The 2007 Shelby Cobra GT500 was the most powerful factory-built Ford
Mustang in history when introduced, which followed a unique collaboration between performance car legend Carroll
Shelby and the Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT).
Designed in the unmistakable image of Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s, the Shelby Cobra GT500 melds SVT's modern engineering with the big-block performance that made the original GT500 the king of the road.
Just as the big-block GT500 from 1968 was a step up from the GT350, the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500’s 500 horsepower, 5.4-liter V-8 is a step up from the 4.6-liter V-8 used in yesterday’s SVT Mustang Cobra.
The 2007 Shelby GT500 sports the largest displacement engine installed in a volume version of the Mustang since 1973.
While the big block, overhead cams and four valves per cylinder contribute significantly to the 500-horsepower output of the 2007 Shelby GT500’s 5.4-liter V-8, a Roots-type supercharger and intercooler are the icing on the cake. In fact, the configuration is similar to the Ford GT supercar, offering the right combination of classic Ford big-block power and modern technology. Using the Ford GT as a blueprint, SVT has given the GT500 more total horsepower than any factory Mustang in the car’s celebrated history.
With the stout cast-iron, 5.4-liter Triton V-8 engine as a starting point, the Shelby GT500 adds a Roots-type 8.5-pounds-per-square-inch Eaton supercharger and water-to-air intercooler producing 500-horsepower.
Adding forced-induction power is more than just a bolt-on proposition. The engine’s internals need upgrading for the sake of strength and durability. To that end, the Shelby GT500’s powerplant benefits from unique connecting rods and forged pistons to handle the extra strain on the lower end of the block.
The all-new intake manifold helps to channel the supercharged fuel-air mixture into the cylinders. The low-profile manifold design also effectively packages the entire induction system under the GT500’s special air-extractor hood. Fuel comes from a dual-bore electronic throttle body borrowed from Ford’s 6.8-liter V-10 truck engine program.
To manage heat produced by 500 horses, engineers devised a set of GT500 specific features, including an air-extractor hood, a high-capacity aluminum radiator, an intercooler mounted below the blower, a loop-style power-steering cooler and an oil-to-water stacked-dish engine oil cooler.
While supercharging is a key element in the Shelby GT500’s ability to generate so much horsepower, another major contributing component is the design of cast-aluminum, four-valve cylinder heads sourced from the Ford GT supercar.
Machining changes are incorporated into the outside ends of the heads and to the left rear cam cap to fit the engine into the Mustang chassis.
Developed specifically for supercharged applications, these high-performance heads use high-flow ports and specially calibrated dual-overhead camshafts to deliver optimum engine "breathing" along with surprisingly good fuel efficiency and emissions.
The cams and valvetrain are specific to the Shelby GT500. The cam drive system is unique and designed to fit into the Mustang engine compartment, which is narrower than the Ford GT’s. The oil pan and windage tray are the wet-sump setup from the Mustang GT. The Ford GT uses a dry-sump arrangement.
To enthusiasts, the real beauty of any performance car rests with its engine. That idea certainly wasn’t lost on Carroll Shelby because Mustangs that bore his name have traditionally brought his unique sense of style and personality directly into the engine compartment. One Shelby signature feature – special finned-valve covers embossed with "COBRA Powered By Ford" – soon became the envy of so many Ford V-8 owners.
The GT500 is equipped with special "Powered by SVT" finned-cam covers to hint at the beauty of all those horses lurking in the engine below. Mated to the Ford GT 4-valve cylinder heads are unique exhaust manifolds that help to better scavenge spent gases out of the cylinders and into the custom-tuned mufflers and dual-exhaust system.
A special device called a "tuned exhaust crossover" was incorporated to create the special sound. Unlike the H-pipe design used by the Mustang GT, the Shelby GT500 uses an X-shape stamping to create the desired sound and increase power output through dynamic scavenging.
The gearbox used by the 2007 Shelby GT500 also is a rarity. Few transmissions exist in the marketplace today that can handle the torque loads generated by the supercharged GT500, so engineers are opting to stick with the proven heavy-duty performance of the TR6060 6-speed manual gearbox.
The GT500 employs an upgraded version of the T-56, which first appeared in the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, powered by a naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V-8 with 385 horsepower, and later in the supercharged 2003 SVT Mustang Cobra whose DOHC 4.6-liter produced 390 horses. For the Shelby GT500, the six-speed manual will be geared to make the most of the supercharged 5.4-liter’s broad power band.
Modern, race-derived technology provides an interesting power comparison: The GT500 with a 5.4-liter, DOHC, supercharged V-8 produces better than 100 horsepower more with nearly 100 fewer cubic inches. Compare that with the 1967 Shelby GT500’s 355-horsepower, 428-cubic-inch-displacement, big-block V-8.
The GT500 uses cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder and double overhead cams for optimum engine "breathing." Using multiple valves per cylinder provides the engine with a more efficient airflow, generating higher peak horsepower. As an additional benefit, multi-valve engines better utilize the air-and-fuel mixture in the cylinders with less waste and unburned fuel vapor. Also, multi-valve engines are better suited to help scavenge exhaust gases out of the cylinder after combustion is complete for more power with cleaner tailpipe emissions.
In addition, supercharging produces the peak horsepower of a much larger-displacement, naturally aspirated engine. Yet, at lower throttle applications, the smaller displacement enabled by supercharging consumes less fuel, resulting in increased fuel economy and lower emissions.
