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

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.

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.

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