Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Looks to Kill Quarter-Miles in Dragon Snake Guise
Shelby American has modified the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 to be even more powerful and wild-looking with this Dragon Snake concept for the SEMA show.
The Dragon Snake is a drag-race-ready version of the GT500 in the tradition of the Dragonsnake Shelby of the 1960s.
It makes more than 800 horsepower, but Shelby's not going to sell a production model, at least not unless it sees tremendous public reaction at SEMA.
Shelby American is a company known for taking already ludicrous Mustangs and F-150s and turning up the extreme dial to 11. They’ve had some truly amazing creations over the years, like the Shelby GT-S, in which we got some seat time earlier this year in the swamps of Florida, where that snake was right at home. For the annual SEMA show currently taking place in Las Vegas, Shelby American brought two vehicles. The first is the Shelby Super Snake Sport F-150 concept with 755 supercharged ponies and a menacing demeanor to match all that power. The second is this Shelby GT500 Dragon Snake concept, which is a drag-ready GT500.
The Dragon Snake name was first used in the 1960s, when Shelby American offered a drag-racing version of the famed Shelby Cobra called the Dragonsnake. With the latest iteration of the GT500, Shelby American decided to give it the same drag-racing-ready upgrades, making it even more potent in a straight line.
The standard 2020 GT500 has moved to become more of a track-day car, especially when equipped with the $18,000 Carbon Fiber Track Pack, which adds a big spoiler and barely street legal tires. The 2020 GT500 is plenty ferocious in a straight line, and Ford claims a 3.3-second zero-to-60-mph sprint on the way to a 10.7 second quarter-mile on a prepped surface. These numbers are pretty spectacular, but Shelby American knows that they can make them even better, hence the Dragon Snake concept.
To make the newest iteration of the Dragon Snake a real fire-breathing quarter-mile killer, Shelby American first pulled out more power from the burly supercharged 5.2-liter V-8, bumping output from 760 horsepower to an excess of 800. They then revised the suspension and chassis control systems to optimize straight-line performance. The quick-shifting seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is optimized for drag-racing duty as well.
Other changes include new aluminum forged wheels, a carbon-fiber hood and drag-racing-style spoiler, high-flow catalytic converters, and thinner glass to save weight. Shelby American also added a pretty cool graphics package that features blue racing stripes on the top and sides of the car, along with a gnarly-looking Dragon Snake with its fangs out on the rear fenders.
The interior received mostly cosmetic upgrades, like new hexagonal stitching on the seatbacks with the words "Dragon Snake" embroidered in blue and red just below the headrest. Surprisingly, Shelby American decided not to remove the rear seats, which is a common weight-saving move, so you can have three passengers along for all your quarter-mile thrill rides.
Currently, the Dragon Snake is only in concept form, although Shelby American will be making note of public interest to see if a production run makes sense and if it will ever be on the drag strip, where it belongs.
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