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 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR Road and Track test

 

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By: Steve Levy
www.autofiends.com

Flying into Utah, I’m pretty psyched about getting to give the new KR a go. I have some history with the Original KR, and am a big fan of the regular and somewhat uncouth Shelby GT500, probably because it is so. My first taste is a quick run out of downtown Salt Lake City up to a local ski resort on some mountain roads. Really, the only impression I’m getting is just how scary fast the KR is. Windy roads up a ski mountain with Spring run-off and grit mid-blind-turn, surrounded by either air, or rock walls, isn’t the ideal spot to stretch the most brutal ever Mustang’s legs.

Not that the KR is uncivilized—except maybe the exhaust and supercharger whine. In fact from my recollection the ride is better damped than the base GT500 and grip is clearly not an issue at any speeds I’m prepared to hit. In the couple of instances that I do goose it, the lower gearing and higher power make for time warp acceleration: I‘m at a buck sixty before I even know it—wait that’s in kilometers on our Canadian spec testers, but still you do the math!

The next day we’re off to Miller Motorsports Park. It’s a brand new $100 million facility owned and built by Larry Miller—a very rich Mormon gentleman who among other things owns the Utah Jazz and forty plus car dealerships—oh and supposedly most of the private land in Utah, His two vices are basketball—he has the team, and Fords of a Shelby flavor—he has the world’s definitive collection on site. More on that here. The track is a world class, Formula One level facility. If you’re ever in the area, in middle of the Utah desert, check it out.

At the track we’re greeted not just by the KRs but a Vegas buffet of Mustang goodness. Along with an OG 1968 KR in yellow, and an ear shattering 1967 GT350 racer (Larry runs all of his Shelbys), there’s the full line of Mustang street cars from V6 to KR, along with race cars too. They run the ladder from the Miller Racing School GT to a full blown FR500S factory race car. There’s a reason for this. You didn’t think they’d just toss us out on a strange track in a 540hp (40hp more than the GT500) KR on cold tires. We are all supposedly trained professionals—but I’ve seen that recipe go wrong a couple of times with much lesser machinery. No, the Ford and SVT PR peeps are pretty smart. We’ve got to start low(er) on the ladder.

My first weapon of choice is the 2008 Mustang Bullit edition. I’m a big fan. I learn the track, try a Shelby GT350—prefer the Bullitt, learn the track some more. Then get dropped into a Miller Racing School car. WHOAAH, Horsey!!! Now the Miller Racing School car is a stock Mustang GT with a lightly stripped interior, roll cage, a moderately revamped track tuned suspension and brake parts from the Ford Racing catalog pushed by a totally stock 320hp motor. I’m sold. After the street cars, this thing is magic. It turns in with a dodge of the wrist, when the big grip starts going you can steer by throttle and the brakes just drop the speed. I have to completely re-calibrate my braking and turn in points and I spend a lot of time “getting to know” the track in this thing. The fact that this is not far off a basic GT demonstrates how well sorted the Mustang platform is for fast driving.

Onto the KR. Here’s a few numbers and facts first. The KR starts life as a regular GT500 and is trucked to Shelby’s plant just outside of Las Vegas. There they replace the suspension, front spoiler, rear spoiler, hood, intake, exhaust and suspension parts with new bits developed by Ford SVT and Ford Racing. The hood is a trick carbon fiber dual layer piece chambered to deliver good cold air directly to the new air ntake and suck the bad hot air up and out. Its also eleven pounds lighter than the aluminum GT500 piece. New dampers and springs with increased rates and lowered ride heights are bolted and set to a unique alignment with more negative camber. Bespoke Goodyear Eagle F1 Super tires with construction and compound unique to the KR wrap a set of lightweight Alcoa rims—same size at the GT500. This translates to 1.0g lateral and six feet quicker stop from 60. Hundred foot slalom speed increases from 68.5mph to 71.7mph—significant.

The motor breathes better with new air intake and new exhaust with H pipe and a smaller resonator and muffler that vents through Bullitt 3 ½ inch tips. To ice the cake a lower 3.73 gear is dropped into the rear axle. On the interior a short shifter topped by a cue ball shift knob, some trim and leather changes and a signed and numbered plaque on the dash tip you that you’re in another limited edition ‘Stang. Power is up to 540hp and 510tq over the GT500’s 500hp and 480tq and the quarter mile at 12.1 seconds goes by 0.7 seconds faster. Now that all doesn’t sound like a big menu of changes for your $30k premium. I mean you could probably get more power and grip upping the boost on the supercharger and slapping on a suspension kit and some big rims. In fact Shelby has their Super Snake built from that way but with a few more horses than the KR, but while it sounds good on paper its actually not that cohesive a driver. The GT500KR most definitely is.

What you are paying for is thousands of man hours of development by the highly qualified SVT engineers whose goal was to improve lap times, increase grip and maintain ride and handling while creating a better balanced vehicle—their words. And this they did. The sum of these seemingly small changes is a huge improvement in the 500 as a driver’s car and track tool—though unfortunately we seriously doubt many buyers will be using a KR for that. And that’s a shame, because the KR is fantastic on track. Again I have to recalibrate—the 2.2 mile East loop becomes a different track when I crack the whip. Braking points rush up when I unleash all 540 horses. Fortunately the brakes are up to the task of hauling in the, though lighter by a couple of pounds, still porky Mustang.

After running the lightened Miller School GT the weight is noticed but hides well. The steering is a touch light and feel isn’t exactly telepathic but once you figure it out the KR makes all the right moves. The traction control and ABS have been recalibrated to allow some power sliding out of turns and late braking. The power is endless, I find myself having to temper my right foot—you could really get into trouble in this car fast, hence the long morning of familiarizing ourselves with the track. But once I find the KR’s groove I’m hooked. The power is addictive and while the (very high!) handling limits can be reached easily, the chassis is so well tuned you can take it right there and play on the edge knowing that the car will do what’s asked. This was clearly demonstrated during some hot laps with one of SVT’s testers. He threw a whole book of unsettling tricks at the KR and the car did nothing nasty in return.

So is the KR worth the $75k plus MSRP. Well that depends. Probably not if you’re a Europhile and compare it to what else you can get for that money—Audi RS4, BMW M3 etc. And a Corvette Z06 is the same money. But that’s not the point. The GT500KR is a truly great performance car–it is the car the GT500 should have been. It’s a fully sorted version where the 500 is about 80% done. And if you look at what’s been changed or added, maybe there’s $5k more actual content in there, and you can have a GT500 for about $45k! But again that’s not the point. The guys who are going to buy this are Ford guys, Mustang guys, Shelby guys, and there’s already a whole bunch lined up. What they are buying into is the Shelby legend—its worth every penny to them. And one thing to think about—there’s a new Mustang around the corner and the next GT500 can only benefit.

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Originally formed as the COBRA Club in 1972. Established as a Region of SAAC in 1975. One of the oldest SAAC Regions in the United States