Shelby American is a company that modifies cars and they are one of the best in the country. They actually tune Mustangs, to be precise, and if you pay them a large amount of money, your Mustang will be a custom miracle. Let’s see the 2016 custom-made Shelby Super Snake.
First of all, the car resembles Aston Martin, Mustang and Fusion at the same time. The sheet-metal looks different and expensive and if you decide to ask Shelby to redesign your vehicle, the price can be doubled when they finish with it. The 2016 model comes with HID headlights and sequential turn signals at the rear end.
Design
The interior of the vehicle was redesigned as Ford decided to use hard plastic on the center console, dashboard, and portions of the doors. The company also added a steering wheel that is appealing to many, mainly due to a large number of buttons on it. Generally, for this kind of car, you expect a price to go from $24,000 to $40,000. Furthermore, the cabin is equipped with an SYNC 3 infotainments system and you would also get some safety features such as radar adaptive cruise control and collision warning.
About Shelby
The largest Mustang tuners in the US are Shelby, Saleen, and Roush, but there are numerous smaller tuners, of course. What differentiates Shelby, for example, from the rest is that they have a history and a warranty. It was back in the 1960s when Carroll, Shelby, the founder of the company, started putting small-block V8 engines into the AC Ace, which he imported from the UK. The engine he chose was Ford’s, starting the relationship which still lasts. After some time, he started dealing with Mustangs and ended up creating Mustang-based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500. He was always in touch with Ford and they even sent him vehicles for the finishing touches.
Now, you have to buy a Mustang and take it to the Shelby for an overhaul. What you need to do is configure your Shelby Mustang according to your own liking and send it to the company, so they can do their part. For example, the original GT350 has a limited color option, it only comes with a manual gearbox and the convertible doesn’t exist. However, Shelby can do whatever you want them to if you pay of course.
What do you get?
So, when you are ready to cough up $23,995 you will get carbon rocker panels, Shelby grille, and badge. Furthermore, carbon fiber hood, spoiler and some improvements of the fascia are included in the price. Headrests and floor mats are changed, whereas a Shelby plaque is inserted instead of Mustang one. In addition, the car acquires 20-inch wheels with gripping rubber, whereas the suspension is almost completely overhauled. Also, the driver can be satisfied with a short throw shift kit, new cat-back exhaust, and cold air intake. This is only the beginning and for more money, you can add amazing features such as different rear-end rations or more carbon fiber.
Engine options
The Ford Shelby GT350 is equipped with the heavily modified 5.2-liter V8 with a flat-plane crank that produces 526 hp, whereas Shelby adds a supercharger to a 5.0-liter engine, which is naturally aspirated. There are three options available. The first unit produces 670 hp and 545 lb-ft of torque, which is 144 hp and 116 lb-ft of torque more than the GT350. It uses a Performance-branded blower and the engine is paired to the six-speed automatic gearbox.
The another option is a Whipple turbocharger rated at 725 hp and 585 lb-ft of torque, but unlike the first engine, the factory warranty is not applicable here. The most powerful option delivers 800 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque.
The Shelby Super Snake is put to the test
The Super Snake costs $82,790 and its engine delivers 670 hp. However, if you want to add extra upgrades to your car, it will set you back $90,000. On the plus side, every Super Snake is emission legal in the state of California.
The 2016 Mustang came with many improvements and they are also visible on the Shelby. The rear suspension is kept, which is essential and it makes a drastic difference on road and tracks. Furthermore, the chassis is lower but wider than it used to be. The Super Snake was tested on the track called Spring Mountain in Pahrump, Nevada and its handling is no problem whatsoever, as he easily glided into curves.
One of the most important decisions regarding the GT350 was to make a wider body on which they could attach 295/35R19 front tires. This reflected the Shelby, which forced them to include front tires which are 275 wide to their cars. Because of this, Ford’s vehicle has an advantage when it comes to road grip. The redesigned suspension and low-end torque turn the Super Snake into the amazing vehicle to drive. However, not many people will commute in this vehicle. If you want to make your modified car more attractive, just add a rag top to it.
However, not everything is so great about the Super Snake. Because of the issue with the cooling after all day of testing and putting the cars to the limit, the 670hp Mustang would occasionally get the transmission fluid over temperature. Here we talk about the automatic version and this is unlikely to happen in every day driving. But, if you decide to go to tracks, then opt for a manual gearbox. The Shelby also brought Mustang with a 2.3-liter V4 turbo to the track. Depending on the power modes, this engine can produce from 310 hp to 349 hp and from 320 lb-ft of torque to 340. The suspension is lighter than the Mustang GT and there is a difference while driving the car. The Super Snake has low curb weight and the balance is maintained in a better way, which helps the car be sharp but also great while turning around the corners.
Super Snake competition
If you think about it, there are a lot of great cars which are priced like the Shelby, so why is Super Snake different? Other cars also come with a great interior, maybe even better than in the Shelby and you wouldn’t have to go through the modification process. However, when it comes to target customers, if you want power, you need a Shelby because no other car can deliver that much power. For example, Mercedes’ bi-turbo V12 produces 621 hp and this is the closest you can get. However, the price is incomparable, so you would save money with the Shelby.
Another rival and a close competitor is Challenger Hellcat, which engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic or a six-speed manual – it is up to you. The unit delivers 707 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque and you can purchase it for $60,000. However, it is much heavier than the Super Snake and the handling is much worse. The Much bigger problem with the Hellcat is that the chassis in not reshaped and the rear tires are not wide as they should be which means that this heavy car has problems with traction. You can always buy a Hellcat and modify it, but that is not the point.
You may not like custom and modification vehicles, but you cannot say that 2016 Super Snake looks horrific.