As a result, the 2007 Shelby GT500 is designed not only to be the most powerful Mustang from the factory – but also one of the cleanest.
Designed in the unmistakable image of Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s, the Shelby Cobra GT500 melds SVT's modern engineering with the big-block performance that made the original GT500 the king of the road.
Just as the big-block GT500 from 1968 was a step up from the GT350, the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500’s 500 horsepower, 5.4-liter V-8 is a step up from the 4.6-liter V-8 used in yesterday’s SVT Mustang Cobra.
The 2007 Shelby GT500 sports the largest displacement engine installed in a volume version of the Mustang since 1973.
While the big block, overhead cams and four valves per cylinder contribute significantly to the 500-horsepower output of the 2007 Shelby GT500’s 5.4-liter V-8, a Roots-type supercharger and intercooler are the icing on the cake. In fact, the configuration is similar to the Ford GT supercar, offering the right combination of classic Ford big-block power and modern technology. Using the Ford GT as a blueprint, SVT has given the GT500 more total horsepower than any factory Mustang in the car’s celebrated history.
With the stout cast-iron, 5.4-liter Triton V-8 engine as a starting point, the Shelby GT500 adds a Roots-type 8.5-pounds-per-square-inch Eaton supercharger and water-to-air intercooler producing 500-horsepower.
Adding forced-induction power is more than just a bolt-on proposition. The engine’s internals need upgrading for the sake of strength and durability. To that end, the Shelby GT500’s powerplant benefits from unique connecting rods and forged pistons to handle the extra strain on the lower end of the block.
The all-new intake manifold helps to channel the supercharged fuel-air mixture into the cylinders. The low-profile manifold design also effectively packages the entire induction system under the GT500’s special air-extractor hood. Fuel comes from a dual-bore electronic throttle body borrowed from Ford’s 6.8-liter V-10 truck engine program.
To manage heat produced by 500 horses, engineers devised a set of GT500 specific features, including an air-extractor hood, a high-capacity aluminum radiator, an intercooler mounted below the blower, a loop-style power-steering cooler and an oil-to-water stacked-dish engine oil cooler.
While supercharging is a key element in the Shelby GT500’s ability to generate so much horsepower, another major contributing component is the design of cast-aluminum, four-valve cylinder heads sourced from the Ford GT supercar.
Machining changes are incorporated into the outside ends of the heads and to the left rear cam cap to fit the engine into the Mustang chassis.
Developed specifically for supercharged applications, these high-performance heads use high-flow ports and specially calibrated dual-overhead camshafts to deliver optimum engine "breathing" along with surprisingly good fuel efficiency and emissions.
The cams and valvetrain are specific to the Shelby GT500. The cam drive system is unique and designed to fit into the Mustang engine compartment, which is narrower than the Ford GT’s. The oil pan and windage tray are the wet-sump setup from the Mustang GT. The Ford GT uses a dry-sump arrangement.
To enthusiasts, the real beauty of any performance car rests with its engine. That idea certainly wasn’t lost on Carroll Shelby because Mustangs that bore his name have traditionally brought his unique sense of style and personality directly into the engine compartment. One Shelby signature feature – special finned-valve covers embossed with "COBRA Powered By Ford" – soon became the envy of so many Ford V-8 owners.
The GT500 is equipped with special "Powered by SVT" finned-cam covers to hint at the beauty of all those horses lurking in the engine below. Mated to the Ford GT 4-valve cylinder heads are unique exhaust manifolds that help to better scavenge spent gases out of the cylinders and into the custom-tuned mufflers and dual-exhaust system.
A special device called a "tuned exhaust crossover" was incorporated to create the special sound. Unlike the H-pipe design used by the Mustang GT, the Shelby GT500 uses an X-shape stamping to create the desired sound and increase power output through dynamic scavenging.
The gearbox used by the 2007 Shelby GT500 also is a rarity. Few transmissions exist in the marketplace today that can handle the torque loads generated by the supercharged GT500, so engineers are opting to stick with the proven heavy-duty performance of the TR6060 6-speed manual gearbox.
The GT500 employs an upgraded version of the T-56, which first appeared in the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, powered by a naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V-8 with 385 horsepower, and later in the supercharged 2003 SVT Mustang Cobra whose DOHC 4.6-liter produced 390 horses. For the Shelby GT500, the six-speed manual will be geared to make the most of the supercharged 5.4-liter’s broad power band.
Modern, race-derived technology provides an interesting power comparison: The GT500 with a 5.4-liter, DOHC, supercharged V-8 produces better than 100 horsepower more with nearly 100 fewer cubic inches. Compare that with the 1967 Shelby GT500’s 355-horsepower, 428-cubic-inch-displacement, big-block V-8.
The GT500 uses cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder and double overhead cams for optimum engine "breathing." Using multiple valves per cylinder provides the engine with a more efficient airflow, generating higher peak horsepower. As an additional benefit, multi-valve engines better utilize the air-and-fuel mixture in the cylinders with less waste and unburned fuel vapor. Also, multi-valve engines are better suited to help scavenge exhaust gases out of the cylinder after combustion is complete for more power with cleaner tailpipe emissions.
In addition, supercharging produces the peak horsepower of a much larger-displacement, naturally aspirated engine. Yet, at lower throttle applications, the smaller displacement enabled by supercharging consumes less fuel, resulting in increased fuel economy and lower emissions.
As a result, the 2007 Shelby GT500 is designed not only to be the most powerful Mustang from the factory – but also one of the cleanest.
