Shelby GT500 2007

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the Shelby GT500 (2007 to 2009), the first Shelby-badged Mustang built by Ford's Special Vehicle Team for the fifth-generation Mustang, known by its chassis code S197. It is a front-engine, rear-wheel drive car with a supercharged 5.4 litre V8 under a vented bonnet and a six-speed manual gearbox, which was the only transmission the sources mention. It was sold as a coupé and as a convertible. It is not a guide to the GT500KR, the 2008 to 2009 Ford-built special edition with more power, and it is not a guide to the aftermarket Shelby Super Snake conversions or to the GT500 that returned for 2010 with a different engine and more power.

We have not driven this model for this article. We are an editorial desk that reads sources, and everything below comes from pages we opened: Wikipedia (two articles), MotorWeek, Jalopnik, TopSpeed, Motor1, MustangSpecs and a Hagerty Marketplace auction listing. We have not inspected, owned or tested a car. This page is for research, not a buying recommendation, and it cannot replace an inspection by a specialist who knows these cars.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 5.4L supercharged V8, 5,408 cc (330 cubic inches), with an iron block, aluminium heads, four valves per cylinder and an intercooled supercharger. Wikipedia gives the displacement as 5,408 cc.
• Drivetrain: rear-wheel drive through a six-speed manual, with a solid rear axle.
• Power: 500 bhp at 6,000 rpm. Every source we read prints 500 hp, and Wikipedia also prints 507 PS. Converting 507 PS at 0.98632 gives about 500.1 bhp, so the figures agree and we use 500 bhp throughout.
• Torque: 651 Nm at 4,500 rpm. The sources print 480 lb ft, and 480 multiplied by 1.35582 is 650.8 Nm. Wikipedia and Motor1 print 651 Nm directly.
• 0-100 km/h: 4.6 seconds. This is the only figure we found stated on the metric basis, in a Motor1 article that gives 0-62 mph (100 km/h) as 4.6 seconds without naming who measured it. The road tests we read use 0-60 mph, and we have not relabelled those.
• Top speed: 249 km/h. The sources give a declared top speed of 155 mph, and 155 multiplied by 1.60934 is 249.4 km/h. Motor1 rounds the same figure to 250 km/h.
• Weight: 3,920 lb (1,778 kg according to Wikipedia) in two sources, and 3,950 lb for the coupe and 4,040 lb for the convertible in Wikipedia's fifth-generation Mustang article.
• Years: the model years 2007 to 2009. Wikipedia says deliveries began in May 2006 and that the car was built for three years.
• Production: no figure shown for a total. We explain what the sources do say below.

History and what the car was

The GT500 was developed by Ford's SVT team with Shelby, starting from the 2005 Mustang, according to TopSpeed. Wikipedia describes it as the successor to the 2003 and 2004 Mustang SVT Cobra, and Motor1 describes it as the return of the Shelby name to Ford after about three decades. TopSpeed says power rose from 450 during development to 500 by production, and that it was the most powerful production Mustang Ford had built. The Hagerty listing quotes the SVT director's goal as building the most powerful, most capable Mustang ever.

The engine was the headline. MotorWeek describes a supercharged 5.4 litre twin-cam V8 with an intercooled Roots-type supercharger giving 8.5 psi of boost. TopSpeed also gives 8.5 psi but calls the unit a screw-type supercharger. The sources do not agree on the description of the blower, so we do not make a claim about its design beyond the boost figure they share. TopSpeed adds that the cast-iron block was fitted with aluminium heads, piston rings and bearings borrowed from the Ford GT programme. Wikipedia names the gearbox as a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed with a 3.31:1 rear axle ratio, while TopSpeed calls it a Tremec T-56. We use the six-speed manual description and do not choose between the two Tremec designations.

The chassis stayed conventional. TopSpeed describes MacPherson struts at the front with revised springs, different shocks and larger stabiliser bars, and a solid rear axle with a three-link layout, coil springs and a Panhard bar. Wikipedia lists Brembo front brakes with 14-inch discs and aluminium four-piston calipers. TopSpeed gives 14-inch cross-drilled front rotors and 13-inch rears, while Wikipedia gives 11.8-inch rear discs, so the two sources differ on the rear brakes.

Wheels are another disagreement. Wikipedia gives 18 by 9.5 inch wheels, Jalopnik gives 18-inch wheels with P255/45R18 front and P285/45R18 rear tyres, and the Hagerty listing also says 18-inch SVT wheels. TopSpeed says 19-inch wheels with 255/45 front and 285/40 rear tyres. We use 18 inches because three sources agree on it.

How the figures compare across sources

Performance

MotorWeek recorded 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and a quarter mile in 12.9 seconds at 112 mph, both under ideal conditions, with 60-0 mph braking in 121 feet. Jalopnik also gives 4.5 seconds for 0-60 mph and a quarter mile of 12 seconds. TopSpeed says about 4 seconds for 0-60 mph and a quarter mile of 12.5 seconds at 116 mph. These are 0-60 mph times from different testers on different days, so a spread of around half a second is to be expected, and none of them is a 0-100 km/h time. Motor1's 4.6 seconds on the 0-62 mph basis is consistent with the 4.5 second road test figures, which is why we are comfortable showing it, but we cannot say who produced it.

