Scottish-built Shelby Super Snake and GT350 get over 800bhp supercharged V8s
An authorised dealer network will be set up for Shelby
The history of Shelby is set to enter another chapter after the American firm announced its cars will undergo official conversions here in the UK. The cars will be converted from standard right-hand Ford Mustang guise to either the Shelby GT350 or the Super Snake - bringing with them a host of performance upgrades and cosmetic tweaks.
The cars will be sold under licence by Shelby at a showroom in Glasgow, and orders are already being taken. CSL Shelby, producer of official Shelby-licensed car care kits, set up Shelby UK and says it’ll be able to produce 30 right-hand-drive Shelbys per year from its Edinburgh base.
To build the UK-market GT350 and Super Snake, Shelby UK takes existing right-hand-drive Ford Mustangs and adds a conversion kit sourced directly from Shelby American. It takes as little as three weeks for a car to undergo its transformation, says Shelby UK, with very few changes needed to make the cars approved for UK sale. London-based luxury car dealer Clive Sutton, have already been distributing right-hand drive Shelby Supersnakes in the UK - though those cars are converted in Germany instead.
Pricing for the Shelbys hasn’t been revealed just yet, although customers can either add the kit to an existing right-hand-drive Ford Mustang or buy a completed car from Shelby UK. Shelby GT350s start from $109,999 (roughly £81,000) in the US, with the more potent Super Snake costing $159,995 (around £120,000). Given that the Mustang GT starts from £58,470 here in the UK, you can expect the right-hand-drive Shelby models to cost significantly more.
The Shelbys offer serious performance, however. The GT350 comes with the same 5.0-litre V8 engine as the regular Mustang, but tuned to 480bhp. Its power goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox or an automatic transmission.
That same engine is also offered with a supercharger, giving an output of 810bhp. Performance figures haven’t been revealed, but the supercharged car should comfortably beat the standard Mustang’s 4.5-second 0-62mph time, despite only being offered with the manual gearbox. Other changes on the GT350 include a new exhaust system, upgraded suspension, revised anti-roll bars and a new set of forged alloy wheels.
The Shelby Super Snake is an even more extreme iteration of the Mustang with the same supercharged V8 turned up to over 830bhp. It also gets forged magnesium alloy wheels, a wide bodykit to go with the standard Shelby’s unique front and rear bumpers, extra cooling for that big V8 and a sizeable rear spoiler. Shelby UK is also planning to build a Super Snake R, complete with a 850bhp supercharged V8 and bespoke modifications, although that’ll be a one-off.
According to Shelby UK, three Ford dealerships in London have expressed interest in supplying right-hand-drive Shelbys, but if you want one now, you’ll have to go through the Glasgow-based main dealer. The company also says it’s planning to bring its GT350 and Super Snake to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2026.
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