History of the Super Snake

Can any Mustang ever claim to be the best of the Mustangs?  Throughout the life of this legendary model, there have been a great many high performance Mustangs that made an everlasting mark on the American performance market, but there was one Mustang that never got a chance to stretch its legs on the open road.

Carroll Shelby had already made quite the name for the Shelby Mustangs by 1967, when they introduced their new GT500, and this big block Mustang was proving to be a worthy adversary for anything on the street.  The GT500 outsold the GT350 by almost 2 to 1 in 1967, and based on the early popularity of the GT500, Shelby American decided to make a limited run of special, ultra high performance GT500s.  This new high performance package was built for Mel Burns Ford, and to follow the Cobra theme, this wicked new Shelby was named the Super Snake. The first Super Snake wore the vehicle identification number of 67402F4A00544, making it GT500 # 544, and it was to be the first of 50 GT500 Super Snakes built for 1967.

The Super Snake was built to be a street legal race car, so the biggest change to the GT500 was the engine.  The 1967 GT500 came equipped with a 335 horsepower 428 cid engine, but rivals were introducing engines that had over 400 stock horsepower, such as Dodge famous 426 Hemi, which was rumored to have made well over the 425 horsepower rating.  In light of the need for more power, Shelby replaced the 428 with a 427 cubic inch medium riser engine, fitted with aluminum cylinder heads and aluminum intake manifold, and race headers.  This engine was fed by a 780 cfm (cubic feet per minute) Holley 4 barrel carburetor, and due to the extra strain on the engine, an oil cooler and remote oil filtration system were added.  Helping to make use of that power, the 1967 GT500 Super Snake also featured a race prepared 4-speed manual transmission and a heavy duty Detroit Locker rear differential. This race ready engine made 520 horsepower, and during its first big test, Carroll Shelby himself piloted the car around Goodyear’s test track as part of a tire commercial with lap speeds averaging around 150 miles an hour and the top speed of the car hitting 170 miles an hour!  This Super Snake could have made a legitimate claim to be the best of the Mustangs (at least until the 1970 Boss 429 Lawmen Mustangs were introduced), but once the car was produced, it was priced around $7,500, making it one of the most expensive cars available in the United States (for reference, the 1967 Corvette was priced around $4,300) and around the same price as the superior 427 Shelby Cobra.  After the production of the first, the GT500 Super Snake production was cancelled and only the unit with the VIN ending 544 remains, now in the hands of a private collector.

The Return of the GT500

The 2005 Ford Mustang hit the streets with a distinctly vintage look with rumors of more vintage references to follow, and with the 2007 model year marking the 40^th Anniversary of the fabled GT500, Ford Motor Company, in cooperation with Carroll Shelby released the all new Ford Mustang GT500.  This car became almost an instant legend, with its 500 horsepower, supercharged 5.4L American V8, and its vintage styling, and people first buyers were paying well over sticker price to own this new piece of motoring history.  While rumors continued of more vintage names such as Boss and Mach 1, these rumors were supported by the return of the Bullitt and Shelby GT-H, and another rumor surfaced about another ultra high performance GT500.’

These rumors were seemingly made fact by the release of the GT500KR, which combined some classic styling with added power, up to 540 horsepower.  Modifications to help the KR achieve such a title included a Ford Racing Power Pack, Ford Racing exhaust system, a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission, 3.73:1 rear end gears, and tuning efforts to both the engine and the suspension.  The GT500KR, which is intended to see 1000 units meet their production dates, was assumed to be the high performance Shelby model, until late in 2007 when Ford made it official that the Super Snake would return to the Mustang lineup.

The 2008 GT500 Super Snake package offered in two varieties; with one offering 600 horsepower and the other making an amazing 725 horsepower.  All of the Super Snakes include the Ford Racing handling pack, which includes the following items:

Dynamic Adjustable Dampers
Lowering Springs
Track Tuned Stabilizer Bars
Front Strut Tower Brace

Like the GT500KR, the 2008 Super Snake comes with 3.73:1 gears and a 6-speed manual transmission operated by a short throw shifter, and putting the power to the ground is a set of Alcoa/Shelby 20 inch wheels.  Helping to get the car slowed down is a Baer brake kit with 6 piston calipers and cross drilled rotors, kept cool by molded ventilation ducts.  If you would like your Super Snake to handle even better, Shelby has worked with Eibach to develop an upgraded suspension package.

The 600 horsepower package comes with the Ford Racing Supercharger upgrade kit, and makes 590 lb/ft of torque.  This package makes its presence known by means of a custom Borla Exhaust system.  If you are interested in having a track ready yet fully street legal 725 horsepower Mustang, Shelby has worked with Kenne Bell to produce an upgraded supercharger, and supporting upgrades come with this package.  The supercharger works in conjunction with a pair of billet 75mm throttle bodies, and the exhaust is moved out by a Super Snake specific JBA exhaust system.  The only bad news with the 725 horsepower package is that this option voids all warranties on the new Mustang, where the 600 horsepower option preserves the factory warranties.

All of the 2008 Shelby Super Snakes come with engine, body, and dash badging, as well as the Shelby name across the front edge of the hood and the trunk lid, above the vintage circular GT500 badge. The interior also gets the same upgrade as the GT500KR, with Shelby signature accents to the headrest and floor mats.  The final touch of vintage performance is the hood, which is fiberglass and has a similar style to the original Super Snake with the low, long, front mounted openings.

The automotive world missed out on the original Super Snake, but this one is a sure thing.  This is a post-title package, so someone who wants a Super Snake will first have to purchase a GT500, but from there it receives the chosen package and the end result is what will prove to be the most powerful Mustangs ever sold with a factory backing. 

The cost? The 600hp package will set you back $27,995, and if you feel that you need 725 horsepower, youll be paying $31,995, and both of these prices are in addition to the price of the GT500.  The price isn't that high considering that you are getting a piece of American motoring history, and havingt a 725hp street car isn't too bad either.

Aftermarket companies such as Saleen and Roush have made their stake with the most powerful Mustang, but the Super Snake will appropriately claim that title for now, and this new monster will surely be another great installation in the modern horsepower war, and the 2008 Super Snake is one brutal combatant.