Ford has finally dished the goods on the next-generation GT500. Get a napkin ready, you’re going to drool. The Blue Oval has finally ditched the ridiculously heavy iron block 5.4-liter V8 in favor of an aluminum engine of the same displacement. Weighing in at a full 120 102 lbs (Thanks, Craig!) less than the old mill, the new supercharged V8 produces an extra 10 horsepower just for kicks. Needless to say, this should have a huge impact on the car’s boat anchor front end. The GT500 may finally be able to keep up with the competition. Check out the gallery of the 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 for a closer look. [Source: Ford]

Get excited, people. Ford’s dishing the goods on the upcoming 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 on Monday during a live webcast. The shindig will kick off an 1:30 pm Eastern, which leaves us a full weekend of pondering on what the baddest of the Pony family will have to offer. Sort of. See, the company has rolled out a teaser video to whet our collective whistles. The car seems to look pretty close to the 2010 GT500 we already know and love, but there promises to be some serious grunt under that long hood. Hit the jump to see it for yourself. [Source: YouTube]

Here at WebRides we love us some Shelby GT500. How could we not? The latest beast from Ford’s SVT workshop is a more than impressive combination of massive power, great looks, right on handling and a (relatively) low price. It’s even got Sync. Not good enough says the maniacs from Shelby. 12.3 in the quarter-mile at 118 mph? For babies. No, what the GT500 needs is more power Super Snake power in fact. Well sir, how does 725 hp grab you? Most likely in the short and curlies. Jump, please.

Where’s all this power come from? A larger supercharger, intercooler and radiator plus a new cold air intake and a higher-flowing JBA exhaust. No word on torque, but we’ll just go and assume that the Super Snake makes much more than the “base” car’s 510 ft-lb. Now, to control all that sinister thrust you get a Ford Racing suspension with adjustable dampers, firmer springs, thicker sway bars and front strut tower brace. Big, Super Snake 20-inch wheels are shod in Pirelli P-Zero rubber. The car also gets a new hood, front splitter and quarter window vents and some interior bunting.

Total cost for all this good stuff: $33,495 plus the $46,000 or so for the GT500. $80,000 for that much muscle ain’t a bad deal. Can’t afford it? No worries, Shelby makes a defanged 630 hp Super Snake for $29,495. But, we’d find a way to come up with the extra $4k. But hang on now — isn’t the GT500 good enough as is? Sure, if you’re a pre-op transexual. But the real men among us will be heading out to Carrol’s shop in Las Vegas to get Snaked! [Source: Autofiends]

After hoping everyone had a fantastic Easter holiday with friends and family, I feel that it is time to talk about some high horsepower American muscle. All fans of the Ford Mustang are already aware of this, but it should be stated that the classic American pony car turns 45 years old this year and what better way to commemorate this monumental achievement than to sell some cars at Barrett-Jackson for charity. As of the end of last week, two concepts and the first production Shelby GT500 were sold on the auction block by B-J. Read on for more details.

As I am a big muscle car and Barrett-Jackson fan, you can only imagine my delight when I heard what Ford was planning to do this last week. Not only did they sell the first production 2010 Shelby GT500, but they also sold the original Mustang GT Concept cars that debuted at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show. These concepts were pivotal in the age of the modern muscle car and there is nobody that will argue against the fact that Ford effectively resurrected the muscle car with the throwback design of the Mustang back in 03. There are some that may be a little surprised at the idea that Ford would sell the original concepts that helped revitalize an industry however in these dire economic times for the auto makers the move makes great sense from a PR standpoint. Well, they did it alright and I was anxious to see the results of the sale.

Both the silver coupe and red convertible Mustang GT Concepts sold for a balmy $175,000 apiece and the 2010 Shelby GT500 was hammered down at $150,000, all being well-bought purchases. The proceeds from the sale of the concepts went to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the 150K from the big snake went to the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation. Stay tuned for the newest installment of Muscle Car of the Week.

I was watching tv two nights ago and came across a show called Rides. As it was about the construction of a new Shelby Cobra concept (back in 2004), I was naturally curious. Well, that show got me thinking of Carroll Shelby again and because of that show, I have chosen the last ‘real’ Shelby muscle car for this installment. The 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500.

Now, with that last statement many people will argue that they made the GT500 until 1970 and they are totally correct. What most people do not know however is the fact that at the end of 1967, Carroll Shelby’s lease expired at the Los Angeles International Airport where he had been posting up for the past few years making his fabled GT350’s. When he relocated to Michigan, Ford took majority control over the Shelby Mustang’s and Shelby was reserved for giving input rather than the almost total control he once had. This change along with the restyled Mustang made for a car that was a blend of factory and Shelby engineering.

