships.
In order to improve corner grip and braking, Ford commissioned a custom set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that have a model-specific tread pattern and compound.
An optional 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen Play sound system is also available as the Tech Packages, which also includes puddle lamps, blind-spot monitoring, and cross-traffic alert The GT350 now comes standard with the 8-inch SYNC 3 touchscreen infotainment and dual-zone climate control.