2011 Ford Shelby GT500 First Drive
Smoky burnouts, lurid powerslides, brutalized rev-limiters and V-8 engines--those are the things that make Shelby-tuned Mustangs great. But as automakers and customers around the world bow down to environmental consciousness and switch to downsized engines, so must the tuning scene.
According to the rumor mill, Shelby is looking at several different options for its future performance Mustangs, one of which is a new twin-turbo package for the pony car’s 3.7-liter V-6 engine. Already a strong hitter in stock form, thanks to an available 305 horsepower, a twin-turbo kit bolted on could give the engine the low-end grunt it’s screaming for and take power levels up to V-8 levels.
Shelby is currently gathering feedback from customers and if the project is given the green light we could be seeing a new twin-turbo Mustang V-6 from Shelby--in concept form--before the year is out. The ‘Shelby GTS’ name is already being brandied about.
The good news is that V-8 fans may also be accommodated as any twin-turbo kit should be able to transfer to bigger eight cylinder engines with minimal modifications. If so, we could be looking at 600 horsepower Shelbys running on relatively mild boost levels.
