Sam Krahn 
If you are after a Shelby Mustang, there are two paths to go down: Ford Motor Company and Shelby American itself. While Ford Performance will sell you a Shelby GT350 or GT500, Shelby American descends from the late, great Carroll himself. The company has just unveiled full details of its latest muscle car, which comes with a thundering 825 horsepower.
Available as a coupe or convertible and with an automatic or manual transmission, the Carroll Shelby Signature Series Mustang (CSSS) is limited to only 50 units. It is Shelby American’s ultimate expression of a road legal Mustang. The CSSS Mustang is based on the 2020 Ford Mustang GT, but has numerous modifications.
Under the hood is a Mustang V8 with a Whipple supercharger, producing at least 825 hp. It is unclear how much power costumers can go up to, but it begins at more than the GT500. A Shelby designed Borla exhaust system helps hit that power figure. We assume it will sound fantastic, too.
The most obvious changes come from the styling. While Ford uses the pre-facelift S550 Mustang for its Shelby models, Shelby American uses the facelifted model. This is a major advantage to Shelby American if you prefer the updated design. The Mustang’s bodywork is dramatically altered to improve cooling, handling and design. Shelby aimed to create a “square footprint” through wider fenders. This gives the CSSS Mustang a more purposeful stance and allows for wider tires and track. It also looks fantastic, and gives the standard Mustang GT upon which its based a much different look. It manages to be mean, yet refined. Shelby designed the front facia and hood to improve aerodynamics and improve cooling to the 5.0 V8. In the rear, Shelby has fitted a new bumper and diffuser to house the soundtrack that will belt out of that Borla exhaust. Above that is a rear decklid spoiler.
The CSSS Mustang is more than just a straight line drag racer, though. With that wide body comes 20×11 inch forged mono block wheels. That means 305 section tires- front and rear. Ford’s Magneride suspension is carried over, but it has been tuned by Shelby. Those wheels also house Shelby specific Brembo brakes, six-piston front and four-piston rear.
Shelby has also made modifications to the interior of their Mustang. The reupholstered suede and leather seats feature Carroll Shelby’s signature on the backrest. Connecting to the cobra history with the brand, Shelby designed the stitching to look like snakeskin. In addition, the interior features new trim materials, Shelby illuminated door sills, and Carroll Shelby signatures everywhere you can look.
The only drawback? The $127,795 base price. Thats a hefty increase over even a fully loaded Mustang Shelby GT500, which tops out at around $100,000 with the optional carbon track pack. The Shelby American car offers something more unique, both in styling and rarity. The Shelby CSSS also can boast a significant 65 horsepower advantage on Ford’s offering. Overall, the wild performance contained in the purposeful, yet still restrained styling provides a unique alternative to Ford’s Shelby Mustangs. Only costumers can decide if that is worth the high entry price.
