2007 Ford Shelby GT500 By Larry Edsall, New Car Test Drive .com

The Bowtie brigade and the Dodge boys only can dream of the day when their beloved Camaro and Challenger might return to production. But in the summer of 2006, Ford faithful can buy the most powerful production Mustang ever to roll out of the factory: the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500.

Not only will this car be available with a price beginning in the low-$40,000 range, but it will be offered in both coupe and convertible body styles.

Powering this fastest of all factory built Mustangs is a 5.4-liter V8 topped by a supercharger that boosts its output to 475 horsepower. That necessitates the installation of a powerdome hood to provide room for the hopped up engine and its supplemental breathing device.

Power without control can be foolhardy, so engineers from Ford's Special Vehicle Team, better known as SVT, upgraded chassis components, revised suspension hardware and fitted the car with high-performance tires and big brakes so this most potent of factory Mustangs will be much more than a one-trick pony.

The 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 harkens to the work of the legendary racer and racing team manager Carroll Shelby, who created the famed Shelby Cobra sports cars and who, in the mid-to-late 1960s souped up Ford Mustangs to produce the Shelby GT350 and later the Shelby GT500.

Shelby went on to help Dodge develop the Viper and other vehicles, but returned to Ford to inspire work on the Ford GT supercar. He now works with the SVT group on the Mustang that again bears his name.

In addition to the supercharger, the Ford Shelby GT500 engine gets aluminum cylinder heads as well as pistons and bearings like those in the Ford GT. Power from the engine flows through a six-speed manual gearbox to 18-inch rear wheels that are 9.5 inches wide and are wrapped with 285/40ZR18 high-performance tires. Front tires are 255/45ZR18s.

Ford says the GT500's independent front suspension and solid-axle rear suspension designs were validated on the racetrack with a Grand-Am Cup championship in 2005. To reign in this most powerful of factory-built Mustangs, engineers opted for aftermarket Brembo brakes with 14-inch rotors in front and 11.8-inch discs on the rear.

The Ford Shelby GT500 gets visual tuning with free-flowing front air vents, a functional lower front air splitter, a ducktail rear spoiler and lower rear strakes that look like those on the Ford GT's rear air diffuser.

The Ford Shelby GT500 coupes get Le Mans-style racing stripes. Because there were no such stripes on the original Shelby GT500 convertibles, they will not be offered on the open-topped 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 either.

The Shelby Cobra emblem will be used on the car's grille and on the sides of the front fenders. Early Mustangs had their gas filler nozzles located above the middle of the rear bumper, so the 2007 GT500 gets a special cap-like Cobra badge in that location.

In the cockpit, the speedometer and tachometer have swapped locations so the GT500 driver can keep a close eye on engine rpm for optimized shifting. Front seats get increased lateral support to keep the driver and passenger properly positioned through hard cornering maneuvers. Seats and door panels are offered in black or black with red trim. Seats are leather covered and feature the Cobra insignia. Instead of chrome, the interior uses satin aluminum metallic trim.

The GT500 was unveiled at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.