Byline: G. Chambers Williams III
Apr. 3--NEW YORK -- Ford performance addicts will get two new products to satisfy their need for speed.
Ford Motor Co. officials rolled out their latest high-performance street vehicles during the recent media preview of the 2005 New York International Auto Show: a boss new Mustang and a pickup that will replace the F-150 Lightning model.
On hand to show off the newest Mustang was the automotive legend for whom this latest version is named, none other than Carroll Shelby.
Standing onstage at New York's Javits Convention Center in front of a backdrop showing photos of him in the '60s, when the first Shelby Mustangs were created, Shelby introduced the 2006 Shelby Cobra GT500, a high-performance version of the new Mustang generation that debuted in the fall.
Thirty-five years after the introduction of the first Shelby Mustang, Shelby crowed about the performance of his latest creation, actually a creation of Ford engineers with Shelby's input. It boasts a 5.4-liter V-8 engine that cranks out 450 horsepower and 450 foot-pounds of torque. That's 50 percent more power than Ford offers in the 2005 Mustang GT, with a 4.6-liter V-8.
'I've never driven anything that has as much perceived value and drives like this car,' Shelby said. He said he had already driven the car on a test track to try out its impressive power.
The car, which goes on sale next year, is the most powerful factory-built Mustang ever, said Hau Thai-Tang, director of Ford's Advance Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team.
Carrying much of the styling of the original Shelby Mustangs of the late '60s, the new Shelby Cobra will be the 'king of the road,' Thai-Tang said.
Ford said Shelby's role in the car's creation was one of 'senior adviser,' just as he was in assisting the Ford 'dream team' that designed the GT supercar that debuted last year.
'I've worked with the SVT guys for several years now, and I know they have the guts, the talent and the passion to deliver the best performance Mustangs ever,' Shelby said.
Ford said a production version of the Shelby Cobra GT500 will go on sale next year, 'followed by a steady stream of performance products developed by SVT, including Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin, the industry's first performance sport utility truck, in 2007.' That truck was introduced at the New York show as well, by Ford's chief designer, J Mays.
Built as a high-performance version of the next-generation Explorer Sport Trac SUT, or sport utility truck, the Adrenalin essentially is a four-door Explorer with the rear cut off to create a smaller-than-normal pickup bed. There is seating for four, in two rows of captain's chairs, but the real news is under the hood.
The Adrenalin is powered by a supercharged 4.6-liter V-8 that creates 390 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque. It will be connected to the first six-speed automatic Ford has put into an SVT vehicle.
Other special features include a lowered body, SVT-tuned fully independent suspension, bolstered sport seats and a four-foot composite cargo box (with 30 percent more capacity than in the current Sport Trac).
Ford says the Adrenalin will go on sale in 2007 as the replacement for the F-150 Lightning SVT performance pickup, which the company claims was the first high-performance pickup. It was introduced in 2000, but went out of production upon introduction of the newest generation of the F-150 for 2004.
As for the new Shelby Cobra, it's meant to help continue the consumer excitement Ford has enjoyed over last fall's introduction of the retro-styled new generation of the Mustang.
'The all-new 2005 Ford Mustang is one of the hottest cars in many years,' said Phil Martens, Ford's group vice president for product creation.
The Mustang is 'the hottest new car in the country,' Ford executive Steve Lyons said during the Cobra's rollout in New York.
'We have already announced that we will build 80,000 more Mustangs this year than last year, but it still won't be enough,' he said.
As for the new GT500 and the Adrenalin, 'We take the performance business very seriously,' Lyons said. 'Our SVT customers are an enthusiast group that is vocal and wants more fast cars, faster.' The GT500 is a natural evolution of the new Mustang chassis, which 'was engineered from the beginning to be the basis of a high-performance, world-class sports car from SVT,' Tai-Tang said.
'SVT led the modern-day factory performance trend with the Mustang Cobra and the industry's first high-performance truck, the F-150 Lightning,' he said. 'Today, we're building on that pioneering vision with vehicles like the Ford GT, Shelby Cobra GT500 and Sport Trac Adrenalin -- great performance machines that connect with enthusiasts in a way no other companies or vehicles can match.' He said the production GT500 will be the first in a string of specialty Mustangs coming from SVT.
Tai-Tang promised that this newest 'ultimate Mustang' will come to market priced the same as the previous SVT Mustang, which listed for just under $34,000 in 2004, its last year of production. Planned for now is only a fastback hardtop version; the previous model came in hardtop and convertible forms. The convertible listed for just over $37,000.
Ford said the GT500's cast-iron-block, four-valve engine 'is force-fed an air-and-fuel mixture via a screw-type supercharger at 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost.' 'Aluminum cylinder heads, piston rings and bearings sourced from the Ford GT program bring a high level of proven durability to the drivetrain, while upgraded cooling components promise longevity,' said a news release handed out with the New York introduction.
'The engine has been further tuned from its first application in a Mustang, the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, a limited edition model of 300 units.' The engine will be connected to a T-56 six-speed manual gearbox, Ford said. It is the same transmission that was used in the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, 2004 SVT Mustang Cobra and the new Ford Racing Mustang FR500C.
Inside, black leather is used on the top of the dash, door panels, center armrest, shift lever, shift boot and parking brake handle.
Red leather seating surfaces and door panel inserts are used for contrast, the company said. Snake logos are embroidered into the seatbacks.
'We've taken leather design trends to a new level by using it on almost every exposed surface in the GT500,' said Ford senior designer Keith Rogman. 'Leather has long been a performance fashion accessory for enthusiasts, from jackets to racing gloves, so it perfectly matches all the other driving-oriented cues.' The Shelby GT500 script and Cobra image also decorate the steering wheel.
Other features include titanium-faced gauges. Cabin accessories are trimmed with a satin-aluminum finish, including the shift lever knob.
Here's some history that won't be news to most Mustang enthusiasts: Shelby first put his name on a Mustang in 1964 'when he was asked to inject some high performance into the brand-new pony car,' Ford said.
That first effort was the GT-350R. Later came the GT-350 and what was known as the 'rent-a-racer' Mustang, Ford said -- the GT-350H, a joint project with the Hertz rental car company.
And, the company said, the 'ultimate Shelby Mustang' of the era was the GT-500KR, or 'King of the Road.' 'Powered by a big-block 428-cubic-inch Cobra Jet V-8, the GT-500 was one of the most powerful, and memorable, muscle cars of that period,' the company said Shelby Mustang production ended in 1970, with a total of 14,559 built.
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