What's the news?
To commemorate the life of Carroll Shelby some "friends" have got together to build a special one-of-a-kind 850hp Shelby GT500 Cobra. The "Friends of Carroll Shelby", which includes Ford Motor Company, Shelby American and Ford Racing amongst others, unveiled the tribute at the Ford display in the expo area at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
Exterior
To go with the over-the-top power output, the body has received a dose of testosterone. Shelby American provided a new wide-body kit and a specially designed bonnet for the project. The Shelby GT500 Cobra is finished in the Guardsman Blue paintwork with contrasting Wimbledon White stripes that became a Shelby trademark in the '60s when many of the Cobra roadsters were finished in that combination.
Interior
No word of any changes to the Shelby GT500 Cobra's interior but with 850hp contained under your right foot it is probably a case of the less distractions the better.
Mechanicals
In standard guise the Shelby GT500's supercharged 5.8-litre V8 engine puts out 662hp, but this was deemed insufficient by the Friends of Carroll Shelby. Ford Racing came to the rescue with a Whipple supercharger that sees power jump to a tyre-shredding 850hp. To cope with that Shelby American supplied special 20-inch alloys that are 13-inches wide at the rear and sport massive 345-section tyres. The brakes have also been swapped out for a set of Shelby Wilwood units.
Anything else?
In addition to the Cobra, Ford has also chosen to rename one of the streets at its Dearborn Michigan plant after Shelby. Engineers will now get a daily reminder of the influence the Texan had at Ford as they cross Carroll Shelby Way on the way from the Product Development Centre en route to the proving grounds. Frankly we think Carroll would be disappointed if the road that bears his name was not covered in elevens.