NY Auto Show preview: Shelby’s 1200bhp Mustang has the power of a Bugatti Veyron at 1/10th the cost

By Stephen Edelstein March 25, 2013

What’s the definition of overkill? Ford already sells the Shelby Mustang GT500, which has 662 horsepower and a claimed top speed of 202 mph, but Shelby American thought it could do better. The company founded by automotive legend Carroll Shelby will show the 1000 S/C, a 1,200 hp Mustang, at the New York Auto Show later this week.

Both Shelby cars evoke their namesake, who built the Cobra and the original GT350 and GT500 hi-po Mustangs. While Ford’s GT500 is developed in-house, Shelby American is an aftermarket tuner, allowing it to go a little (okay, a lot) crazier.

You might remember that Shelby unveiled a Mustang 1000 at last year’s New York show, but that car was a little half-baked. It used the 5.4-liter supercharged V8 from the 2012 GT500, and came in two flavors: street legal 950 hp, and track-only 1,100 hp.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but 950 hp isn’t 1,000 hp, which is why all of Shelby’s customers opted for the 1,100 hp version, even if they couldn’t take their cars to the drive-in.

That’s why Shelby ditched the 5.4 for the 5.8-liter supercharged V8 from the 2013 GT500, the one that goes 202 mph. The result is a street legal 1,200 hp at the flywheel, meaning it’s probably closer to an even 1,000 hp at the wheels. However, the 2013 1000 S/C won’t pass California emissions tests.

All that power is routed through a reinforced six-speed manual transmission. Shelby hasn’t published performance numbers, but we’d be interested in knowing how much faster this Mustang goes, now that it makes roughly the same power as a Bugatti Veyron.

The Shelby 1000 S/C will be less expensive than a Veyron, too, but it won’t be cheap. The conversion costs $154,995, on top of the cost of a new 2013 GT500, which starts at $54,995.

Shelby will take the wraps off its latest exercise in overkill at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. It will also show a new concept vehicle, one that won’t be based on the Mustang. That could mean a return of the Shelby F-150 truck, or maybe Shelby’s first-ever van.

Is a 1,200 hp Mustang that costs nearly $210,000 too much, or not enough? Let us know in the comments.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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