As a tribute to the late Carroll Shelby, a beloved icon of automotive design, Ford has produced a unique 2013 Shelby GT500 Cobra that sports an astounding 850 horsepower.Shelby, who passed away earlier this year, was legendary for his integral role in the creation and evolution of performance vehicles like the Cobra, GT40, and Mustang. He continued to be involved in certain performance Ford projects throughout his life.
Even at the age of 88, he spent more than five hours driving the most powerful production Mustang ever built, the 2013 Shelby® GT500, during engineering validation sessions at Sebring and the Ford Arizona
Proving Grounds in late 2011.
This unique tribute car was unveiled at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, where Cobra was the marque of show for 2012. Ford worked with Friends of Shelby, which includes companies like Ford Racing and Shelby Automotive, in the production of the car.
Using the incredibly powerful 662-horsepower 2013 Shelby GT500 as a foundation, this exceptional Cobra wide-body Mustang generates more than 850 horsepower with the help of a Ford Racing 4.0-liter Whipple supercharger.
Putting that much power to the ground requires plenty of traction, so the car’s 13-inch-wide rear wheels are wrapped in massive 345-section high-performance tires for extra grip. Other unique features include a specially designed hood, a new rear wide-body kit, Shelby Wilwood brakes and unique 20-inch wheels.
The bodywork is finished in the same iconic Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White stripes that graced so many of the Cobra roadsters built in the 1960s.