Unlike its little brother with the high revving 289 motor and few creature comforts, the GT500 boasted a deluxe interior package from a Mustang GT and several body modifications for a more aggressive look. For starters, the front end was lengthened three inches and a pair of extra headlights were nestled in the center of the grill. The lengthened front end as well as the hood were fiberglass units, both to cut weight and cost. The rear of the car received attention as well. The stock Mustang taillights were swapped out for the much wider ones from it’s Cougar cousin. The final product was a flagship Mustang worthy of it’s crown at the top of the Ford pack.

The GT500’s extra 150 in its name meant it certainly boasted a little more power than the GT350. Instead of a high-winding small block, Shelby and Ford dropped a 428 Police Interceptor V8 between the wider fenders of the 67 Stang. This 7 liter monster was not your ordinary 428 Cobra Jet. Tuned with even more performance in mind the 428 was adorned with an aluminum intake and dual 600 cfm Holley four-barrel carbs. The result was a factory rating of 355 horses although numbers up around 400 are more accurate.

The public fell in love with the GT500 and orders were coming in faster than they had for the production of the GT350. This created some problems with Shelby American who could barely keep up with the order sheets that were piling up. As a result of this increased demand Ford had to make some last minute modifications to speed up the process that included the deletion of side lights. Performance lovers could not get enough of the big snake and even at a sticker price of over $4,100 just over 2,000 people ordered and received their GT500’s. Their popularity continues today and the GT500 has been the star of a movie every single car guy has seen. Yes, I am talking about Gone in Sixty Seconds. Although the car in that movie was dolled up a little too much for my tastes, it still looks the part. And hey, with it’s 650 horses before spray I would say it acts the part as well.

Hope you enjoyed your weekly meal of muscle, Big_Blocker out.

Happy Thursday everyone, Big_Blocker back again for another installment of Muscle Car of the Week and this week we jump back into the mid-1960’s for a look at the birth of an American legend: The 1965 Ford Shelby GT350. Hit the jump to read more on the high-revving Stang that Carroll Shelby tuned to perfection in ‘65.

The Ford Mustang was introduced in 1964 and received some of the biggest first year sales in history selling over 260,000 units in the first year. Although the Mustang was an immediate sensation with young kids looking to cruise around in a hot little pony car on a Friday night, it wasn’t an overly powerful car what with its modest 289 V8 that made 225 horsepower. Ford watched Chevrolet Chevelle’s and Pontiac GTO’s cleaning up the streets while Shelby Cobra’s owned the track in 1964 and decided it was time to make the Mustang a formidable opponent for any challenger. In mid-1964, Ford announced their “Total Performance” campaign in which they planned to pump $$$ into the Mustang and enter it into the SCCA’s (Sports Car Club of America) sports car class, an intention that was immediately refused by the SCCA who sought to remain independent of manufacturer influence. Still eager for a performance image for the Mustang, Ford turned to Carroll Shelby, an up-and-coming racer from Venice, California to work with the SCCA to get the Mustang race-ready.

After negotiations with SCCA officials, Shelby came up with a formula to get the Mustang up to par with performance standards for the day. The formula called for removing the rear seat, bigger brakes, higher horsepower and a better suspension, all of which kept the Stang in the production car arena which was mandatory for homologation into SCCA classes. Shelby was given 5 months to modify the minimum 100 Mustangs before the start of the SCCA season. With the help of other Ford personal such as Chuck Cantwell who did a large part of the work, the 1965 Ford Mustang coded Shelby GT350 was born.

In order to keep factory warranties from being voided, the standard 289 engine block was used in the GT350. The internals were all ‘massaged’ in such a way as to crank out an impressive 306 horsepower in street version and could be tuned all the way up to 360 in a race-ready coupe. Once the hood was popped one could see this car was all business as a large export brace connected both sides of the engine compartment to stiffen the nose of the car at high speeds. The beefed up racing-inspired suspension held the GT350 on the track and made it one of the most formidable handling cars on the street. The deleted rear seat helped reduce weight but made it a bother if you had more than one passenger that needed transportation. A buyer-beware was inherent in each car as these were intended to race and were loud, hot beasts on the road. It certainly took a skilled driver to maneuver one around a road course.

These were expensive mothers right off the showroom floor, a brand new GT350 could set you back over $4,500 back in 1965, no small amount by any means. However, if you were fortunate enough to drive one, you know how a real factory race car feels when it revs up and hits peak horsepower. Hope you enjoyed a look at the GT350, Big_Blocker out.