25 W ednesday , O ctober 6, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m 2011 Ford Shelby GT500 still king of the road Story and photos by Lorne Drury Metroland Newspapers Carguide Magazine So, Ive struck it rich in the lottery. The stress involved with the big win is incredible, but Im up to the task, particu- larly in deciding which cars to have in my driveway (that, of course, Ill have the money to expand so I can add to my collec- tion). Its all coming together nicely, you see. But, which car to buy first? Remember this was a BIG win so I think Ill start with a 2011 Ford Shelby GT 500. Sure there are the super cars like Mercedes-Benz SLS AMGs and the Jaguar XKRs that have to be considered, but they can come later. Being a child of the 60s, I believe no car collection is complete with- out a true muscle car and the Challengers, Camaros and Mustangs of today are way better than the ones we drove back in the day. Thats where I will start my collection and with my favourite of the bunch, the Ford Shelby GT500. Ive always had a soft spot for the pony cars and my wife once owned a 1972 Mustang. We picked it up used, with low mileage and it really was only driven to church on Sundays by a little old lady. It was a great car and we loved it, but it was just a V6. We have to have some power here folks so why not go for the gusto. For me, that would be the Shelby GT500 and the 2011 model has been tweaked a lit- tle to make it even more special than ever. It sports a new 5.4-litre all aluminum V8 engine with an increase of 10 hp over the previous model. That pumps the output up to 550 hp with 510 lb/ft of torque and 80 per cent of that torque is achieved between 1,750 and 6,250 rpm. The Shelby name goes back more than 40 years with Mustang when legendary race car driver Carroll Shelby was asked by Ford to develop a high performance Mustang fastback. In September 1964, the first 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 cars were built, while the first GT500s arrived at dealers in November 1966. The rest as they say is his- tory. Today, however, the Shelby GT500 is developed in house by Fords performance arm, the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) and comes in coupe and convertible forms. The coupe starts at $58,999, while the convertible is $63,699. My recent tester was a coupe with two options a $2,300 navi- gation system and the $2,000 SVT TrackPack bringing the price up to $64,773 (including $1,350 freight and PDI). The TrackPack is aptly named because it is a performance package that makes the car race-ready. Available on both the coupe and convertible, the TrackPack includes 19- inch forged-aluminum wheels up front and 20-inchers on the rear, shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCarG2 tires that promise incredible dry traction and precise han- dling thanks to an ultra-high performance tread compound. In addition to the wheels and tires, the chassis has been tuned to respond more like a racecar. The ride height is 11 mm lower in front and eight mm in the rear to improve handling, while the front springs are 20.5 per cent stiffer and the rear springs 9.5 per cent stiffer to help in acceleration, traction and cornering on the track. Ford testing has shown the GT500 with the TrackPack is three seconds faster around a 2.3-mile test track, while stopping distances are improved by seven per cent compared with the base Shelby. What really helps this new GT 500 is a weight loss of 46 kg (102 lb) thanks to an aluminum engine block versus the old cast -iron V8. This new power plant produces a better power-to-weight ratio, improved fuel economy, acceleration, handling and more precise steering. The engine is based on the one from the iconic Ford GT and uses a larger two-row intercooler for the supercharger system that has 40 per cent more cooling capacity. Continued on page 26 Ford Shelby GT500 Coupe 2011 At A Glance: BODY STYLE: two-door sports coupe. DRIVE METHOD: front-engine, rear- wheel drive. ENGINE: 5.4-litre supercharged V8 with intercooler (550 hp, 510 lb/ft of torque) FUEL ECONOMY: 14.4L/100 km (20 mpg) city, 8.7L/100 km (32 mpg) high- way PRICE: Coupe $58,999, as tested $64,773; Convertible $64,299. WEB SITE: www.ford.ca The Shelby GT500 for 2011 has shed some weight and gained some additional power. Thanks to a new aluminum block that replaces the old cast-iron one, the car is 46 kg (102 lb) lighter and has a better power-to-weight ratio than the outgoing model. 345 Speers Rd. (at Dorval), Oakville 905-842-9299 Valid at all GTA locations. Expiry: Oct. 24, 2010 Code: 5691 any oil change package $8OFF