Shelby GT500 from “Need for Speed”: Movie Car Monday

Need of speed may not win any academic accolades, but it certainly delivers on its promise of being a true automotive film. It has everything from muscle cars to supercars to helicopters hanging from a vehicle above the Bonneville Salt Flats. However, if you only remember one thing from the 2014 film, it’s probably the widebody Shelby GT500 and its wild scenes slithering through corners with a screaming supercharged V8.
Which Shelby was in Need for Speed?
The 2013 Shelby Mustang Widebody is actually a 197 series Ford Mustang GT. However, unlike a Ford Mustang GT, the movie’s widebody Shelby GT500 is anything but stock. According to Street Muscle Magazine, the glamorous car was a 2013 Shelby GT500, and some of the hard-working cars were seven Mustang GTs.
However, unlike the respectable Coyote V8 you get with a 2013 Ford Mustang GT, the Need of speed Shelby packs a supercharged Ford Racing 5.8L V8. The result is a 900-horsepower widebody howler. Even the production 2013 Shelby GT500 doesn’t come close to those numbers.
Why is the Shelby GT500 special?
The film’s narrative is that the car was the project Carroll Shelby and Ford were working on at the time of Shelby’s death. However, this car was designed and created specifically for the Need of speed film. According to Street Muscle Magazine, Steeda and Technosports Creative LLC collaborated to build the movie-ready Shelby.
Can you buy a Shelby GT500 like the Need for Speed car?
Unfortunately, there was no production model sporting the angry jumbo jet of the Need of speed Mustang. Instead, you can buy a 2013 or 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and install a widebody kit. Although to get your 662 horsepower Shelby moving like the car in the movie, you’ll need to crank up the horsepower.
If you wanted the real car of Need of speed, you should have bought it at auction. According to MotorTrend, the glamorous car used in the film’s production sold at auction for $300,000.
What are the other cars in Need for Speed?
The cars featured in Need of speed prove that the film is a love letter to the car enthusiast. For example, the film begins with a street race involving a Pontiac GTO, a Chevrolet Camaro, and a Ford Torino. Also, after the cannonball race across country in the Shelby, Aaron Paul’s character, Toby Marshall, takes part in the fictional De Leon race with supercars such as a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, a Saleen S7 and a Koenigsegg Agera.
Even the new generation Mustang S550 appeared at the end of the film. A 2015 Ford Mustang GT with its six-speed automatic transmission might not seem like much compared to a Shelby GT500, but it sure was something to get excited about.
What other famous Shelby GT500s have been in Hollywood movies?
The Ford Mustang has a long tradition in cinema. In addition, the Shelby GT500 is recognized by Hollywood. The famous car “Eleanor” in the film Gone in sixty seconds is a Shelby GT500. If you want to know more about some cool movie cars, scroll down to the following article.
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