Four Score

Shelby reveals a 335hp Shelby GT based on the EcoBoost 2015+ Mustang

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Shelby American

When you think of Shelby American, the first thing that comes to mind is a snarling V-8 engine. However, the company has long offered upgrade packages for cars like the Focus ST. Now Shelby is going global and expanding its Mustang palette with the introduction of a Shelby GT based on the EcoBoost 2015+ Mustang.

“The Shelby GT EcoBoost is designed to appeal to a new Shelby enthusiast audience,” Gary Schechner, Shelby American Vice President Marketing and Sales, said. “While we believe that Americans will embrace the car, we expect significant demand from this platform internationally where the availability of the V8 Mustang GT may be more limited or taxes and tariffs might prevent ownership of the V8 engine.”

There has always been a market for modified Mustangs with fewer than eight cylinders, but that market has often been modest because the smaller engines didn’t respond as well to modifications. However, the EcoBoost Mustang has created a new paradigm. It responds to bolt-on mods and tuning far better than its six-cylinder predecessors.

“Ever since Ford announced that its terrific new Mustang would be available worldwide, requests for Shelby versions of the car have rolled in from across the globe,” Joe Conway, Co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International and CEO of Shelby American, said. “Since the majority of Mustangs that Ford offers in many of those countries will be the EcoBoost model, our team has been developing a Shelby GT model for the nimble new turbocharged four-cylinder car, as well as the V8 powered GT. This package was specifically developed for the recently announced network of Shelby Mod Shops that will stretch from Europe to South Africa, China and Australia. They will add the Shelby package to a Ford Mustang that a customer has purchased in that area.”

Those mod shops will revamp an EcoBoost Mustang with a host of carbon-fiber front splitter, hood, rear spoiler, and rocker panel. Weld 20-inch wheels wearing Michelin tires accent those upgrades. In the performance department the car picks up over 20 horsepower courtesy of a JMS BoostMax and a Borla exhaust. If you want more performance upgrades, you can add larger Wilwood brakes, 3.55 gears, and more.

“Shelby American has delivered a car that not only provides superior handling, it has smooth progressive power and great braking capabilities,” Vince LaViolette, SAI lead designer and factory test driver, said. “Yet it doesn’t negate the EcoBoost’s outstanding fuel economy. And the car offers the aggressive styling of the new Shelby GT that enthusiasts demand.”

The Shelby GT EcoBoost starts at $23,995 on top of the price of the EcoBoost Mustang, and the company is taking deposits on a first come, first served basis. You can download the brochure right here.

The Mod List

Performance

• JMS PedalMax, JMS BoostMax,
• 20×9.5-inch Venice Weld Racing wheels in three choices: polished, machined black and black
• Michelin Pilot Sport 275/35ZR-20 Tires
• Shelby-tuned Borla Performance Exhaust

Exterior

• Shelby carbon fiber front splitter
• Shelby carbon fiber hood
• Shelby carbon fiber upper and lower grilles with Shelby GT badge
• Shelby carbon fiber spoiler
• Shelby carbon fiber rocker panels
• “Powered by Ford” emblem
• Shelby Rocker panel graphics
• Shelby GT striping and badging kit including C-pillar, rear deck lid, faux gas cap and taillight panel

Interior

• Shelby Registry CSM Serial Number Dash and Engine Plaques
• Shelby embroidery in headrests
• Shelby Logo Carpeted Floor Mats
• Shelby logo lit door sills

Options

• Shelby carbon-fiber hood extension
• Shelby carbon-fiber mirror covers
• Shelby three-gauge dash pod with Boost, Fuel and Oil pressure gauges
• Shelby Katzkin interior upgrade
• Roll cage
• Sparco race seats
• Five-point harness
• Convertible light bar
• Short throw shifter
• Ford Performance half-shafts
• Wilwood six-piston front brakes, four-piston rear brakes
• 3:55 gears
• Brake duct kit
• Camber caster plates
• Adjustable rear tow rod

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