Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI:PK), made history today at the Michigan Woodward Dream Cruise when it unveiled the limited-edition Shelby GT500 CODE RED with a twin turbocharged V8 pumping out up to 1,300 horsepower. For the first time in its history, the company turned an experimental car into a limited edition vehicle. In addition to the replacement of the factory supercharger with a twin turbo setup, each hand-built CODE RED Shelby GT500 will receive suspension, braking, cooling and aesthetic upgrades.
- CODE RED pumps out 1,000+ horsepower and 780-foot pounds of torque on 93 octane pump gas with up to 1,300 horsepower and 1,000-foot pounds of torque on E85 Ethanol
- Only 10 total worldwide per model year for 2020-2022 Shelby GT500s will be built
- Shelby GT500 CODE RED is the first twin turbo limited edition car offered by Shelby American
“Shelby American has built cutting-edge experimental versions of the Shelby GT500 since the model was launched in 1967,” said Joe Conway, CEO of Shelby American. “While these testbeds for innovation never became production cars at the time, they helped make our vehicles better. For the first time in our 60-year history, we’re turning an experimental car into a limited-edition vehicle. The enormous demand for a CODE RED edition is an opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities, as well as the enormous potential of Ford Motor Company’s marvelous Shelby GT500 as a dedicated straight-line performer.”
Famous “EXP” experimental cars have included the Green Hornet, the Super Snake, Little Red and the 2008 twin turbo CODE RED. Shelby’s ’67 GT500 Super Snake had a 427-race engine while the Green Hornet was an experimental ’68 hardtop used to test fuel injection and independent rear suspension. The 1967 Little Red had twin superchargers and a host of other innovations.
Shelby American replaced the supercharger with a pair of turbos on the experimental 2008 CODE RED Shelby GT500. The 5.4-liter V8 re-engineered by Nelson’s Racing Engines had a dual-feed fuel system that blended in high-octane racing gas as needed. Shelby American enhanced the cooling capacity to handle the heat and worked with AMS to develop a speed-sensitive boost controller for the car.
Along the way, the drivetrain was reworked to include a new transmission that could withstand all the power, a one-piece aluminum driveshaft, Currie 9-inch rear end, Air Locker differential and 35-spline axles. The car boasted Shelby/Eibach adjustable suspension, Shelby/Baer brakes and rotors, 20-inch wheels shod with Pirelli P Zeros on front and stickier Nitto NY555R drag radials at the rear.
However, the high cost of the car and its extreme nature meant it was not viable for production.
“CODE RED is designed to be the pinnacle of Shelby Mustangs,” said Gary Patterson, president of Shelby American. “While we never put it into production during 2008, many were keen to own one. The current generation Shelby GT500 is so robust and spectacular that many of the issues we encountered 14 years ago no longer exist. It’s so perfect for CODE RED transformation that we began quietly building a few for insiders who asked. Though we did not initially intend to offer a formal edition, demand was so strong that we elected to build a very small number of them.”
Based on the 2020-2022 Ford Shelby GT500, the new CODE RED edition is truly a horse of a different color than the Shelby Super Snake and Shelby GT500KR. Only 10 per model year (2020-22) will be built.
“The unique nature of this new car required us to pour in lessons learned from extreme vehicles like the 2008 CODE RED, Shelby 1000 and 2020 Shelby GT500 Dragon Snake concept,” said Vince LaViolette, Shelby American Vice President of Operations and Chief of R&D. “All of the massive horsepower and torque we develop with the new CODE RED car required us to focus on optimizing traction. That is why CODE RED is more of a straight-line performer than a road course warrior. While not street legal, it’s very capable at moderate speeds in most any curve. But when the turbos spool up, the car is best enjoyed moving straight ahead.”
Over the past 60 years, Shelby has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, such as Ford Performance Brembo, Michelin, Borla, Recaro and Tremec. CODE RED’s drivetrain was engineered in collaboration with Fathouse Performance, an official development partner of Shelby American.
“We worked closely with Shelby American to develop a robust, powerful and reliable package based on our 50 years of combined experience in the high-performance auto industry,” said Ben Stoner, vice president of Fathouse Performance. “The 5.2L engine now features all-new high-performance components boosted by an intercooled premium twin turbo system, a new fuel system, engine management system and more. CODE RED boasts 1,000+ horsepower and 780-foot pounds of torque on 93 octane pump gas with up to 1,300 horsepower and 1,000-foot pounds of torque on E85 Ethanol.”
