Since its 2004 introduction, the current-generation Ford Mustang has proven, if nothing else, a versatile platform for spawning special editions to commemorate anniversaries, fundraising causes, and perhaps in the future, presidential birthdays. Playing off its retro-styling, Ford has also re-issued modern-day versions of some of the most popular 'Stangs from the past, like the Steve McQueen-honoring Bullitt and a stable full of Shelby-built specials including the GT-H rent-a-racer, its retail twin, the Shelby GT, and GT500. And now Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) and Shelby are back at it with the most powerful Mustang ever, the Shelby GT500KR. But is this latest steed worthy of its "King of the Road" title?
To answer this question we find ourselves outside of Salt Lake City at the Miller Motorsports Park, home of the Ford Performance Driving School and birthplace of the Miller Challenge race series. In addition to several new KRs, we also have on hand the full menu of other Mustang GT variants. Because really, how else can we determine if you're getting your $80,000 worth?
That's right, the Shelby GT500KR lists for $79,995, some three times the price of your garden-variety Mustang GT. And yes, we know eighty grand buys all kinds of more prestigious machinery. But consider this — only 1571 examples will be hand-built by Shelby Automobiles, and each will no doubt join the ranks of other rare Shelby Mustangs on the short list of genuinely collectible American cars.
But what if you're more interested in, you know, actually driving your new KR instead of simply parking it in mothballs for Barrett-Jackson 2058? If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on one, you'll be hard pressed not to be impressed with its performance and — get this — refinement. Even with a live axle. So while its spec sheet may read like a SEMA shopping spree, the King of the Road is truly greater than the sum of its race-bred parts.
Each GT500KR starts life in Flat Rock, Michigan, on the same assembly line that built your dental hygienist's automatic V-6 convertible. Along the way, it gets pulled as a special build, where it receives most of its unique trimmings and then gets loaded a truck for Shelby's Las Vegas workshop. In Sin City its unique suspension and other accoutrements are installed by hand, and it becomes a Shelby. The final product is the perfect pairing of mass-production and hand-craftsmanship.
Muscle
Building on the "standard" Shelby GT500's supercharged 5.4-liter V-8, the KR gets a bump in output from 500 horses and 480 lb-ft to 540 and 510, respectively. This is achieved not by dialing up maximum boost pressure on the Roots-type blower, but instead by remapping the ignition timing, improving front-side breathing with a larger cold-air intake system, and optimizing exhaust flow with a unique exhaust system. The breathing enhancements not only deliver more power, they also endow the KR with its own unique song, coming or going. The open intake broadcasts the shrill, unmuffled whine of the supercharger; when approaching fast from a distance, the scream is not unlike that of a Formula 1 car. From the other end pours a most mellow thunder. Ford's SVT team must have hired acoustical consultants for the exhaust system to have achieved such a perfect blend of deep bass and soft burble while hovering just inside the legal limits for decibel output.
To make sure the power meets the pavement, a beefy Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual gearbox handles torque multiplication before sending it to the 3.73:1 limited-slip diff. The shifting action is 25 percent shorter than normal thanks to a Ford Racing short-shift kit. The resulting action is firm and exceptionally precise, but not as balky as other brutish American cars (the Viper SRT10 comes to mind). Holding back that much power, the clutch is predictably firm, though once again not stiff. It can actually be slipped gently for a smooth rollaway despite the unmistakable metal-on-metal sounds that can be heard with the windows down until the pressure plate is fully released. Not surprisingly, the KR launches with authority, no doubt aided by Goodyear Eagle F1s that feature a specially developed compound that borders on race rubber but without the abysmal wear characteristics.
Chassis
Ford SVT and Shelby chose to not mess with the Mustang's basic chassis architecture for the GT500KR, but rather to optimize it for maximum handling. That means the Mac-strut front suspension and ancient coil-sprung solid rear axle are still in place — no exotic double wishbones or multiple links here. The magic is in the tuning, starting with a ride height that's 20-mm lower in front and 15-mm lower in the rear compared to a GT500. Those springs are also stiffer by about 17 percent in the front and 7 percent in the rear, with damper rates that are optimized for the new settings. The resulting ride is firm, though not nearly as harsh as most aftermarket applications, taking most primary impacts in stride.
