'67 Shelby Mustang GT500 vs. '10 Shelby Mustang GT500

I collected hundreds of Matchbox and Hot wheels cars when I was a child but that was only the beginning of a passion that has room to grow. Here is a back round on why I am so passionate about cars. For starters I have always loved cars. What really started my obsession was the movie Gone in Sixty Seconds and the ’67 Shelby Mustang featured: Eleanor. When I was 15 I bought my first car a ’69 Mustang. After a while I upgraded to a ’79 Camaro, which I still have, was in a lot better shape than the Mustang.I now know why the mustang got the nickname of "Rustang" for the ungodly amount of rust everywhere. All of this is only the begging because I aspire to restore classic cars in my future.

This week we have the infamous matchup between the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 and the 2010 Shelby GT 500. Let’s start with the legendary 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500. This car is my dream car. Ever since the I saw it in Gone in Sixty Seconds, I have always wanted one. I would probably give up a limb for one. This car is wanted by all enthusiasts, the design has never been replicated to matched. The exterior of the Shelby is very amazing. The lines are perfect. I think the most legendary part of the Shelby is 1. The grill, 2. The door scoops and 3. The Window Levor. The Shelby’s paint scheme is also something unforgettable, it comes with a base color such as red, blue or green, and comes with two racing stripes down the middle. There are also stripes on the rocker panels underneath the doors which is a 3 stripe concept which labels it a GT500 or GT350. The overall grade I give the ’67 Shelby is an A+++.

The Interior is almost as flawless as the exterior. In my opinion the dash stands out the most to me. It has everything. The steering wheel is a beautiful wooden wheel with chrome accents. Chrome accents are followed throughout the dash. The gauges are big and bright with a race car feel. The carpet is simple as well as the other panels. The seats are leather usually coming with a Cobra badge on it. And if your lucky Carroll Shelby, the designer, himself gives his stamp of approval with a signature on the dash. The interior receives an A+ as well.

The engine is also legendary. The Shelby comes with a 429 cubic inch Cobra motor. This is anyone’s dream engine because of so much power. Out of the factory it came with 355 hp and 420 foot pound of torque. It would go fro 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 133 mph. The Shelby comes with a manual transmission or for the women an automatic C-6 transmission. The overall grade is also an A+. Some of these cars go upwards of $300,000 dollars of value. So the total grade of the car I would give is an A++.

Now the 2010 Shelby Mustang. There is nothing yet legendary with this new car because it has not been in any feature roles in movies or guest appearances. The exterior of this car is good, just good. I think it looks a lot better than the base model Mustang but nothing special. Everything matches up very well, the lines, paint, etc. This car does not get me that excited to talk about it. Unlike the Camaro remake this car does not mix in all of it’s counter parts just a few. The stance is aggressive and the car gives the vibe of “let’s race”. The paint is exactly like the ’67, a base color with stripes. Oh yea you could get the option of a convertible or a glass roof. The overall grade I five the exterior is a B+.

The interior however lives up to the name. The dash is very similar to the ’67 even down to the Mr. Shelby signature and badge. The seats come from a later model Mustang because it performed better, with more support and stability. The seats also have accent stripes down the middle of them that give the ’70’s feel to it, with the Cobra Badge. The door panels have all the bells and whistles that are expected in a new car and have accent pieces on it as well. I give the interior remake and A, a much better improvement than the exterior.

The under the hood goods also do not disappoint as well. The engine is 5.4 liter supercharged engine. This engine puts out an optional 540 hp and 510 foot pounds of torque. That takes the Shelby to “Tire Shredding Status”. An owner of t one of these will either need to get new tires every month or caught speeding at least once a week. The transmission comes as an automatic or a manual. The look on the compartment is very sleek and clean, with no loose wires or clutter. The over all grade is an A+.

Now the comparison, I think that this is a good remake of the ’67 but some tweaking is needed in my opinion on the exterior. Everything else lived up to expectations. It is hard to live up to expectations when they are set so high and are so legendary. Ford needs to keep up the good work for the future.

Stangnet.com blog: racin' randy (February 6th, 2010 at 1:56 am)

“Whoa is someone carrying a little grudge? Shelby has more than his name on it, he has lent his expertise and design ideas. It just wasn’t put together at his factory in Las Vegas, which saves us a lot of money. Check out his additions to a regular GT Mustang and you will see how much more you get by having Ford do it.”