New Mustang Shelby Models Highlight A Long Tradition At A Master Builder

A couple of years ago, the powerful film Ford versus Ferrari set all kinds of records at the box office. Ostensibly, it presented the 1960s competition between Ford and the Italian carmaker during the hyper-partisan car wars of that era. The movie underscored the battle between Ford's GT40 MK I and MK II as Carroll Shelby's Shelby America, the creator of the vehicles, and the Ferrari, gained a new lease on life because of the competition. Ford, Ferrari Competition Highlighted The film showed the keen competition between Shelby's friend, driver, and car-tester Ken Miles and Ferrari's driver Bandini. The competition began with the 24 Hours of Daytona and flipped over to the 24 Hours of LeMans that the Ford entry won but was knocked back by a technicality allowing McLaren to post the victory. Playing Carroll Shelby in the film, Matt Damon was understatedly spectacular in the role. At the same time, Christian Bale did a masterful job handling the role of Miles, died while testing an updated version of the Ford entry. Perhaps the biggest takeaways from the 2019 movie included the apocryphal story of the disappearing stopwatches from the Ferrari team that mysteriously ended up doing lap times for the Ford team and the famous wrench that was heaved at Carroll Shelby by Miles that ended up with Miles' family. Many Ford, Ferrari Tales Abound Another exciting story involved the GT40's brakes. The GT40 was a strong runner. Its engine and transmission easily eclipsed the more delicate driveline of the Ferrari. The GT40 MK II clocked 218 mph at 8,000 rpm at one point. There was a problem, though, with the brakes. Though they were disc brakes, the metallurgy of the time couldn't stand up to the heat generated by the MK II during the 24 Hours of LeMans. Ford had to pit with its brakes showing fire. The Ford mechanical team trotted out a complete brake system swap. Of course, Ferrari protested, but Ford won on a technicality, and the famed swap became the stuff of legend. The GT40 MK I, II heritage has become part of the colorful Shelby legend that continues to endure today. Indeed, the Shelby heritage grew over the weekend with the 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition release. 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition Since the first model more than half-a-century ago, the Mustang Shelby® GT500® has stood at the pinnacle of Mustang performance. It has continued to build on the legacy of Shelby's performance. With a reputation for transforming Ford Mustang into dominant road-racing machines, Carroll Shelby, American racer and entrepreneur, took his legendary Mustang GT350 model further in 1967 to craft the first-generation Shelby GT500 with a modified 428-cubic-inch V8 inspired by his team's 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans (GT40 MK II). Carroll Shelby called the original Shelby GT500 "the first real car I'm really proud of." The Shelby GT500 is just as iconic today – as the most powerful and most advanced Mustang ever – as it was during its first iteration 55 years ago. Paying homage to the original 1967 Shelby GT500, the limited run of 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition fastbacks will be finished in a classic and exclusive Brittany Blue exterior paint with two different Wimbledon White exterior stripe options:

• Painted Over-the-Top racing stripes with unique GT500 logo (also available in Absolute Black)
• Vinyl Over-the-Top racing stripes with unique vinyl side stripe featuring GT500 logo

The 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 harnesses world-class muscle and powertrain technologies to attain supercar performance levels. Features include a first-in-class seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, race-bred control strategies, and advanced drive modes. Dealer orders for the 2022 Shelby GT500 models, including the new Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition, opened on Nov. 15, with vehicles on sale in the spring of 2022. The 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 has a starting U.S. MSRP of $72,900 (not including the $1,195 destination fee and $2,600 Gas Guzzler Tax). The Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition package is available for an additional $2,140, while the GT500 Heritage Edition package with hand-painted stripes adds $12,140 to the Shelby GT500's U.S. MSRP. Meanwhile, Shelby is looking at the Mustang Mach-E, Ford's electric entry, to see if the SEMA entry is up to tradition. Built for Cruising the Coast: 2022 Mustang Coastal Limited Edition Mustang expands its special-edition offerings for the 2022 model year with the all-new Coastal Limited Edition available on the 310-turbocharged-horsepower Mustang EcoBoost Premium fastback and convertible. The new 2022 Mustang Coastal Limited Edition embodies the freedom the legendary Ford nameplate has always embodied, yet uniquely appointed for those who want even more style with their shoreline driving adventures. The Coastal package adds19-inch machined-face aluminum with tarnished dark-painted wheels. Also, the package includes unique vinyl side stripes that trace down the vehicle and come over the hood. Plus, there is a signature Mustang rear fender side scoop, a black grille, a pedestal rear spoiler, a Coastal lighted sill plate, and a Coastal instrument panel badge. The Coastal Edition is exclusively available in Brittany Blue, Cyber Orange, and Rapid Red. Customer orders for the 2022 Mustang Coastal Edition are now open at Ford dealers, with vehicles on sale in the spring of 2022. The 2022 Mustang EcoBoost Premium has a starting U.S. MSRP of $32,225 (not including the $1,195 destination fee), and the Coastal Limited Edition package is available for an additional $1,995. Ford Performance-only Code Orange Available on Shelby GT500 Like the all-new Ford F-150 Raptor truck, the upcoming and first-ever Bronco Raptor, plus the Le Mans-winning Ford GT Supercar, the 2022 Mustang Shelby GT500 is now available in the exclusive Ford Performance paint color – Code Orange. Code Orange joins the eight new colors for the 2022 Mustang, including Atlas Blue Metallic, Brittany Blue Metallic (available on GT500 Heritage and Coastal Editions only), Cyber Orange Metallic Tri-Coat, Dark Matter Gray Metallic, Eruption Green Metallic, Grabber Blue Metallic, and Mischievous Purple Metallic. Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, "You Auto Know," an enterprise that I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.