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It's amazing how quickly time passes when you really are "having fun." My week with Ford's 2008 Shelby GT500 KR Mustang has been awesome. Unfortunately, though, the car's handlers will pick it up today and prepare it for the next lucky magazine guy's opportunity to check it out. One thing I have to say before handing over "The King" is, while I'm not sure how other editors (Motor Trend and Mustang Monthly had the KR before I got it, and I have no idea "who's next") tested this bad-ass 'Stang, I certainly put the car through its paces--on the street, on the simulated dragstrip, and, on the chassis dyno--and gained a lot of respect for the very expensive ($80,000 sticker, plus however many Gs the dealers are tacking on), limited-edition Shelby. With only 1,500 KRs in the production plan, "The King" is sure to be more of a collector's item than standard Shelby GT500s are, and even though the modify maniac in me says, "change this, add that and make it even better," I guess I can ultimately be a little more understanding about not doing anything to a KR, and simply letting it be the King of the Road that Ford...and Carroll Shelby want it to be.
Editor steve Turner gives an in-depth overview of what the KR is all about in an upcoming issue of 5.0 Mustang and Super Fords. However, for this Blog report, not only did I just drive the KR around town, I had a chance to put it in the air and really check it out on the bottom side, give it a good workout on the Dynapack Evolution 4000 chassis dyno at Extreme Automotive, and I also got a good ballpark idea of how quickly "The King" can cover the quarter-mile, thanks to a G-Tech Pro RR performance meter. If you think like we do, and agree that horsepower at the rear wheels should be acknowledged as the "horsepower of record" for a performance Mustang, the "500" part of this Shelby's name is legit. The KR put down one huge blast (509.0 hp/467.7 lb-ft) after we locked it down on the dyno, and supported its ability with subsequent hits of 498 horsepower but with a bit lower torque as the supercharger quickly gave in to heat soak. Also, Ford had the rev limiter locked in at 6,100 rpm on the test KR, so I imagine that 509 might be considerably better with more revs. It's definitely not hard to literally run out of street with the Shelby GT500 KR. The 'Stang pulls hard and accelerates very, very quickly (.382g on the G-Tech Pro RR), and we calculated its quarter-mile e.t. would be in the mid-11-second range in full street trim. Of course, that's allowing for tires that will surely spin a bit at launch and between shifts. In the perfect world, "The King" is a 10-second Mustang you can buy from a dealer. I dig the stiffer chassis and high(er)-performance suspension the KR has, its lowered body, unique exhaust note (and chrome tips), and definitely the carbon-fiber/air-grabbing hood and carbon-fiber front air dam--aka "splitter." All are very cool differences that set KRs apart from the standard GT500s, and also gives a throwback-type acknowledgement to Carroll Shelby's original super 'Stang. Here is the dyno data for those of you who need to see it and follow the link to see video of the car making a dyno run. The dyno doesn't lie. Shelby GT500 KR definitely is "the truth." RPM Power Torque Boost
3005 253.962 419.416 7.93
3040 257.256 419.922 7.96
3067 259.854 420.429 8.01
3093 262.453 421.094 8.06
3129 265.751 421.565 8.10
3163 268.925 421.978 8.15
3187 271.197 422.312 8.17
3219 274.007 422.518 8.21
3250 276.767 422.724 8.24
3271 278.740 422.977 8.27
3296 281.092 423.355 8.30
3239 284.116 423.688 8.34
3361 287.117 424.010 8.38
3386 289.453 424.355 8.43
3418 292.340 424.630 8.48
3450 295.328 425.021 8.51
3480 298.195 425.400 8.56
3510 300.867 425.606 8.59
3539 303.518 425.778 8.61
3570 306.305 425.983 8.62
3598 308.832 426.130 8.65
3627 311.510 426.357 8.65
3658 314.333 426.595 8.67
3689 317.009 426.629 8.70
3718 319.691 426.834 8.74
3749 322.471 427.097 8.77
3777 325.059 427.291 8.82
3803 327.433 427.509 8.84
3835 330.237 427.555 8.85
3867 332.831 427.339 8.86
3891 334.553 426.858 8.86
3915 336.110 426.285 8.85
3939 337.802 425.746 8.86
3966 339.744 425.322 8.88
3994 341.910 425.057 8.88
4028 344.663 424.850 8.89
4065 347.687 424.689 8.89
4103 350.921 424.665 8.89
4139 354.186 424.803 8.89
4176 357.462 425.009 8.89
4211 360.670 425.192 8.89
4239 363.226 425.410 8.89
4266 365.738 425.605 8.88
4292 368.166 425.834 8.88
4316 370.388 426.063 8.86
4340 372.630 426.281 8.86
4369 375.392 426.555 8.85
4399 378.298 426.945 8.85
4427 381.250 427.528 8.85
4458 384.564 428.306 8.85
4487 388.024 429.290 8.85
4516 391.416 430.344 8.84
4543 394.664 431.318 8.83
4570 397.769 432.131 8.82
4595 400.499 432.692 8.80
4621 403.040 433.047 8.79
4648 405.695 433.322 8.80
4674 408.161 433.517 8.81
4709 411.352 433.632 8.84
4744 414.492 433.723 8.85
4778 417.495 433.700 8.84
4812 420.294 433.586 8.82
4847 423.268 433.483 8.79
4872 425.378 433.346 8.76
4899 427.659 433.254 8.76
4925 429.822 433.185 8.77
4952 432.135 433.082 8.78
4979 434.336 432.899 8.79
5006 436.378 432.635 8.81
5039 438.933 432.292 8.80
5074 441.663 431.959 8.79
5107 444.266 431.685 8.80
5140 446.854 431.433 8.80
5172 449.503 431.227 8.81
5198 451.525 431.066 8.82
5222 453.468 430.895 8.82
5250 455.769 430.711 8.82
5280 458.230 430.563 8.83
5310 460.594 430.357 8.84
5337 462.728 430.116 8.85
5364 464.877 429.922 8.88
5392 466.955 429.590 8.90
5418 468.702 429.131 8.91
5445 470.469 428.616 8.93
5474 472.247 427.985 8.96
5504 474.046 427.264 8.97
5532 475.602 426.497 8.98
5560 477.185 425.718 8.99
5589 478.752 424.927 9.00
5617 480.365 424.205 9.01
5650 482.283 423.448 9.04
5680 483.992 422.669 9.06
5711 485.802 421.958 9.09
5742 487.585 421.213 9.11
5777 489.580 420.401 9.12
5804 490.867 419.520 9.12
5829 491.684 418.443 9.13
5857 492.576 417.194 9.13
5886 493.575 415.967 9.12
5911 494.172 414.706 9.14
5943 495.206 413.343 9.16
5975 496.388 412.106 9.18
6002 497.005 410.755 9.23
6031 497.631 409.289 9.28
6063 498.411 407.800 9.33
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