The Phoenix Valley area, thanks to both its warm dry climate and its wide open spaces, is a modern day mecca for classic muscle cars and hot rods. The cars exist in a space so near and dear to their owners heart’s that an entire subculture has rissen up around them.
Of course what might be an automotive subculture in any other place is merely a part of the common cultural fabric in the Phoenix Valley area. If there is one man who could be accredited with inventing both of these living movements in design and culture, it would be Carrol Shelby.
Shelby, an automotive designer and retired racing driver, is best known for making the AC-based Shelby American Cobra and later the Mustang-based performance cars for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras. His present company, Shelby American Inc, was founded in 1962, and is still going strong in the selling of customized and modified Ford vehicles ranging from vintage to modern.
This year marks the 50 year anniversary of the Shelby Cobra debut, and the company has decided to celebrate this special occasion by doing what it does best: Releasing a top of the line fully customized Ford vehicle. A 2012 Mustang to be more specific.
Named the Shelby 1000, this 50-state street-legal car is the ultimate realization of a lifetime of high speed vision for Carroll Shelby. This machine, set to be the most powerful muscle car on the planet, will be available in both street and competition versions. The starting price? Only $200,000.
“We launched Shelby American with the Cobra at the 1962 New York Auto Show,” said Carroll Shelby. “The 289 Cobra was considered pretty radical at the time. For our return 50 years later, I wanted something just as incredible that will show how far we’ve come and where we’re headed for the next 50 years.”
The Shelby 1000 was born in Carroll Shelby’s imagination in 2011. Having just achieved 800 horsepower with the famed Shelby GT500 Super Snake, he and his band of modern day hot rodders at Shelby American believed that they could enhance Ford’s well-engineered car even more.
“Carroll modeled the Shelby 1000 on the same philosophy as he did in the ’60s, using a balance of horsepower and handling,” added John Luft, president of Shelby American. “Carroll was actively involved in every aspect of the Shelby 1000’s development, from the design to the testing and ultimately his final approval. Once again, Shelby American is making history and rewriting the rules for performance.”
The Shelby1000 will be offered in both street and Shelby 1000 S/C “off-road” track versions. The street legal, pump gas version dyno’s out at approximately 950 HP, while the track oriented “S/C” version is rated at over 1,100 HP.
