Last night my son and I wandered over to the Ford dealer where they had a GT500 (Vista Blue and White Stripes) and a Shelby, (Performance White with Silver Stripes). The former weighed in at 80K bucks and the later at 45k Bucks. My son"s comment, "Dad get a GT, we can build it up to the same as those two, for a lot less money.

Indeed the interiors were about stock Ford, not all that different from my ole 06 Blue Vert... having read so much on them here on these pages I guess I sort of expected a high level of finish and detail, is it me, am I just getting old, or is the glitter factor just not there?

Regards,
Chuck

 

Really where abouts ? I've been lookin for a while off & on. any help Chuck would be appreciated. Ed

 

You're paying for the shelby name, 5.4L, and the forged internals.

 

There's just not a whole lot of meat for all of that extra dough. At sticker they'd be reasonable, but with the markups forget it. You CAN build a killer car for a heck of a lot less money. Of course others will argue the "Shelby factor" but time will tell if that really pans out. The worst part is that the GT500 isn't really a Shelby, they're simply licensing his name. He had little to do with it in reality. You would hope they'd go a bit further than tack on bits and badges, but they're still built on the same line with predominantly the same parts as more pedestrian stangs. Heck, the Shelby GTs have some of the worst workmanship I've ever seen on a production car. I guess it's "character".

Your son is a smart boy!

 

I ordered all the last batch of 5 GT500s with premier trim and NAV, all options, so they look pretty nice, 3 have the red interior including a black one with the red package. With the leather boot and wheel and premier trim they look pretty darn nice to me I have an 05 BMW 5 series right now that may as well be an older avalon inside, except for where all the angles crash into each other with no rhyme or reason....

 

Ed,

The dealer is in Yuba City Ca. Geweke,(pronounced give-a-key) They are what I would consider a good dealer, I bought my 06 Vert from them, and will probably get my new 08 there also. Service dept is pretty good also, take both of my cars there for service/maintenance.

 

to me, the gt500 should have been names "cobra" all along...the shelby name just raises the price...if it wasnt going to be insulted, id change every badge on the car to say cobra cuz this shelby stuff is rediculous...its an SVT, its a cobra, its only worth its sticker price...and its made to mod...thats it, its a mod queen...

 

It actually was to be a Cobra. It's funny, all the guys I know at Ford actually refer to it as the Cobra.

 

I have said all along its not that special. It should be around 42k for the vert and 39-40 for the coupe. Not this 80-90k range they go for. The 5.4 is nice but the bumper and grille costs ford the same if not less than the gt's because of the fogs.

 

You would own a gt500, get a new gt, whipple it, 12 PSI, seeya gt500

 

I think I could take a stock GT500 right now, but once it's modded, fuhgedaboudid. They have crazy potential with those forged internals and bigger displacement. However, I agree, they are NOT worth the ridiculous dealer mark-up. Think what you could do to a GT with that price differential? Brand names, nostalgia, resale value and all that other BS aside, you could build a real MOTHERF****N' beast!

 

They are making way too many of these cars to warrant such a markup in price. 5000 a year are going to be pumped out over the next few years. I just don't see them ever reaching the level of the original Shelby GT 500 which are far more rare. I think it would be cheaper to just buy the engine and transmission and throw it into a regular GT and "Bingo" you have what you really want which is the power. How much does a GT 500 engine go for anyway? I have seen that some have been totaled already and are on sale for parts on ebay.

 

Prices continue to drop, Shelby GT's below MSRP with Buy it Now on Ebay, GT500's will eventually follow.

 

Gotta agree that prices are easing down...however, think the used market isn't likely to drop the same for awhile...like the Terminators, there is a tremendous potential on these engines, 600-700 reliable before needing to crack 'em open...that's bound to keep the the "recycling" demand high for a long time...let the trendies and gotta-haves drive production up, the next greatest thing will come along they just have to own...there should be nice, clean, ready to mod GT500s coming along soon...

 

are you talking 600-700 potential on the gt or gt500? The gt500 will hold around 1000hp and the gt according to ford racing will hold 450 fly wheel hp and others have said 500, without the rods/pistons giving out.

 

Rarity is what makes a car a high buck collectible. 5000+ units per year isn't all that rare. People who are paying 20K+ over for a car with that many copies being built will probably be lucky to break even 30+ years from now and that would be for a mint 0 mile bubblewrapped original unmodified garage queen. And don't forget the yearly taxes, insurance, ect. Only the mega rich or mega stupid or both would pay that much $$$ just to park a car and look at it sitting in a garage. If you can afford a Shelby wait for a good deal at or below sticker buy it and then drive the hell of it and enjoy it. Just dont expect to sell it in 2020 and retire. But if someone wants to put out the image of being rich and/or love to brag about the expensive price they paid for something then knock yourself out. I would rather buy a GT and modify it and make it my own 1 of 1.

 

yup, you're right...its what can be done with just bolt ons and still be reliable as a daily driver...there's any number of GTs floating around pushing 600 with out opening the block, 500's pushing 1000....the most impressive thing and kudos to Ford is that this conversation is going on about OEM factory engines, garage/driveway mechanics and good money but not huge money....even stock on the GT, 300+ horses day in and day out on 87 octane without any sweat or strain...its a real good time to be an enthusiast...old enough to remember when the weekend ritual was clean/polish/tweak/adjust/recheck/readjust....now its as simple as how good can I make it look and hit the road.......

 

My local dealership had a GT500 and shelby GT, asking a little too much for them, the GT500 was going for 63,000 and the Shelby was going for 44,000, absolutely insane!

 

Hey, that's who I work for! LOL! I deal more with the Lodi stores, but still work with them up their quite a bit!

 

Was talking colors with the wife the other night, and drove by the dealer for another look...it was gone! (Sniff) Probably a good thing though, I've been eyeing my piggy bank with dubious intent as of late.

What do you do for Ford? If I might ask?

Regards
Chuck