2010 Ford Shelby GT500 & GT500KR released
April 1, 2009 by Matt Brogan
The 2010 Shelby GT500 and GT500KR models have today been released in San Francisco with more horsepower and torque than the outgoing model.
Early indications are that the car is “definitely faster” on the road and on the track and offers quicker in-gear response than its predecessor.
Ford’s Special Vehicles Team has also used the opportunity to present its Shelby GT500KR “King of the Road” Mustang.
Engineers lowered the chassis and worked to reduce the ride heights while also stiffening the coupe and convertible to improve the overall body control, roll stiffness and roll gradient.
“What we came out with was a chassis that feels more controlled and reacts faster,” said Kerry Baldori, chief functional engineer for SVT.
The front damping and spring rates on the 2010 Shelby GT500 were increased and share the same setup on the front end as the KR. Overall, the goal with the 2010 Shelby GT500 was to maintain the high-performance attributes of the KR, but in a more-refined manner.
“We focused most on improving the steering and dry handling attributes because they are the ones that matter most to the customer,” said Andrew Vrenko, vehicle dynamics engineer. “We wanted to give the steering more feel and have the car really feel as if it’s more connected to the road.”
Aerodynamic balance has also been improved thanks to some minor revisions which is sure to please owners come track day.
“Using data from the wind tunnel and the track, the new Shelby GT500 is near neutral at 120 mph – it makes about 20 pounds of lift,” said John Pfeiffer, product development engineer. “This is 50 percent better than the KR and 75 percent better than the outgoing model.”
SVT also managed to reduce the downforce on the rear by 50 percent compared with the outgoing model as it worked to reduce drag and maximise balance. The new Shelby GT500 reacts the same at 190km/h as it does at much lower speeds because the center of gravity doesn’t change from aerodynamic forces as you get up to speed.
19-inch alloy wheels have now been included as standard which are shod with Goodyear F1 Supercar tyres aimed at not only improving grip and handling, but also reducing NVH issues.
One of the new tunable components on the new Shelby GT500 is the addition of a wicker bill or “Gurney Flap” on the rear. Introduced by racing legend Dan Gurney nearly 40 years ago, the Gurney Flap is essentially a tunable element on a low-drag spoiler.
On the 2010 Shelby GT500 it sticks up about 6 mm and is positioned at a right angle to help create downforce. Tuning options include using Gurney Flaps of different heights or removing it altogether.
Perhaps best of all the 2010 Shelby GT500 boasts a 0-100 time of 4.3 seconds and quarter-mile times of just 12.5 seconds (at 187.1 km/h).
Print it: 
Arrrrrr another unbroken Mustang to throw your leg over,let me at it!
Tis beautiful……
One yank-tank I’d delight in owning.
BM I hope you don’t break them when you throw your legs over! hehehe
i Wish ford would put this engine in a Aussie Ford!!! that power with aussie know how… Awesome!!!
i love the updated Mustang GT500.. nice looking, more Power and is to handle better!!! wooo yes please time a million
hahaha Simon,I had been talking my early horse riding days on the Webber thread and saw this so continued on through with the Mustang thingy and all.
I can still manage to get on a horse these days Simon without needing a draft-horse to carry me although a good gallop in one of these Stangs would likely not lead to one of my eyes being blackened ;)
My brother owns an original ‘67 Mustang 289 Hypo fastback.
I think I’ll leave my notions of the Mustang there; a ‘pony’ car in context of a hero element.
As for the modern derivative; flawed in context. The Mustang died in 1970.
Thank god for the US. car industry as it will surely send our derived local industry to the wall.
Chopsta can u imagine if the Mustang had FG underneath and Mustang in the engine bay. Now that would be the king of the road.
They say that the handling has been improved, but how much of an improvement margin is there without a proper independent rear axle? Hopefully the new Mustang (2012?) really does aquire the FG or newer Falcon platform, and then they could realise it worldwide…
What if they sold the FG in the Middle East? Would there be as much success as Holden has had? I would think the lack of the Fairlane would hurt sales abit over there, especially as the Caprice sells so well.
I think that exports are really the key to Aus manufacturers’ futures. They cars they build to satisfy just Australian and NZ demand cannot keep them in business!
I can’t believe America hasn’t learned their lesson?
Grow up and stop playing with these cheap toys.
This is an awesome car, just love it. But why didnt ford australia/ fpv import this V8 engine 5 years ago? WTF? Get ur act together, hope the new V8 next year is something special, something to be proud of. But god do i love this new animal!! What a beast!!!!
jake02 they did a comparason between the the 09 Mustang GT ,09 Challanger R/T and the SS Camaro and the guys running it said they were amazed how well the old was it turned shaper and griped better than the Camaro and the Challanger.
the only time the Camaro Beats the mustang in handling wise is over bumps becouse IRS absorbes bumps better than a live rear axle but on the track I would back a live rear axle
elitist why would the stop playing with these cheap toys when they sell so well.
The GT500 has got the same engine that the last GT500 KR had from what I can work out,now wheres the SuperSnake ?
The original retro american muscle car and still the best.Man,one of these thing would be Awesome to own.
Yeah, the engine should be in the XR8, whilst the straight-six and turbo six should find their way on the Mustangs V6 and GT, respectively.
I hope to be able to buy one of these cars one day but it isn’t a very cheap toy at all. The Mustang GT with the 4.6 V8 now makes around 315HP and cost around $30k which isn’t too bad. the GT500 stickers around $50K but the dealers tend to add a $15K markup. A turbo V6 model is in the works and even a turbo I4 has been talked about. During the 80s Ford made the SVO Mustang which came with a turbo 4 and made around 215HP which wasn’t bad for a car from that time period. In 2011 a DOHC 5.0 V8 should debut in the US for the Mustang and the trucks and you guys should be seeing it in the Falcon by then too. Still wanting a Falcon here in the States.
holy smoking markup jason the yank,
15k,are you sure?blow into this driver,count to ten sir.is there something you want to tell me?into the toilet and fill this sample jar.15k.only in america…
yep some of them have a $15K mark up. the last time i was at the local ford dealer that is the markup they had. since nobody is really selling anything you might be able to buy one at sticker price.