Shelby 1000: Highest Powered Production Muscle Car

By Dave Ashton

The current crop of high-end muscle cars is steadily creeping towards the 1,000 horsepower mark, but Shelby broke the barrier back in 2012 with the Shelby 1000. The street-legal version made 950hp on pump gas, while the track-ready variant with pump gas made 1100hp. The last versions of the car were only built for the track, which makes sense if you want to lay down the full extent of its power. However, if you do want a roadgoing version, you’ll have to make do with an upgraded GT350.

Under the Hood

The basic template of the Shelby 1000 was the S550 Mustang GT, utilizing a 5.2-liter Aluminator V8, and a 4.5-liter Whipple supercharger. A 90° crank and cylinder heads came from the GT350, with additional upgrades including a tweaked ECU, high flow fuel system, enhance manual transmission unit, and intercooler.

The 2012-2014 versions were based on the Ford Shelby GT500 with a 5.8L V8. To handle all the extra power, nearly every component needed to be upgraded. Aspects such as new CV joints and heavy-duty half shafts were installed, along with a completely new suspension, with tubular adjustable upper and lower control arms and coil overs. The car stuck to the ground with 10 and 12 inch forged wheels, with the addition of 20-inch sticky tires for good measure.

The design of the machine at first glance looks more or less stock, but a full body kit has been woven into the complete design. An upgraded front fascia was added, along with a new hood, front fenders, quarter panels, rockers, rear diffuser, and widened front and rear tracks.

Only 50 examples of the Shelby 1000 will be birthed each year, and with a price tag of $169,995, not including the price of the donor car, only serious buyers should apply.

Drive the Shelby 1000 Virtually

It’s obviously not going to be the same as driving the real thing, but you have the chance to sling the Shelby 1000 round a track via the Forza Horizon 4 game. The car is apparently available by completing the seasonal championship, ‘Shelby Coming Round the Mountain.’

If you want to buy one of these Shelby 1000’s on the used market, you will have to keep your eyes peeled as they don’t pop up for sale very often. After a quick search online, we found one that had sold on Jan 11, 2020 via Mecum for $165,000 with only 968 miles on the clock. If you want to check out this particular listing, visit the link here.

 

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