Many of us were surprised and just a little shocked when Ford priced the GT500KR at $79,995. The fact that it was steep was a bit of understatement. Downright expensive explains it much better. The fact that it can punch out 540 horsepower and is a limited edition Shelby makes up for some of this we have to admit that we could buy at least two really nice cars for this amount.
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Ford and Shelby are celebrating their 40th anniversary in the guise of the Shelby GT500KR. This new Mustang – which was displayed at the 2008 New York Auto Show is big, bold, and packs 540 horsepower.
Only a limited number of these special cars were to be made – which is something that Shelby always stands by. Except this time they are changing the rules a bit.
When we heard a few months ago that they were going to recreate the old series Knight Rider the first though that popped into our heads was, “who will be KITT?” K.I.T.T. was the all powerful, all knowing, supercar and the hero of the show (or maybe that was David Hasselhoff).
When you read stories about Carroll Shelby, you get the impression that he’s a likable guy, but definitely not one you ever want to cross. So you’ve got to wonder where the misunderstanding happened with the GT500KR.
Ford’s official press release said that only 1,000 of the 510-hp Mustangs would be built, but in an interview with Stangs Unleashed, Shelby says he has not yet agreed to the 1,000 cars Ford says will be built. Does that mean more KRs? Or fewer? Blue Oval News hopes the actual number might match the number of KRs produced in 1968 (1,251 by their count, Ford’s press release says 1,570).
With the successful launch of the Shelby GT behind it and retiree GT-H Hertz rental Mustangs selling as high as $90,000 at auction, the Shelby leviathan continues to climb forward and give forth special-edition Mustangs.
In New York, Shelby launches the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR, a special-edition GT500 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the original “King of the Road.” The GT500KR is the second product, after the GT500, to wear the almost-defunct SVT badge, reminding us that Ford still claims it has a performance division.