Shelby Honors Founder with 825-horsepower Signature Series

Just 50 people will be able to buy a 2020 Carroll Shelby Signature Series Mustang that honors the one and only automotive legend.

How do you honor an industry icon? Some organizations do it with a bronze statue or by naming an award after the person to which they’re paying tribute. According to Shelby American, Shelby is honoring its late, great founder, who died in 2012, with a car: the 2020 Carroll Shelby Signature Series Mustang.

Shelby started with a Mustang GT and “spent the past two years carefully engineering and refining the car to create a vehicle worthy of Carroll Shelby’s name.” They recently unveiled the finished product at the National Automobile Dealer Association Show in Las Vegas. The exterior modifications are not only cosmetic, but also functional. The front fascia and grille have ducts and grilles designed to better manage air flow. A pair of scoops on the hood channel air to the more powerful engine underneath it. The widened front fenders have heat extractor vents bearing Carroll Shelby’s signature. Those two stripes that start at the front of the car run all the way back to the pronounced rear spoiler, which features a Gurney flap, through the panel between the taillights and down the diffuser.

Carroll was all about making Mustangs more powerful. We think he’d be happy to know that the Signature Series is true to that performance spirit. The Whipple supercharger attached to the 5.0-liter V8 increases horsepower from 460 to a Hellcat-disciplining 825. A Shelby by Borla exhaust system with custom finishers lets out the ‘roided-up Coyote’s growl.

The Mustang GT’s transmission options carry over to the Signature Series. Cars with the six-speed manual are equipped with a short-throw shifter and a one-piece driveshaft while those with the 10-speed automatic have a transmission cooler.

All Signature Series Mustangs feature the MagneRide Damping System and a set of 20″ X 11″ forged aluminum monoblock wheels wrapped in 305-millimeter-wide tires. Those bookend Shelby-specific rocker panels and winglets. Six-piston front and four-piston rear Shelby by Brembo brakes keep the blown 5.0’s power in check.

Interior upgrades include the expected dash plaque with Carroll Shelby’s signature on it. It’s also on the floor mats and front leather/suede seats. Shelby worked with Katzkin to develop a unique “Snake Skin” pattern for them that both looks cool and pays homage to the man that made the words “Shelby Cobra” part of every American’s vocabulary.

If you want to honor Carroll Shelby by doing a burnout in your very own Signature Series Mustang, you’d better start making some calls. Shelby is only going to make 50 of them for the North American market. Pricing starts at $127,795.

Photos: Shelby American

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.