Automotive

Shelby lets loose a pair of supercharged Super Snakes

Shelby lets loose a pair of supercharged Super Snakes
The Mustang Super Snake wide body
The Mustang Super Snake wide body
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The Mustang Super Snake wide body
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The Mustang Super Snake wide body
The Super Snake wide body is designed to be a track monster
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The Super Snake wide body is designed to be a track monster
The reworked suspension in the Super Snake wide body
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The reworked suspension in the Super Snake wide body
The Super Snake wide body will be shown off at the Carroll Shelby Tribute & Car Show
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The Super Snake wide body will be shown off at the Carroll Shelby Tribute & Car Show
The dished wheels on the Super Snake wide body add more than a little touch of drama
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The dished wheels on the Super Snake wide body add more than a little touch of drama
The stripes on the F-150 Super Snake are classic Shelby
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The stripes on the F-150 Super Snake are classic Shelby
Shelby has refitted the F-150 with a new bodykit, tonneau cover and hood
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Shelby has refitted the F-150 with a new bodykit, tonneau cover and hood
The supercharged heart of the F-150
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The supercharged heart of the F-150 
Just in case you weren't sure how much power the Super Snake has
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Just in case you weren't sure how much power the Super Snake has 
The F-150 looks a lot meaner in Super Snake trim
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The F-150 looks a lot meaner in Super Snake trim 
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Ahead of the annual Carroll Shelby Tribute & Car Show taking place in Los Angeles this weekend, Shelby American has unveiled two new vehicles. They're both predictably brash, not to mention absurdly powerful, thanks to hulking great V8 engines shoehorned under their respective hoods. Meet the Mustang Super Snake wide body and F-150 Super Snake.

Mustang Super Snake

The Super Snake wide body is designed to be a track monster
The Super Snake wide body is designed to be a track monster

The Mustang Super Snake wide body is the first factory concept car to come from Shelby American in more than 10 years. Unlike classic modified Mustangs of the past, this isn't about putting down crazy times over a quarter mile, and it isn't just a mildly modified version of the Ford car. Instead, it's been built from the ground up to turn the car into a track-focused monster.

Power comes from a supercharged five-liter V8 pumping out 750 hp (559 kW), just as it does in the current Super Snake tuning package. The real changes come under the skin, where the standard suspension has been replaced with a fully adjustable coil over setup along with bigger brakes, hardened wheel studs, new spindles and more aggressive rolling stock. Shelby American says this should make it easier to put every single one of the rampaging American horsepower to the road.

"Adding approximately four inches to the car's rear track and two and half to the front, opened up new opportunities to maximize handling," says Vince LaViolette, Shelby American Vice President of Operations and Chief Test Driver. "The fully adjustable coil over suspension and the enormous Brembo braking system, along with wider wheels and tires significantly change the car's driving dynamics."

It's just a concept at the moment, but Shelby has hinted there's a chance the Super Snake wide body could go into production at some point in the future.

F-150 Super Snake

The F-150 looks a lot meaner in Super Snake trim
The F-150 looks a lot meaner in Super Snake trim 

Ford already builds the Raptor for anyone who wants a powerful off-road-ready pickup truck, but even that won't make some people happy. In place of the turbo V6 engine in the regular F-150, the Snake is powered by an old-fashioned supercharged V8 making 750 hp (559 kW). Forget EcoBoost, it's all about plain old boost on the Shelby side of the fence.

Of course, there's more to standing out than a big engine. The Super Snake also needs to look like a true Shelby, not like another run-of-the-mill version of America's most popular car. To make sure it doesn't shrink into the background the Super Snake sports a new grille, hood, wheels and tonneau cover – along with the obligatory blue paint and white stripes, of course.

Just 150 examples of the F-150 Super Snake will be built, with a starting price of US$96,880.

Source: Shelby American [1], [2]

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3 comments
3 comments
Bob
I'm afraid that bulbous nose and grill on the Mustang ruins its looks. It looks like it has been punched in the nose. The rest of the car does look like a snake, a Viper. Reminds me of the old Ford Taurus that looked like it was over inflated.
Captain Danger
"Forget EcoBoost, it's all about plain old boost" Sweet. Good to know that I am not the only one with those feelings. Now let them loose on the GT.
James Sullivan
Beautiful car too bad it's not an EV.