2013 Shelby 1000 Preview: New York Auto Show

The ultimate Mustang? Maybe for now, but as the last few years have shown us, the 2013 Shelby 1000 isn’t likely to retain its crown for long. The ongoing horsepower arms race saw the Blue Oval introduce the 2012 Ford Shelby GT500 with 550 hp, and the company’s long-time performance-engineering partners at Shelby American quickly doubled that total for the 2012 Shelby 1000. Next, Ford itself upped the ante with the 2013 GT500, which debuted the industry’s most powerful production V8 and offers owners a top speed in excess of 200 mph.

That put the ball back into Shelby’s court. So, in response, the aftermarket experts tore down the new GT500’s 5.8-liter supercharged V8, then retuned and rebuilt it to serve up an astonishing 1200 hp—making the 2013 Shelby 1000 the most powerful street-legal production muscle car in the world. And that was just for starters. Thanks to a tunable suspension, high-performance brakes and an enhanced cooling system, the super Shelby offer incredible all-around performance.

“[T]his car cannot be defined by just its amazing power,” noted Vince LaViolette, Shelby American’s test driver. “The steering provides wonderful feedback and the car tracks beautifully, giving it an athletic feel. It attacks corners, ripping through them with minimal body roll and tremendous grip. Yet the Shelby 1000 can be so docile that you can cruise it down the streets of Manhattan.”

Full specs and a rundown of the content offered in the 2013 Shelby 1000 are not yet available, but more info can be found at www.ShelbyAmerican.com, with pricing details on the next page.

What’s Next for the 2013 Shelby 1000

The 2013 Shelby 1000 will be introduced to the public at the New York Auto Show—where the 2012 version premiered last year—but enthusiasts should keep in mind that Shelby American already is taking orders for the car, and will only build 100 units. It will be a relative bargain, though. The upgraded performance package will cost $154,995, and when the price of a donor 2013 Shelby GT500 is included, the starting MSRP of a complete 2013 Shelby 1000 will be $209,645.

Now, that does represent a fair amount of coin, but to put things into context, drivers would have to pay an extra $2 million beyond that point to get into the similarly horsepowered Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse. The Koenigsegg Agera R, topping out at mere 1140 hp, will set you back at least $1.5 million.

“The 2012 Shelby 1000 was launched to great acclaim at the New York Auto Show last year to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” said John Luft, president of Shelby American. “We’re bringing back the Shelby 1000 to New York, but with Ford’s new 2013 Shelby GT500 as the base car. With its new engine, launch control, adjustable suspension and other new enhancements, we’ve created a car with even more capabilities.

“The 2013 Shelby 1000 incorporates everything we’ve learned over five decades of creating high-performance vehicles.