dotbomb

Some of us young people know better and is why I personally purchased a S281 SC instead of a GT500 this year.

With Shelby tossing his/their hat in the ring with aftermarket modified cars we can now start anxiously anticipating well engineered, powerful, and balanced cars with the Shelby name attached.

I'd like nothing more than to have a Shelby share the garage with my Saleen. It needs to be a solid handling car though.

mail906

Just wanted to chime in and pass along some thanks and kudos to amyb.

I've been fortunate enough to own / drive some fine vehicles (7 series BMW's; Porsches; a Cadillac STS and others), including my 07 GT vert. And my experiences have been pretty much the same - all being large and rigid manufacturers who seemingly has little concern regarding what its customers think or how they are treated. Ford appears to be no different in that regard.

The simple fact that Amy [Shelby motorcars] monitors and shares in this dialogue is a great, and welcome thing - for Ford, the Shelby business and us consumers.

And finally, being the proud father of twin daughters, I'd also like to say thanks to Amy for being a great role model. [My girls are only 12 but both can drive a car; and one can drive remarkably well (highway speeds, etc.).]

Cowtown

First off, thanks Amy for partaking in the site, always nice to have the word direct from the source.

My thoughts on the GT are that I like it. I would likely drop the coin for the H hood upgrade as I just don't care for that one and if I had to nitpick one other thing the lettering on the stripe just seems off. I don't know maybe I'll have to see it in person or more shots but the font just looks off.

Anyways it's plain to see here that Shelby is simply trying to catch up to and obviously surpass what tuner companies like Roush, Steeda and Saleen are doing. And hey great for them doing that. I respect those other brands completely but if I was going to pursue a base "tuner" car that had a lenghtly list of upgrades or "levels" I'd be way more prone to go to shelby.

The Shelby GT isn't enough to get me out of my 06 GT, but I've only had it for 2.5 months so ya know tough luck there but I'll certainly be watching for future models.

stang22

It's not? We don't? Ohh you're right, great handling and less weight with the old school looks needs to be there also!

AFBLUE

Makes sense when you put it that way.

These figures may be off, but should be in the ball park
According to the Motor Trend article, 2 workers spend 10 hours putting together a GT-H and then it goes to another area for paintwork.

Let's say that each of these workers get paid $20/hour and it takes 15 hours of work to complete the job (10 hours + 5 hours of paintwork). That's $600 in labor + $500-1000 in parts (just a wag), and $720 to ship it from Detroit to Las Vegas and $720 more to ship to dealership.

MSRP on the Mustang used to build the Shelby GT is $29,610 (another wag)
Assumes Premium GT with ABS, 18" wheels, IUP, Premier Trim, anti-theft, wheel lock kit, front seat airbags

This comes out to ~$32K, but excludes overhead and making a profit.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Shelby doesn't pay MSRP for the cars so, $30K might be a better cost estimate before overhead and profit.

pville piper

I agree. The scoop to me seems about the right size and shape, it just needs to be blended in. Another thing I don't care for is the fact that the car is gonna be shipped to Vegas (costs money) and then they are gonna pull off perfectly good components to make this car. That is if it is built like the GT-H. Which means the hood; the ENTIRE rear axle assembly and the suspension components will be pulled off and, for all intents and purposes, discarded.
This is a waste in not only material, but I have to buy the parts essentially twice! Once when they put the stock part on in the factory and the second time when they replace brand new components in Vegas. I can see when it comes to things like air intake, Ford would take a hit maybe if they did this, but why can't the suspension components and body panels be mounted at the factory? Think of the cost savings that this could produce. It just amazes me!

StangFreak

Amy,


So exactly what other performance parts are going to be available for this car and what kind of performance could one expect out of the car once all the parts are installed??? Could these said parts be added on at the time of purchase and financed as part of the total cost??? There wouldn't be a supposed supercharger kit for it now would there??!!

softbatch

Amyb,

What size wheels and tires are going to be on the Shelby GT? Please put some 17/18x10s front and rear.

Also are the tires going to be all seasons or are we going to see some summer only tires?

Webba

A few comments on the last few responses. First I would say that the $20 labor rate is way off. If they only figure that they lose their arss. I would say the rate is closer to $75 an hour. Nowadays the part of the rate the guy gets paid is sometimes the smallest part. You have insurance, workers comp, liability insurance, overhead of the building, tools, etc. So anyway jusy food for thought.
As for the putting the certain parts on at the factory, they wont do that cause it will slow the line way down. It will then be a hand done car like a Ferrari...not the same obviously but you get the drift. They will have to charge even more for the car. Sad but true.

LBJay

All suspension/driveline differences could be done on the line without loosing 1 minute of time.

amyb

Totally agree, the parts will make the difference and everyone will be able to have the "shelby" they want. On a side note, many young people want a shelby and cant buy a Gt500 or afford the insurances, thats why we built the CS6 Parts car, you can buy a v6, get the shelby kit, and for a total of 15K, have a car with 375 HP, and all the style you want. and your ins is still for a V6.

There are people who have the $$ to buy the full package, and there are those who want to do it over time, their way. we hope to appeal to both groups. also, the Gt-H had a 3:55 rear, we are hoping we can do 3:73 rear in the Shelby GT.


Amy

Knight Rider

Those are great ideas Amy. I love the way Shelby Automobiles thinks.

StangNut

The GT-H had a 3.55 rear? In that 5-speed Auto, that should do pretty good.

351pony

Amy, does this mean there may be plans to allow people to mix and match parts on their new Shelby GT?

As an example, could I order a Shelby GT to be built with the hood from the CS-6, the upper grille from the WCC Shelby, the tail from the GT-500, a set of CS-66 rims (anthracite), etc. All these parts are already available from Shelby/Ford.

I know I've spent about $10k in modifications, not including the cost of my time, in researching and building my own version of the GT-350. So if there was a way to get a car direct from Shelby/Ford that already encompassed the more retro style looks as well as the various performance enhancements (both hp and handling) I would have jumped at it... Heck, I probably still would as it would then truly be a one-off Shelby.

amyb

Thank you, that is one of the nicest things anyone has said

You know, I have been fortunate at my age(old) and a woman to have had 3 distint careers, all 3 men dominated business'. Not sure why, but if that was possible for me, then by the time your girls are old enough, they will have unlimited possibilities. The key is a level playing field, its not about being a woman or man in business, its mutual respect and friendship... anything is possible .

Amy

amyb

Yes, it should be the Shelby you want

Amy

dotbomb

I'm impressed Amy. I think you have a winning strategy. You'll catch up to the competition quickly. Your brand is more well known and people can pronounce it properly too! (rush, rouwsh, sayleen, suhleen...)

USMC_LB

I thought the "offical" release was going to happen today ?

I havent been able to find anything....

Tim

mark1

From: remarks delivered by Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President and President of The Americas, on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006

Working together with Carroll Shelby, we have developed a retail version of the GT-H, which we call the Shelby GT. We will unveil full details to the public in our Bold Moves documentary this Sunday.

pitpup

A watched pot never boils... there is that dreaded time zone difference, don't forget!