On top speed, the Hagerty listing says the claimed figure is 155 mph, and Motor1 calls 155 mph (250 km/h) the declared top speed. Motor1 also reports that a GT500 in a video from the AutoTopNL channel reached 166 mph (267 km/h) on a German autobahn by GPS reading, though the article is not sure whether that car was stock or tuned. We did not find a page we could read that states whether the 155 mph figure comes from an electronic limiter, so we call it a declared figure and not a measured maximum.

Weight and balance

Jalopnik and Wikipedia both give 3,920 lb. TopSpeed calls the car porky and says the weight made limit handling challenging. Wikipedia's fifth-generation article records that Car and Driver praised the power and ride but criticised the weight and the nose-heavy 57.7 per cent front distribution. MotorWeek similarly describes noticeable understeer in tight corners from the heavier powertrain.

Power, torque and the other Shelby cars

The GT500KR in 2008 and 2009 had 540 hp and 510 lb ft according to Wikipedia, and it is a separate model. The Super Snake conversion mentioned on Wikipedia was rated at 605 hp for the 2008 conversion, which again is not this car. When we say 500 bhp we mean the standard 2007 to 2009 GT500.

Driving character, as the sources describe it

MotorWeek calls the car impressively capable and amazingly refined and says it earned the right to be a Shelby, praising broad free-revving power, quick well-weighted steering and strong braking. It also says handling is a clear step up from the Mustang GT but falls short of the leap the testers expected, with more body roll than anticipated, and that wet launches suffered from wheelspin. It reports EPA fuel economy of 13 mpg city and 21 mpg highway, with about 17 mpg in real use on premium fuel.

Jalopnik is more mixed. It calls the acceleration intensely exciting and the car the performance steal of the decade, and it praises the brakes under repeated hard use. It also calls the ride harsh, says road noise is significant, says the interior and hardware feel low-budget for the price, and says the large bonnet bulge makes parking difficult. It gives EPA ratings of 15 mpg city and 21 mpg highway, which differs from MotorWeek's 13 mpg city, and notes a 15 gallon tank and about 250 miles of range. MotorWeek adds that the interior is plain next to the retro exterior.

Prices and market notes

When new, TopSpeed gives a base price of $41,950, MotorWeek gives $42,975 for the coupe and 47.8 thousand dollars for the convertible, and Jalopnik quotes $43,250 as tested. These differ because the sources are describing different trims, options and years, and we do not know the basis for each.

On the used side, we read one auction result. A 2007 convertible in Torch Red with 39,593 miles and one owner sold on Hagerty Marketplace on 25 November 2022 for $28,890, with minor road rash on a wheel, minor splitter imperfections and a small ding listed as flaws. One sale is a single data point, not a valuation, and prices vary with condition, mileage, body style and date, so check current listings and recent results before relying on it.

Production and rarity

Wikipedia says the car was built in limited quantity for three years at about 10,000 units a year at Flat Rock, Michigan. MustangSpecs lists 10,864 for 2007 and 9,567 for 2008, but the page excerpt we could read did not show a 2009 figure, a body-style split or a grand total, and it does not say whether GT500KR cars are counted within those numbers. Wikipedia separately gives GT500KR production as about 1,000 cars in 2008 and a few hundred in 2009, so a 2008 or 2009 total could change depending on whether the KR is in it. Because we cannot give a total for exactly this model, there is no figure shown for a production count. These were not rare cars in the way a limited run is rare, so a buyer should expect a lot of variation in how they have been used and modified.

What to check before buying

None of the pages we could read gave a specific inspection list, so we are not offering one. The Hagerty listing is a reminder of what a seller normally supplies: the window sticker, service receipts, ownership history and a history report. Because the car is front-engine with a supercharger and a manual gearbox, a pre-purchase inspection by a specialist who knows the S197 Mustangs is the sensible route, and owners' forums and Ford service bulletins are worth checking. We tried to read several owner forums and could not open them, so we do not report any reliability pattern.

What we could not find

• A total production count for exactly the 2007 to 2009 GT500, so there is no figure shown for it. The sources we read give only yearly or approximate numbers.
• A page we could read that states whether the 155 mph top speed is an electronic limiter. A search result snippet for an auction listing appeared to say so, but that page returned payment required and we did not work around it, so we do not rely on it.
• A 0-100 km/h time from a named tester. The 4.6 seconds comes from a news article without a stated source.
• Reliability and fault data. Edmunds, a Shelby owners' forum, Mustang Attitude, Fastest Laps, S197 Forum, TrueDelta and a Mustang owners' site refused us (access denied or a robot check), HowStuffWorks returned an empty page, and we did not work around any of them. Motorway America returned not found.
• Any measured weight for the convertible beyond the 4,040 lb in Wikipedia's article.

About the photograph

The page uses the catalogue photograph for this model, and its credit is listed on the credits page.

Verdict

The 2007 to 2009 Shelby GT500 was a brash, heavy and very quick Mustang for the money, with 500 bhp, 651 Nm of torque, a declared top speed of 249 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of 4.6 seconds on the one metric figure we found. The road tests we read praise the power, brakes and steering and criticise the weight, the understeer, the ride and the interior, and they agree it is a muscle car and not a refined one. Production was not tiny, so condition and history matter more than rarity. Treat this page as research and not as a buying recommendation, and have a specialist look at any car you are serious about.