For those of you who don’t know the GT500KR is a Carroll Shelby version of the GT500. The GT500KR is a Mustang GT with 540hp coming from its supercharged 5.4 liter V8 engine. Each GT500KR starts its life off as a simple GT500 and then is sent to Las Vegas to Carroll Shelby’s speed shop and is converted into a KR. KR stands for King of the Road. The price tag on a GT500KR is nearly $80,000. There is only plans for 1571 of this cars to built in the US for next 2 years.
Tonight I raced number 250 in my GTO and won and then I promptly lost the next race. While my 2006 GTO is fast, it is really out of its league with the GT500KR. The only reason I got a win was because this was a new GT500KR with a driver trying to figure out how to put an estimated 511rwhp to the ground. Apparently the GT500KRs are a bit underrated. By the end of the night he was running almost half a second faster than me and trapping nearly 10mph faster than my lowly GTO. The GT500KR is really in a whole different league than my GTO. The only reason I got a win was because it was one of his first runs down the track.
It was great to see such a rare car running at the track. I may never see another out there. Most people aren’t buying their GT500KRs to run at the track. This car was trailered in and still had the window stickers on it and factory plastic over the seats and parts of the dash.
The owner admitted that a person would be better off buying a GT500 for only $46,000 and then adding the bits that make the GT500KR a better car. However just adding the bits that make a KR the King of the Road wouldn’t create another GT500KR. A KR is a rare special car touched by the engineers at Carroll Shelby’s speed shop and when you get that car you get a piece of automotive history.
The GT500KR is also the car that is used as the basis for the new Knight Rider TV show. It is the modern K.I.T.T.
Keep an eye out for the all the Shelby GT Mustangs. There is a Shelby GT350 and GT350-H which are 4.6 liter V8 powered Mustangs with performance more like the slighty quicker Mustang GT. However, if you see any GT500s, remember that those cars are powered by the same engine as the Ford GT supercar.
