2008 Shelby GT Convertible

[KILLER74Z28]

2008 Shelby GT Convertible
Carroll's coupe gains topless sibling

By BOB GRITZINGER

AutoWeek | Published 06/13/07, 10:28 am et

First, they brought us the Ford Shelby GT coupe. Now, Carroll Shelby and the Mustang and Ford Racing folks are getting together to offer their pony-on-steroids in a convertible version for 2008.

In addition to the drop-top Shelby GT, both coupe and convertible models will be offered exclusively in Vista blue with silver stripes for 2008. All 2007 models were painted either white or black.

Shelby GT models begin as a specially equipped Mustang GT assembled at Ford’s Flat Rock, Michigan, plant. The cars are then shipped to the Shelby Automobiles facility in Las Vegas for transformation into Shelby GTs.

At the Shelby shop, the cars get additional aerodynamic pieces, including a unique front fascia and large lower air dam, a hood scoop that is also used on Shelby Cobra roadsters and unique side scoops.

Under the hood, the engine is upgraded with a Ford Racing power package that pushes the 4.6-liter V8 to 319 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque. The car comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission featuring a Hurst short-throw shifter. A five-speed automatic transmission is optional.

A Ford Racing handling package adds specially tuned dampers, stabilizer bars and a 3.55:1-ratio rear axle. The 2008 models ride on 18-inch wheels shod with high-performance BFGoodrich g-Force tires.

About 2300 Shelby GT coupes and convertibles will be built for 2008 (with most of those likely being convertibles). The cars go on sale in August through Shelby-authorized Ford dealers, priced at $9,500 more than the base Mustang GT for the coupe, $11,800 for the convertible (prices include $1,000 gas-guzzler tax).

[Silverado]

5-speed? Really? That's it? Come on, you can get 6-speeds in much lesser vehicles. Can't you?

It's not a bad looking car really (neither is the coupe), but as it's been said before, too many iterations devalue it as far as I'm concerned. Especially when so many of them are basically appearance packages with little to no performance upgrades.

But, they have to get as many of them out the doors as they can before the Camaros hit the streets.

[Mr. Wyndham]

What are those little wire-looking things on the front top-tip of the hood?

[Silverado]

You mean the hood pins?

Nowadays they are more for looks than anything, but they were originally conceived for racing purposes....makes opening the hood much quicker.

[acscamarochick06]

All I see is appearance...

Recently a girl I know was in a car accident while she was riding around with a couple of guys. They were all drunk and she flew through the windshield and landed face first. They didn't know if she would make it or not, but she did. Instead of taking the insurance settlement money and getting plastic surgery to fix her face (I know it is harshly put, but the girl is an idiot and if you saw what her face looks like now, you would know what I mean) , she went and bought a 2007 Roush Mustang. It wasn't even the fast kind. It was basically a GT with a different suspension, seats, brakes, etc. Then she has decided last week that she wanted a 2008 Ford Powerstroke.

Needless to say, she paid $44,000 for the car when she bought it, kept it a month, and traded it in and got $29,000 for it.

Not to mention she couldn't drive a 5-speed

[The_Stache]

Originally Posted by Silverado

You mean the hood pins?

Nowadays they are more for looks than anything, but they were originally conceived for racing purposes....makes opening the hood much quicker.

Also its the weight and racing reliability(like you said). The pins stay in place even during rough racing but will break off during a crash and for production cars replacement of the hood latch and cable can save close to 40-50 lbs in some vehicles.

[stevenm357]

what is an over priced XLR replica?

That's really sad that she got the car instead of the surgery. maybe she is happy with the way she looked. It's really sad that she traded it off for so little though. what did she trade it for?

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by stevenm357

what is an over priced XLR replica?

That's really sad that she got the car instead of the surgery. maybe she is happy with the way she looked. It's really sad that she traded it off for so little though. what did she trade it for?

2008 Ford Powerstroke


I think she wanted a vehicle that would match her look for look.


ok, sorry im mean, but I dont give two shits about drunk drivers. Ive lost one too many friends over it. Ive been hit by them and gotten arrested for beating a guy senseless after he wrecked my mothers car that I was drivin home after droppin the g/f off (thank god I dropped her off when i did, cus the guy hit me on the pass side and destroyed the car). the cops and first response people thought that he was damaged from the wreck, till they saw that there was no blood on his car, just my hands and shirt.

needless to say, im very stoic when it comes to things like that.


sorry to get off topic

[acscamarochick06]

You would just have to know her... She is the kind of person that thinks a guy will like her and notice her for her car, which they will. But when she turns 30 she really will be looking in the mirror when the car/truck is long gone saying "man, I should have gotten that surgery."

Plus her mom put her up to getting the car so she would get noticed.


Also apologizing for getting off topic...But the car just didn't seem to be anything special to me.

[CamaroSpike23]

Originally Posted by acscamarochick06

But the car just didn't seem to be anything special to me.

thats because its a mustang...lol

[acscamarochick06]

Amen to that!

[stevenm357]

while attending my nephew's graduation we went by a Fire department raffle, they were raffling off a Sallen S281 mustang. now i can remember when these were pretty bad assed cars ( compared to a stock stang). now that car comes with 330 HP from the factory. didn't see much else going on it was a bland gray that didn't stand out at all. and the price in the window $47/K and change. i laughed my ass off. and got some dirty looks from firemen. 20,000 + for 30 horse power. and a thousand dollars ( 2K tops) in suspension mods. that's insane! and when your done you've got just another mustang.

[Rock36]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

thats because its a mustang...lol

For people who don't care about mustangs, everyone sure seems to talk about them a lot.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Shelby line is just a designer brand of mustang. The cost is all in the name and the supposed collectability, and not so much the performance.

My Mustang GT will run high 12s on a track tire at a DA of over 2000ft, for much much less than the cost of Shelby GT (I'm not good enough to pull that on a street tire yet).
Needless to say I will blow the doors off of Shelby GTs.

Again....it is just the name and the appearance.

Hood pins on the new Mustangs are for looks mostly, they don't replace the factory latch for weight savings. Also many people use them to limit hood shake. Some of the cars hoods will shake at high speeds due to generally flat nose of the new Mustang, and because it has an aluminum hood. So hood pins solve that problem for folks.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by Rock36

For people who don't care about mustangs, everyone sure seems to talk about them a lot. .

Just wanted to say "Thank You" Rock36.

It's nice to have a fellow enthusiast, as well as a Mustang enthusiast, who shows some class and respect.

I welcome more like youself, who drive other makes, as I feel it offers more viewpoints, better discussions, etc.