AUTOS: Shelby 1000 S/C Makes 1,200-hp

Shelby American ups the power for the latest Mustang-based track car set to debut at the New York Auto Show.

AutoWeek | http://www.autoweek.com/ | Posted March 22, 2013 Las Vegas, NV

The 2013 Shelby 1000 S/C track car gets a new supercharged 5.8-liter V8 that churns out 1,200 horsepower. (Photo: Shelby American)

Shelby American celebrated its 50th anniversary last year at the New York auto show with a 1,100-horsepower Ford Mustang that’s only legal on the track. Fifty-one years isn't as big a milestone, but the latest race car is even better: Now it's a 1,200-horsepower monster.

Named the 2013 Shelby 1000 S/C, it will start at $154,995, not including the cost of a base Shelby Mustang GT500 (about $55,000). It will debut next week at the New York auto show.

The big change this year is that Shelby based its creation on the 2013 Mustang GT500, which runs a supercharged 5.8-liter V8. Last year, it used the previous-gen GT500, which ran a 5.4-liter engine.

The 2013 GT500 makes 650 horsepower in basic trim and was one of the last cars Carroll Shelby had a hand in making.

The monstrous eight-cylinder is stripped down and engineers fortify the internal components. The chassis, brakes and cooling elements are also fortified.

Shelby will make 100 copies of its super Mustang.

Theoretically, enthusiasts can order a 1,000-plus-horsepower road-legal model, though the company says it expects all of the demand to be for track cars. Last year, Shelby revealed a 950-horsepower Shelby 1000 that was road legal, though all of the orders were for track cars.

This story originally appeared at Autoweek.com.