New to Shelby World since we bought a Vista Blue 09 GT500 in Feb. Hubby says it's not a Cobra and it dosen't say Cobra on Ford Sticker or Manuel, but noticed it says so on top of this forum. Is this car a Shelby Cobra GT500 or just Shelby GT500 ?
A Little confused ???
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Hi, can you ask that again? The Shelby GT500 has Cobra emblems on the front and side, and only has a manual trans.
There is also a Shelby GT, which is not badged with a Cobra.
"Shelby GT500" and "Shelby Cobra GT500" are the same car.
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Well, it depends on who you ask. Here's the poop as I know it. As far as Ford is concerned it is not a Cobra. It's a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (per the sticker and 90% of how people got it registered and insured as that's what it said on the manufacturer's certificate of origin).
On the other hand, the folks that designed it....SVT (still Ford, but their performance group) calls it a SVT Cobra. But, that's not anywhere on any legal paperwork for the car. They had a little, uh, struggle with the fact that Shelby really didn't have much to do with the car yet it was christened as being a "Shelby". Carroll was a "design consultant". He didn't design it, didn't mock it up, didn't build he. He DID approve it so that he would allow them to buy the naming rights. They're not built by Shelby. Only the Shelby GTs (non 500s), KRs and the aftermarket stuff like the 40th Ann Pkg and Supersnake pkg required that Shelby touch it. Originally, they had to be sent to Vegas for the conversions. Now, they have a few other outlets that are approved to make those modifications. There are "pre-title" cars like the Shelby GT and GT500KR that actually go there before you can buy them and there are "post title" conversions where you buy the car and then have the work done.
Back in the day, the original Shelby GT500s weren't called Cobras either. The small 2-seat AC was the Cobra. But, the GT500s and GT350s had snakes all over them as well. And, with the exception of a couple of years, they were finished, pre-title at Shelby. Ford took over full production in the last couple of years.
Cobra (for Ford) has been used on many things including Torinos, Mustang II's (oh God help us all) and more.
OK, that's the long version. The short version....legally...no, your new GT500 is not a Cobra.
bj
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Yes, but there is a mustang logo on the car. Top of the windshield behind the rear view mirror.
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Chelsee, you have to realize that this website was created before anyone knew what the final product was going to be, let alone what the car was going to be named. If you read some of the very early threads, the car was originally going to be putting out 450hp at the engine, but we all know what happened to that number.
Arbour88
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