Snake Bite: Extreme Shelby Mustang Churns Out 725 Horses

LAS VEGAS — We watched as Carroll Shelby held court in Dearborn, Michigan, last year, boldly predicting that future sports cars would be powered by engines in the 600-700—horsepower range. The automotive icon's prognostications are about to hit the street with new "Super Snake" performance packages for the 2007 and 2008 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 coupes.

The latest Super Snake models make their debut 40 years after Shelby built one GT500 Super Snake powered by a 427-cubic-inch V8 for Mel Burns Ford. As part of a tire marketing campaign, it easily reached lap speeds of 150 mph on an oval racetrack and could attain a top speed of 170 mph. Ford says the new one will be "equally potent."

Shelby puts it in more raw terms. "I told them I wanted to build a vehicle that could blow the doors off most anything on the planet," he said.

The Super Snake upgrades include a supercharger kit that jacks up the output of the 5.4-liter V8 to 600 hp and 590 pound-feet of torque, while retaining the factory engine warranty. A more extreme version makes 725 hp, although it has to do without a warranty. Other features include a six-speed manual transmission with short-throw shift linkage, a 3.73:1 rear axle ratio and a high-performance exhaust system. Shelby-designed, Alcoa-built 20-inch wheels are matched with Baer six-piston brakes that feature Shelby-signature calipers and larger rotors. Naturally there's a hood made from carbon composite with a classic Shelby design.

Shelby Automobiles will begin building a limited number of the Super Snake later this year at its facility in Las Vegas. Some of the car's hardware will also be rolled out individually in June from Shelby Automobiles and Ford Racing.

Ford spokesperson Whitney Drake said the automaker has not yet released target volume for the car or pricing information on the kits.

© Source: insideline
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