CODE RED is far more than just a drivetrain upgrade. It also features the widebody package with new wheels, tires, axles, suspension tuning, interior, badges, carbon fiber hood, and more. Shelby American has spent countless hours testing the car. Both LaViolette (chief test driver) and Patterson (senior test driver) worked hard to refine and tame CODE RED.
Each CODE RED Shelby GT500 includes membership in Team Shelby, the worldwide club Carroll Shelby established in 2008, and will be documented in the official Shelby Registry. The package MSRP starts at $209,995, not including the base car. Production has begun in Las Vegas and owners of 2020-2022 model year Shelby GT500s can contact Shelby American about transforming their car into a CODE RED edition.
Package MSRP starts at $209,995
Standard Features
Powertrain Features
- Shelby by FHP Twin Turbo System
- Xona 7869S Dual Ball Bearing Turbos
- Stainless Steel Tial Vband Exhaust Housings
- PTP Titanium Turbo Blankets
- PTP Titanium Turbo Manifold Blankets
- Tial MVS Wastegates
- Custom High Flow Air Filters
- 3″ Stainless Steel Turbo Downpipes
- Stainless Steel Tubular Turbo Headers with Billet Collectors and Merges
- 3″ Stainless Active Exhaust
- ARP Header Bolt Kit
- Engine Upgrade
- Custom Manley Pistons 10.5:1 CR
- Manley I Beam Rods
- ARP Main Studs
- ARP Head Studs
- Oil Squirter Block Offs
- PAC Valve Springs
- Ferrea Competition Valves
- HD Secondary Timing Chains
- Ford Performance Oil Pump Gear and Crank Sprocket
- Amsoil 5w50 Signature Oil
- NGK Spark Plugs
- Billet Anodized Coil Cover Set with Shelby Logo
- Intake and Intercooler System:
- Fathouse Performance Intake Manifold/ A2W Intercooler
- Fathouse Performance Billet Throttle Body Adapter and Coupler
- Fathouse Performance Ice Tank with Reservoir
- Coated Aluminum Intercooler Piping
- Tial Blow Off Valve
- Upgraded Heat Exchanger
- Custom Turbo Scavenge System
- Fathouse Performance Race Oil Catch Can
- Fathouse Valve Cover Adapter Fittings
- BMRS High Temp Polymer Hose Plumbing
- Fuel System
- ID1300x Injectors
- Billet Fuel Rails
- Return Style Fuel System
- BMRS Line Kit
- Fore fittings, Fuel Pressure Reg, and Fuel Filter
- Upgraded fuel pumps
- MoTeC M150 Engine Management Package:
- MoTeC M150 ECU
- Plug and Play Mil-Spec Wiring Harness
- Power Adjustment via Factory Drive Mode Controls (650hp-1200hp)
- Advanced Traction Control (9 Different Levels)
- Boost-by-Gear
- Rolling Anti-Lag
- Flex Fuel 93/E85 System Automatically Adjusts Power Based on Ethanol Content
- Ghost Cam Feature (Activated in Drag Mode)
- Advanced Launch Control
- Engine Protection Features
- Level 3 Advanced Data Logging (Captures Data Automatically)
Performance Features
- Shelby Widebody package
- Performance half-shafts
- Ride-height adjustable front and rear springs
- Ford Performance front and rear sway bars
- MagneRide®> suspension recalibration
- Caster camber plates
- Shelby forged aluminum wheels
- One-piece 6061-T6 forged aluminum
- 20×11 front
- 20×13 rear
- Performance spec 305/30/20 front tire
- Performance spec 345/30/20 rear tire
- Extended and hardened wheel studs
Exterior and Interior features
- Shelby carbon fiber hood
- Carbon fiber front splitter
- Carbon fiber rear diffuser
- Carbon fiber pedestal wing
- Shelby rocker panels
- Carbon fiber rocker wings
- Billet engine caps
- 60th Anniversary Badging (2022 MY only)
- Code Red badging
- Leather seat recovers
- Shelby rocker stripes
- CSM numbered engine and dash plate
- Door sill plates
- Rear seat delete and harness bar
Optional Features
- Le Mans style over the top stripes
- Painted stripes
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