X

2011 Ford Shelby GT500 (photos)

Like Delta Force, the Special Vehicles Team (SVT) at Ford have an elite mission, building cars that won't necessarily be mass sellers for the company, but will preserve and reinforce heritage. The latest SVT effort is the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500, a limited production vehicle with 550 horsepower.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
34138645_SS07.jpg
1 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
The 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 is a unique vehicle. Although based on the Mustang, you will not find any Mustang badges on the car. Neither will you find Ford badging. Instead, the Shelby Cobra logo and the GT500 model name appear prominently.
34138645_SS01.jpg
2 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Ford plans to make only 5,500 units of the 2011 Shelby GT500--a limited run considering how many cars the automaker sells in general. Although not called a Mustang, the Shelby GT500 sits at the performance apex of the Mustang lineup.
34138645_SS02.jpg
3 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
The Shelby GT500 builds on the retro-classic Mustang styling with a lower fascia that mirrors the grille and headlight frame. The hood bulges to accommodate the supercharger, and the stripes are standard.
34138645_SS03.jpg
4 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
This aluminum block engine replaces the cast iron block in the 2010 model (saving weight) and, with the supercharger, churns out 40 more horsepower than the previous version.
34138645_SS04.jpg
5 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Although a coupe, the rear seats were actually usable, and seatbelt extenders eliminated painful twisting around to buckle up.
34138645_SS06.jpg
6 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
The SVT performance package on this car led to excellent handling, but a painfully rough ride.
34138645_SS08.jpg
7 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Beyond the Shelby cabin touches, such as the sport steering wheel and ball shifter, the interior is standard Mustang quality. That means soft surfaces over the dashboard, but hard plastics lining the doors.
34138645_SS09.jpg
8 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
These red stripe seats matched the interior style with the exterior.
34138645_SS10.jpg
9 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Suede over the wheel near the lateral spokes made for a comfortable grip. We were impressed with the handling, which was aided by the SVT suspension tuning.
34138645_SS11.jpg
10 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
These buttons on the right spoke of the steering wheel control the stereo, phone, and Sync voice command.
34138645_SS12.jpg
11 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
We didn't care for these gauges, as the speedometer and tach only use half of the available real estate.
34138645_SS13.jpg
12 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
This white cue ball shifter is a nice touch, but the six-speed manual's gate takes some determination to shift through.
34138645_SS14.jpg
13 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Ambient lighting illuminates the foot wells and interior door handles. Set to red here, the color is adjustable through a wide range of hues.
34138645_SS15.jpg
14 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
The hard-drive-based navigation system shows 3D and 2D maps at a good level of resolution. Traffic overlays show freeway flow and incident information.
34138645_SS17.jpg
15 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Fuel prices are one of the data feeds the car receives from Sirius Travel Link. Others include movie times and sports scores.
34138645_SS18.jpg
16 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Sirius radio is included in the Shelby GT500.
34138645_SS19.jpg
17 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
Sync interfaces with MP3 players, letting users browse the music library or use voice command to ask for specific songs.
34138645_SS20.jpg
18 of 18 Josh Miller/CNET
The Bluetooth phone system downloads a paired phone's contact list, making it available onscreen.

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos