Ford Mustang Shelby Releases 50th Anniversary Super Snake

Reaching 50 years is a great cause for celebration. People who reach the golden age come to a special crossroad where they can choose the path that they see fit. After letting loved ones decide on how a 50-year old celebrant should spend his or her birthday, the celebrant can finally have a say, and there's no right or wrong answer, because he or she will finally be living life in his or her own terms. The same thing can be said about cars. If a vehicle model reaches the 50-year mark, this means that the model has endured five decades of heritage and earned many accomplishments, and can practically do no wrong moving forward. Thus, a 50th birthday for a car is in every aspect a milestone to celebrate.

50th Anniversary Shelby Super Snake

It was 50 years ago that legendary Texan racer Carrol Shelby and his team Shelby American built the Mustang-based Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake. Originally built for Goodyear to help in testing tires, this high-performance speed monster was understandably ahead of its time, with a hefty 7.0-liter V8 producing 600hp, which was mighty impressive back then. With its stellar combination of beauty and power, it was inevitable that the car finds its way to the mass market.

To celebrate the car’s 50th birthday, Shelby is rolling out a special 50th anniversary version of its current Super Snake. The special edition is based on the latest generation Mustang (its sixth), and is equipped with Ford’s popular supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces 670hp and can even be upgraded to 750hp should the owner decide to replace the supercharger with a more powerful one.

Mustang performance

The supercharger options are part of a good number of performance tweaks that you'll find in the special edition Shelby. The bundle also includes Ford Performance half-shafts, a one-piece driveshaft, and an extreme cooling package. With the right bundle, this new Super Snake can do the 0-100kph sprint in 3.5 seconds, covering a 400m dash in just 0.9 secs. Suspension and brakes also received an update.

Super Snake exterior

The standard Super Snake is already a marvel to look at, and credit to Ford for raising the visual factor a notch higher with the 50th anniversary Shelby. A refreshed bonnet and rear diffuser along with new grilles, wings, and splitter puts emphasis on the Super Snake’s muscle car character. A longitudinal giant stripe and massive black wheels with red brake calipers provide some eye candy. A rear spoiler and underbody aero package come as options. The racer is available in all Ford factory colors.

Shelby cabin

Anniversary logos deck out the seats and floor mats, in case you forget which car you’re driving. Other nifty touches include special door sill plates and a new-look dashboard with Autometer wireless gauges. Other than that, the cabin is standard Mustang fancy fare.

Limited run

Shelby will build just 500 of these cars. Pricing starts at $69,995, which doesn’t yet include miscellaneous taxes and fees. If you’re thinking of ordering one of these, best to lower your expectations so you won’t feel disheartened, because by now, the car is likely sold out, bought by hardcore Ford Mustang Shelby enthusiasts all over the world. Don’t fret though, because you can still get your hands on a Ford Mustang locally.

“We compared the groundbreaking 1967 and 2007 model Super Snakes to other cars of their era when setting the performance parameters for our anniversary model,” said Shelby boss Gary Patterson in a statement. “In a world filled with sterile cars, it’s a throwback to a time when people enjoyed driving,” he added.