Even after last year's big changes, the Ford Shelby GT500 receives notable improvements for 2011. The 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 is a high-performance variant of the Mustang. The GT500 convertible also comes with a power-operated soft top.
Both the GT500 coupe and convertible have "GT500" side stripes, while the coupe also has racing stripes over the nose and tail. Options include a glass roof for the coupe, an Electronics package (hard-drive-based navigation system, HD radio and dual-zone climate control), an upgraded 10-speaker 1,000-watt sound system and the SVT Performance package (unique 19-inch front/20-inch rear wheels, higher-performance tires, revised suspension calibrations, unique stripes/rear spoiler and a 3.73 limited-slip rear axle).
Powertrains and Performance The rear-wheel-drive Shelby GT500 is powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 that produces 550 hp and 510 pound-feet of torque. Standard on the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 are ABS, traction control, stability control and front-seat side airbags. Rear-passenger side-impact protection also garnered five stars. The GT500 also has Ford's excellent Sync system that allows voice commands for your cell phone, the audio system and the (optional) navigation system.
Driving Impressions With more power than any of the revered Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s, the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 offers performance that's nothing short of intoxicating. No matter how good the Ford Shelby GT500 has looked on paper, the car has always fallen short in reality, not unlike LeBron and the Cavs. The last Shelby we tested was more than 300 pounds heavier than a GT, and almost all of those extra pounds were over the front axle.
“A lighter engine,” they murmured. The engine is essentially a wet-sump evolution of the Ford GT’s (which was itself a dry-sump evolution of the SVT Mustang’s). The GT500’s engine retains the same 90.2-millimeter bore and 105.8-mm stroke of the iron-block engine, as well as the 8.4:1 compression ratio. The new engine makes 550 horsepower at 6200 rpm, an improvement of 10 horses over the 2010 GT500.
The P265/40 front and P285/35 back tires mount on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear forged aluminum wheels, each one inch larger than the base GT500’s.
To match the tires, Ford engineers increased the front spring rate by 20.5 percent and the rear by 9.5 percent, while lowering the ride height by 0.4 and 0.3 inch, respectively, compared with the base GT500’s. Externally, cars with the Performance package get narrower body stripes than the base GT500’s. Thanks to the new engine, the electric power steering, and the lighter wheels, the car we drove tipped our scales at 3751 pounds, 146 less than the last GT500 we tested.
The combination of less weight, more power, better tires, and a revised suspension turns the Shelby into the car it always should have been. Our last 2010 test car ran those sprints in 4.5, 9.6, and 12.7 seconds, respectively. The Shelby GT500’s base price is $49,495, which grew to $55,330 on our test vehicle with the addition of the SVT Performance package—a must-have in our minds—and the Electronics package (voice-activated navigation system, high-definition and satellite radio, and dual-zone electronic climate control). The Shelby positively slaughters rival pony cars from Chevy and Dodge.
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