Automotive

Shelby juices up the F-150 into a tarmac-tearing supertruck

Shelby juices up the F-150 into a tarmac-tearing supertruck
The Shelby F150 Super Snake Sport is a street-only supertruck
The Shelby F150 Super Snake Sport is a street-only supertruck
View 15 Images
The Shelby F150 Super Snake Sport is a street-only supertruck
1/15
The Shelby F150 Super Snake Sport is a street-only supertruck
With 770 supercharged horsepower, it'll bag 'em up at will.
2/15
With 770 supercharged horsepower, it'll bag 'em up at will.
We suspect those 770 horsepower will be used for tire-frying as much as anything else
3/15
We suspect those 770 horsepower will be used for tire-frying as much as anything else
Yes, that's a splitter. On a pickup truck
4/15
Yes, that's a splitter. On a pickup truck
The brakes are red, so you know they're good
5/15
The brakes are red, so you know they're good
Stealthy, this is not
6/15
Stealthy, this is not
Side-mount exhausts bring the noise closer to your ears, which is nice, as the people who drive these things certainly want to hear it more than anyone else does
7/15
Side-mount exhausts bring the noise closer to your ears, which is nice, as the people who drive these things certainly want to hear it more than anyone else does
Tailgate and solid tonneau cover
8/15
Tailgate and solid tonneau cover
Those leaf spring shackles are going to bang on speed bumps, aren't they?
9/15
Those leaf spring shackles are going to bang on speed bumps, aren't they?
0-60 mph in a very fast 3.45 seconds
10/15
0-60 mph in a very fast 3.45 seconds
The F150 Super Snake Sport has air intakes on its air intakes
11/15
The F150 Super Snake Sport has air intakes on its air intakes
Certainly the truck to take on a track day, if you're the truck trackin' type
12/15
Certainly the truck to take on a track day, if you're the truck trackin' type
It's certainly a unique look
13/15
It's certainly a unique look
Shelby's take on a street supertruck
14/15
Shelby's take on a street supertruck
22-inch rims and thin sports tires; this thing is a real oddity
15/15
22-inch rims and thin sports tires; this thing is a real oddity
View gallery - 15 images

Most people don't need a 770-horsepower AWD supertruck with thin sports tires, an aerodynamic front splitter, race brakes and a 3.45-second 0-60 mph time. Most people need their trucks to have some sort of off-road capability. Most people are happy to blend in with a crowd and go about their day.

There are others, though, that would look at Shelby's new F-150 Super Snake Sport, and think "Hmm. Big like truck. Fast like car. Make liberal cry. Me want."

This, with its supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine, is the pickup you want to be in when some Supra jockey starts revving his engine next to you at the lights. The fool, he'll soon be treated to a receding view of a big, fat F150 tailgate. Indeed, this thing will see off nearly anything at the stop light drags, unless it's one of those darned greenies in an electric – in which case you'll temporarily wish your rig was a lot smaller and less conspicuous.

Still, electrics don't make a big loud noise like a good old American V8, especially with these side-mount Borla pipes, so that Tesla dweeb might be able to hear his stereo better, but you'll be having more fun. Shelby describes the exhaust note as "throbbing," an adjective that some may find appealing, but others may find a little close to the bone.

Shelby's take on a street supertruck
Shelby's take on a street supertruck

As part of the process of transforming the F150 into a street demon, and thereby stripping it of most of its dirt capability, Shelby has lowered it significantly, whacked on a beefy lower bumper and aerodynamic splitter on the front, and tossed the wheels for a set of 22-inch aluminum street jobbies running grippy street hoops. The suspension is lower, and fully adjustable, from the shocks to the control arms and rear sway bar.

The splitter isn't low enough to be a proper grass cutter, but the rear leaf shackles hang way on down in front of those back wheels, to the point where they look like they might legitimately bang on speed bumps. They sure don't look like they're designed to take a bang, so we might be wrong, but you'd best take 'er easy and nurse your F150 over on an angle like the supercar guys do.

0-60 mph in a very fast 3.45 seconds
0-60 mph in a very fast 3.45 seconds

The brakes have been upgraded to a 6-piston Baer system with slotted rotors, so this thing can stop even better than it goes. 0-100-0 mph (0-160-0 km/h) takes only 8.3 seconds, so if you forget your sleeveless plaid flannel shirt at home, you'll have it back in your hot little hand before Kid Rock even gets to the second chorus of whatever you're listening to.

The exterior is loud and proud, with big ol' ram air scoops on the hood and a tonneau cover that locks with the central. Tonneau? Detroit needs to come up with something much less French to call that. How about a Freedom cover? The interior gets a few tweaks too, including Super Snake Sport embroidery on leather seats, lest you or your passenger forget how super your snake is.

We have no doubt, this is the production truck we'd want for a track day, if for some reason we wanted to do a track day in a truck. But we're not track truckers, or truck trackers, and thus to us, the Shelby F150 Super Snake Sport is a piece of confusing Americana of principal value to anthropologists. 250 will be made, with a starting price of US$93,385.

There is a slightly cheaper, naturally aspirated version with half the horsepower, but then half-assing it when you're buying a Shelby is like putting a flagpole outside your house and hoisting a stars and stripes teatowel: you'll just look poor and confused.

Lots more pics in the gallery.

Source: Shelby American

View gallery - 15 images
9 comments
9 comments
eirobotix
This would have looked really silly a month ago. Cybertruck changes everything now
michael_dowling
I am NOT one of those neanderthals yearning to drive a climate destroying monstrosity such as this thing.
guzmanchinky
The puns in this article are everything.
clay
Man, I owned a Syclone back in the 90's... It was stupid-quick! That thing pulled ridiculously hard launches. Using a Vericomp, it showed 1.5G's @ 15mph! All that was with just a chip upgrade (boost/fuel/timing). That thing ripped 3.5 second 0-60 times. Every sport truck afterward was judged against the Syclone for a long time. It was an 1/8th mile beast.

Given that most Suburban truck owners commute with theirs, and only use them occasionally for hauling some stuff around, these sport trucks seem to fit the bill Pretty nicely.

Anyone who says trucks should just be trucks should take one of these modern sy-CLONEs for a spin. :-) Sign me up!
Fairly Reasoner
Free to choose.
clay
I should add: Not everyone wants to cramp into a sports car or a coupe, just to enjoy spirited driving. Being able to comfortable hop into a lowered pickup is actually really comfortable.

(note: I seem to recall that we used to be able to edit our posts but I do not see that with the new site)
WB
Cybertruck would drag this thing up a mountain pass three times and twice on Sunday ...why does Ford always compromise. High performance but then it can't even clear a speed bump. Cybertruck does it all. Top specs on every dimension. This f150 just looks silly and expensive
Gannet
aerodynamics of a barn wall...
paul314
They should have spent the R&D on an electric conversion and some speakers.