The front alignment specs have also been tweaked for better response and a slightly sharper edge, with a total of 1.7 degrees of negative camber and zero toe. If that sounds like the recipe for unstable high-speed handling you'll be relieved to know the teams spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel to optimize aerodynamics for high-speed stability. At less severe speeds, the steering is very well weighted and quick to respond, though it lacks on-center feedback. On the track, the chassis is about as neutral as anything you'll find with doors and a passenger seat, and even with a solid axle it will pull in excess of 1.0g on the skidpad. You essentially have to overdrive a corner to get understeer, despite the fact the rear sway bar has been downsized a few millimeters.
Of course, if you're too hot into a corner, it's probably your own fault for not using the middle pedal correctly. At the other end of that pedal, and displayed proudly under 18-inch forged aluminum wheels, is a pair of 14-inch vented front discs squeezed by four-piston aluminum Brembo calipers, joined by 11.8-inch rear discs and two-pistons grippers out back. The combination works rather well on either road or track, offering the kind of communication and modulation real drivers have come to expect from real performance cars.
To improve the on-track braking experience, SVT dialed out some of the ABS system's sensitivity, and at the same time they told the traction control system to mellow out a bit. Even on cold tires, the ABS never made its presence known. The braking system as a whole is made for serious driving, and to help ensure fade-free performance at the track, each GT500KR comes with a gift box in the trunk — a brake duct kit that can be installed between the front bumper and the special backing plate as needed, though we've been warned they're likely to be pulled loose by road debris if used on the street.
Bodywork and Interior
As we noted above, the GT500KR is a graduate of the wind tunnel. With honors. Ford's development engineers made it clear that every bit of visual enhancement on the body is functional — nothing is there merely for appearance's sake (except perhaps the racing stripes), and no expense was spared in the interest of genuine performance gains. Take the carbon-fiber hood, for instance. Sure, it has the retro-looking intakes at the leading edge and the rear-swept louvers on top, just like the 1968 namesake. But these don't just look mean; they also do the business of mean. The hood, in fact, contains two separate plenums — the front snorkels feed cool, high-pressure air directly to the sealed intake chamber, while the top vents take advantage of the low-pressure area near the base of the windshield to draw hot air out of the engine compartment. Together they work to keep underhood temperatures low and cooler ambient air flowing to the engine for a real performance gain. It's not a cheap piece to make (replacement value exceeds $2000), requiring more than 100 individual carbon fiber pieces to lay up the complex 11-pound structure.
The front splitter, also made of carbon fiber, helps create a ground effect to minimize lift at high speeds while the front apron not only houses the brake ducts but also funnels air through the engine compartment for cooling. Out back, the trunk spoiler sits in the airflow just enough to create rear downforce at high speeds. The result is the kind of stability at 120 mph that you would expect at 60 mph in car that is 22 pounds lighter than the GT500 on which it's based.
We mentioned the GT500KR was based on a standard-production Mustang, and the one area that confirms this is the interior. Sure, there's all manner of special details throughout the cockpit — Shelby door-sill plates, Carroll Shelby's signature embroidered in the front headrests, 40th anniversary Shelby dash plaque with production number — to remind you, just in case you forgot you bought a Shelby Mustang. But aside from the stitched-and-wrapped leather dashboard, center console and armrest (a classy touch, by the way), the cockpit could be from just about any modded Mustang. As you can imagine for $80K, the KR's option list is short, consisting only of an upgraded sound system, DVD navigation, and Sirius satellite radio. Leather interior, air conditioning, and even HID headlamps are already included in the package.
After driving a standard Shelby GT500 back-to-back with the King of the Road version, there is no doubt KR is something special. It's rare that such a highly modified production car comes off feeling as complete and cohesive as this; everything about this Shelby Mustang feels as if it has been through finishing school. And while the Europeans have been doing this for years (AMG, BMW M, et al), the fact that Ford, its SVT branch, and Shelby Automobiles can transform the bread-and-butter Mustang into a world-class performer speaks volumes to the power of collaboration.
Certainly there is a value to that, but is the Shelby GT500KR really worth $80,000? Well, there's an old saying that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay to pay for it. Finding 1571 people willing to pony up for a piece of American muscle car history shouldn't be too hard.
"The final product is the perfect pairing of mass-production and hand-craftmanship"
Source:
MotiveMagazine.com - Motive First Drive: Ford Shelby GT500KR
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