2007 Ford Shelby GT

1966. There was a Texan in the White House, a guy named Andretti earned Rookie of the Year honors at last year's Indy 500, and a former oilfield roughneck and retired chicken farmer named Carroll Shelby was building hot Mustangs.

2007. There's a Texan in the White House, a guy named Andretti earned Rookie of the Year honors at last year's Indy 500, and a former oilfield roughneck and retired chicken farmer named Carroll Shelby is (once again) building hot Mustangs.

After decades of licensed replicas, so-called "continuation" cars, and aftermarket conversion jobs done by dealerships and even the Shelby American Automobile Club, our September 2006 issue told the story of how Mustangs are once again being converted into Shelby Mustangs at a Shelby Automobiles facility in partnership with Ford. The first effort of the new venture-the famously black and gold GT-H-also signaled a renewed relationship with the Hertz Corporation, bringing back the original Rent-a-Racer notion of 1966. The idea was to build 500 of them and see if anybody cared.

A helluva lot of people cared. So much so that Ford and Shelby couldn't ignore the cry. While the GT-H can be rented only at select Hertz locations, the for-purchase Ford Shelby GT can be bought through any Ford dealer. At a base MSRP of $36,970, it slots in above the Mustang GT and below the supercharged Ford Shelby GT500.

The philosophy, process, and hardware of how a Mustang GT becomes a Shelby GT are similar to those of the GT-H, although there are numerous detail differences and expanded equipment choices. Ford ships cars from its Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant to Shelby Automobile's facility in Las Vegas for the spa treatment. As with the GT-H, the GT is offered only in the coupe body style, with metallic silver Le Mans stripes instead of the Hertz-specific gold. While all GT-Hs are black, the GT comes in white or black. White cars get polished aluminum wheels; black GTs have black wheel centers.

All the GT's performance hardware is the same as that on the GT-H. Which means a Ford Racing Powerpack, consisting of a 90mm cold-air intake system and more aggressive calibration of the engine management system, mandating the use of premium fuel. Ford Racing performance mufflers and an X-pipe, replacing the standard H-shaped crossover, complete the powertrain mods. Although output was originally estimated at 325 horsepower, Ford has since recertified the package at 319 horses and 330 pound-feet of torque.

Underneath, Ford Racing provides new struts and shocks, which reduce the ride height about an inch and a half. Stiffer anti-roll bars improve body control and make for flatter cornering. And a race-inspired twin-tube strut tower base increases chassis rigidity in the engine bay and sharpens up steering response. The Ford Racing bits are factory developed, well matched to each other, and warranted by Ford. Last, the entire rearend is swapped for a new unit carrying a 3.55:1 diff ratio; it's cheaper and faster to change out the entire axle than to open up the pumpkin and replace the ring and pinion.

Here's where the GT and GT-H diverge. While the rental can only be obtained with an automatic transmission, the GT is offered with your choice of the same five-speed autobox or a five-speed manual. The latter sports a stubby Hurst shifter wearing a white shift knob that looks right out of the 1960s. The GT-H you rent from Hertz has its traction-control defeat switch, er, defeated (these folks aren't stupid). But since the Shelby GT owner will burn rubber at his own risk, its traction control can be switched on or off. The Hertz model runs "Bullitt"-style 17-inch alloys, but the GT gets a factory Plus One combination of 18-inch wheels and lower-profile tires.

There are stylistic differences, too. In our September story on the GT-H, we groused about the presence of a rear wing, since original Shelbys had no such thing. We won't be so cheeky as to say they made the change because of our suggestion, but we're pleased to report the GT wears no such appendage. The GT-H has its own unique Shelby hood, while the GT uses the factory aluminum hood fitted with a riveted-on hood scoop. This scoop's size and shape is close to that on the mid-1960s 427 Cobra, and in our opinion, the treatment is preferable to the GT-H's bulky-looking fiberglass hood. Both cars have the same aluminum replacement grille, front fascia (borrowed from the California Special), and individual Shelby letters on the decklid. The "Hertz" badge on the GT-H's front fenders is replaced with one stating "Powered by Ford."

Things are standard GT fare inside, with a little Shelby jewelry added. All interiors will be black, and Shelby mods consist of machined-aluminum sill plate badges, Shelby GT floormats, and an aluminum number plate on the I.P. that proclaims the car to be officially produced by Shelby Automobiles and its Shelby serial number.