Technical Review of the 2011 Ford Shelby Cobra GT500 a Car Lovers Dream Machine!

The 2011 Shelby Cobra GT500 is a radical version of the ever popular Ford Mustang and this model has been one of the most sought after mustang models ever introduced. Since the launch of this rendition back in 2006 for model year 2007 it was an instant hit with enthusiasts back then and continues to be a very popular model for Ford.

Horsepower is still King in the land of fuel efficient machines!

Some of the more exciting reasons for the hype that surrounds this particular car are all under the hood. In 2010 the GT500 was pumping out 540 horsepower with a 5.4 Liter supercharged V-8 engine, and this year it is boosted to 550 HP and is done with a new all aluminum block which is 102 pounds lighter than its cast iron predecessor. It also offers better fuel economy which has helped them avoid the stiff gas guzzler tax! This is pretty much a racing engine in a street machine. Beautiful car to look at and a real heart stopper to drive!

This car is really aimed at a specific audience of performance car enthusiasts who have plenty of disposable income. It is not really for a new teenage driver with little experience in anything bigger than a Honda. This is truly a wild beast of a car with a huge appetite for fuel and speed!

One disadvantage is you could never just skip on up to the store for essentials since first of all you would most likely end up a few counties from home visiting a friend since it was so nice out and the car just wanted to run. Another reason you would take forever to do your errands in the GT500 is that almost everyone who sees it that knows about cars will approach you and ask to look under the hood! So a fifteen minute shopping trip could turn into a half a day jaunt with a possible stay over.

Specifications and prices!

The "Base" GT500 Coupe has an MSRP of $48,645 and the Convertible model sells for $53,645.

This super fast car gets 15 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. Not too shabby for a car that can go from zero to sixty mph in 4.1 seconds!

The fact that Ford has decided to produce only 5500 of these GT500 cars means that they will be even more desirable since there will be fewer of them available to consumers.

They are incorporating their newest electric assist steering which should make this version GT500 more manageable in terms of parking and maneuvering in traffic.

The all aluminum engine block has a very unique cylinder bore system which eliminates the standard heavy steel sleeves and replaces them with a "Plasma Transferred" Wire Arc cylinder lining. This special lining reduces friction and lowers the engine weight by 8.5%

There is a Supercharger on this engine which is their real secret weapon for creating so much horsepower and torque, and to make this operate more effectively they have increased the inter-cooler size which in turn gives the system around 40% more cooling capacity. This one small change can make a large difference in the overall performance of any Supercharged engine.

In order to maximize the boost which the Supercharger delivers the exhaust system was improved by making the pipes larger which allows this fire breathing GT500 to breathe more air in and out with each stroke of the pistons.

The standard tires are High Performance rolling on 19" alloy wheels. They used Brembo brakes and have modified certain suspension components to improve the handling. They added special ground effects that make it look even cooler, and these also help with fuel efficiency.

There are a number of options which can add to the price of this car, but the only one i would require would be the optional "Glass Roof" which will set you back an extra $2K. This is reminiscent of the old Ford Crown Victoria which had a tinted glass roof as well.

They offer an SVT package which adds almost $3500 to the price of this car, but it includes wider tires on the front and wider plus taller tires on the rear. These tires are also upgraded to Good Year Eagle F1 Supercar tires.
Includes better springs and shocks as well.

My one and only complaint!

I have only one complaint about the styling of the GT500 and that is it appears to me that someone at the factory got the blueprint wrong and stuck the Cobra emblem on the left side of the grille instead of dead center. It just looks goofy to me for it to be offset like that. Not that it matters much since I will not be able to afford one until about 2020 and even then it will have to be very well used.

Of the 5500 units Ford plans to build about 3400 of them have been sold so far so if you really do want one of these muscle cars then you better hustle on down to the nearest Ford dealer and get yours on order now!

Technical specifications were found at the 2010 Cleveland auto show, and on the official Ford GT500 website page. For more information on the two exciting GT500 models please visit the following website:

www.fordvehicles.com