Ford has unveiled the convertible version of its MY 2013 Shelby GT500 convertible at the Chicago motor show. In doing so it's propelled itself into a pretty unique niche, as a maker of a near-200mph, 650hp, 600lb ft four-seat convertible, a segment shared only with the faster Bentley Continental GTCs and, at a pinch, the new
Jaguar XKR-S Convertible
our Dan will be attempting to max out to 186mph on a Californian runway next week. Watch this space. And, no,
he won't be wearing his ridiculous hat
For a sense of perspective, that's more power than the original McLaren F1 made and makes it, according to Ford, the most powerful production V8 in the world.
To achieve this, the GT500 convertible's engine (shared of course with its GT500 coupe cousin) gets and engine enlarged to 5.8 litres a new supercharger, new cross-drilled block and heads, updated camshaft profiles and a new carbon fibre driveshaft. Ford's SVT team also chucks in and upgraded clutch, transmission and axle, just for good measure.
All of which can be had, in the good old US and A, for an estimated $65,000. That translates to around £41K in the Queen's English and, although you would certainly pay a fair whack more should you choose to get one imported, we reckon that still represents one of the best horsepower-per-pound new car ratios ever found in the world of soft-top cars.
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