First Look: 2012 Shelby 1000

Do you remember our First Look on the Shelby GT500 Super Snake from the 2012 North American International Auto Show? Good. Now, were you one of the people that thought, “800 horsepower in a live-rear axle Mustang? That’s not nearly enough power.” If you were (and apparently Carrol Shelby was one such person), Shelby American would like to talk to you.

 

This is the 2012 Shelby 1000. That name is slightly deceiving, because there is no Shelby Mustang that gets 1000 horsepower. There’s a 950-horsepower, road-legal car that runs on pump gas, and there’s the 1100-horsepower track version (which probably runs on some combination of ground-up unicorn horn and clouds of Jupiter).

 

The process of converting Flat Rock’s finest GT500 to a Shelby 1000 is actually pretty straightforward. Strip a 5.4-liter V-8 down to the block, give it new rods, crank, and pistons, flow the heads, upgrade the exhaust, give it a new supercharger, tune it, and voila, 950 horsepower. We suspect the extra 150 horsepower comes from whatever you put in the tank, rather than any major mechanical upgrades.

 

Harnessing that power means new six-piston-front and four-piston-rear brakes, along with new struts, sway bars, and bushings. Power is channeled through a nine-inch rear end.

 

Not surprisingly, the Shelby 1000 is to be a limited affair. The asking price for the road-legal version is $149,995, while the 1100-horsepower track car will run $154,995. That price, by the way, does not include the $48,810 donor car.

 

If this Mustang sounds like just your sort of crazy and you have about $200,000 sitting around that’s not earmarked for the plethora of less-psychotic vehicles that are available at this price point, then be sure to contact Shelby American.

 

Please scroll down for the official press release from Shelby American.