The Shelby 1000 is Back to Tackle the Track

Back in 2012, Shelby American showed off a tuned Mustang it called the Shelby 1000. In street-legal form and running on pump gas, the car made at least 950 hp. If you ordered the track version and filled it with race gas, though, it made an insane 1100 hp. Five years later, the Shelby 1000 is back, but this time there’s no street-legal version. Instead, Shelby American built this car to be a dedicated track star.

Based on the pre-refreshed S550 Mustang GT, the Shelby 1000 makes a claimed 1,000 hp from a Whipple-supercharged 5.2-liter Aluminator V-8. The internal components have been swapped out, with a new 90-degree crank and modified cylinder heads from the GT350. It also gets other additions like a high flow fuel system, a new intercooler, upgraded transmission, and a modified ECU to help the engine handle that extra power.

Don’t think the Shelby 1000 is just about adding more power, though. The company says it’s modified the rest of the car to make sure it can corner just as well as it can accelerate. “We do far more than just add horsepower and cosmetics to the Shelby 1000,” said Vince LaViolette, Shelby American’s head of development. “We replace every major component to create the ultimate track machine. The result is a car that will slice through corners and blast down straights with amazing ease.”

Appearance-wise, it gets a redesigned front end, a new hood, modified fenders, and new rear-quarter panels. The car has also been widened in both the front and rear, not simply for looks but also for handling. Shelby also added an adjustable coil-over suspension, larger Brembo brakes, a diffuser and sports exhaust, and wider wheels and tires. 

“The 2012 through 2014 model year Shelby 1000 was based on the 5.8L Ford Shelby GT500, and while we significantly altered the suspension, it was best suited for the drag strip,” said Gary Patterson, head of Shelby American. “The new Shelby 1000 is an entirely different car designed to be the ultimate road course warrior.” 

“Since Ford dropped the solid axle rear end, we had to take an entirely new approach,” said LaViolette. “Not only did we build strength into the car with components like heavy-duty half-shafts and CV joints, we revised the entire suspension by using tubular adjustable upper and lower control arms, as well as fully adjustable coilovers. We then added 10- and 12-inch [wide] forged wheels with sticky 20-inch rubber to maximize traction with this high level of power.”

Considering how much work goes into turning a Mustang GT into a Shelby 1000, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that they will be built in relatively limited numbers. But according to Shelby, it will be super limited, with only 50 being built per model year. The Shelby 1000 also costs a whopping $169,995, and that doesn’t include the cost of the Mustang GT you also have to buy to do the conversion. If you’re interested in ordering one, though, head to the company’s website for more information.

Source: Shelby American

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