Description
This Shelby GT500 Super Snake is a factory-built example and was one of very few to be delivered to the UK brand new. In fact, it was ordered and delivered new to our father in 2008 and used as his daily driver for 2 years & over 9, 000 miles, before being sold and moving through various collectors’ hands. We re-discovered the car by chance 18 months ago and immediately sought to buy it back; to our amazement it had only just ticked over 12, 000 miles and was in near-perfect, unmolested condition. Since then, we have completed a further 2, 000 miles in it and soaked up all of the nostalgia (and supercharger whine) the car has to offer. We have now decided it is time to let it go in favour of another childhood dream car.
If you are unaware as to what a Super Snake is, allow us to explain: the S197 Shelby GT500, in fact, wasn’t a Shelby at all, it was designed and built in-house by Ford’s ‘Special Vehicle Team’ and simply used the Shelby name under licence. It is widely known that the standard S197 GT500 was a fantastic base, but left quite a bit to be improved upon, namely suspension, brakes, and cooling. Exactly as they did in the 1960s, Shelby American saw an opportunity to take these SVT GT500s up a few notches and create a proper Shelby from them. As such, they created the KR (King of the Road), which sorted out the foibles, added extra power and aggressive styling; and for those who wanted the ultimate Mustang, they created the Super Snake with a fully-warranted 605hp (or an unwarranted 725hp) - a huge figure in 2008 when the contemporary BMW M3 had just 414hp. The Super Snake had a large number of upgrades over the standard GT500 including: Upgraded Supercharger to 605hp; Upgraded Intercooler; Cold Air Intake; Baer 6-Piston Brake System; Aluminium Prop-Shaft; 3. 73 Diff Gears; Short Throw Shifter; Eibach Adjustable Coil Over Suspension; Eibach Anti-Roll Bars; Ford Racing Strut Brace; Borla Cat-Back Exhaust System; 20-Inch Alcoa Wheels; Front and Rear Functional Brake Ducting; Carbon Fibre Splitter, Mirrors and Sill Covers; Side Scoop Intakes; Composite Super Snake Bonnet; Super Snake Stripes; Aesthetic Engine Bay Kit (Billet Caps and Aluminium Reservoirs); Centre Gauge Cluster; Shelby Dashboard Plaque; Numbered Sill Plates; Super Snake Embroidery and Floor Mats.
This Super Snake was ordered through 51st State Autos in Waltham Abbey, specified in Vapor Silver with Black Stripe Kit and full Black interior. Once the standard GT500 was finished at the Mustang factory in Detroit, it was immediately dispatched to the Shelby Centre with the closest proximity to the UK - Tasca Ford in Rhode Island - for the full Super Snake conversion. This is a true new-build Super Snake, unlike a large number which were converted from standard GT500s later down the line (Shelby only stopped offering this in 2022). We have photos of the car at the Shelby Centre, as well as at the docks on both sides of the Atlantic, and finally at the original owner’s (our family) home. Once the car arrived, it was treated to a full underside waxoyling (most of which is still there) and removal of the faux rear window intakes before being used as a daily driver. The car accrued 9, 000 miles - mostly doing the school run - over a two-year period before being sold to make way for a new Nissan GT-R. Also in our father’s ownership, the brake discs were upgraded to two-piece items all round as the standard ones were still over-heating, despite the Shelby ducting. The next we saw of the car was around 2014, when we spotted it at a dealer in Cornwall, it had been through a couple of owners but had only done approx. 700 more miles. It was soon sold again and didn’t re-appear until 2020 when it was for sale again at the same dealer at 10, 500 miles. It has since passed through a few more collector’s hands before landing back home with us in 2024 at 12, 000 miles.
Today, the mileage stands at 14, 000 miles and the car is in near-immaculate, unmolested condition: the Vapor Silver paint looks to be all original and has only gained a couple of chips over its 17-year life. The original ‘Super Snake’ branded Alcoa wheels are in perfect condition (these are no longer available and very hard to come by with the Super Snake script) and are fitted with nearly-new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres all round. The PPF on the bonnet edge (for the bonnet pin cables), sills and door bottoms is still present. The Black leather interior is also in excellent condition - as you would expect from the mileage - the driver’s seat bolster has very minimal wear and the usual S197 door card issue has only just begun to rear its head, the original radio is still present and everything works as it should. The engine bay and underside of the car are fantastic with next-to-no corrosion to the body or components, thanks to the waxoyl protection from new and the recent re-application of ACF-50. The only other issues we can find is that there is some pitting to the exhaust tips and some crazing on the carbon-fibre front spoiler, but these are not immediately noticeable.
Overall, this is a very special car that would’ve been faster than almost anything on the UK roads when new. It is in truly excellent condition and will come fully serviced ready for its next custodian. The Shelby is based at our studio in Bicester, please contact Greg with any questions, or to arrange a viewing.
