Production Begins for 2012 Shelby Models, New Shelby GTS Starts Ahead of Schedule

Shelby American has announced that production of the firm’s 2012 models, including the Shelby GTS, GT350, and GT500 Super Snake, is now under way. Claiming that its production team is nearly done cranking out the last of the 2011 models, Shelby says assembly of the all-new GTS package for the 2012 Mustang is beginning ahead of schedule.

“Our production team has really hit their stride,” said Shelby American Vice President of production Gary Davis in a release. “This allowed us to fast-track production of 2011 model cars and move on to building 2012 Shelby GT350 and Shelby GTS [models], as well as the Super Snake.”

The last 45^th Anniversary edition GT350 was recently completed, which cleared the way for the GTS to start production. That car begins as a 2012 Ford Mustang equipped with either the 305-hp 3.7-liter V-6 or the 412-hp 5.0-liter V-8, and adds unique bodywork, new springs and stabilizer bars, a Ford Racing front strut tower brace, upgraded brakes from Baer, and a cold air intake. The GTS package starts at $9995 for V-6 models, or $11,995 for 5.0-liter GT models. This price is above the cost of the actual car, and quickly jumps if you add one of the optional superchargers to your equipment list, which can boost power in the V-6 model to 475 hp, and between 525 and 624 hp in the GT.

The Super Snake package carries a post-title price tag of $33,500, and turns Ford’s already potent Mustang Shelby GT500 into a 750-hp supercharged monster. The Super Snake package adds a Ford Racing supercharger and tuned ECU to the GT500’s 550-hp 5.4-liter V-8 equation. New for 2012 is an optional Kenne Bell supercharger, which ups the ante to 800 hp. Although those figures make the car sound unstreetable, the Super Snake is 50-state legal and makes its power running on pump gas.

Each Shelby-built model receives its own unique serial number and is entered into the Shelby American Worldwide Registry. Shelby anticipates that many buyers of the GTS package will opt for the standard Shelby treatments at first, but will eventually pony up for the superchargers once their budgets allow.

 

 

Source: Motor Trend