[vladedivac]

How many people think the KR should have been more like the other Cobra Rs?

The previous 3 Rs were almost race cars built for street duty:
stripped interior
no radio
rear seat delete
special engine (except '93 Cobra R)
basically stripped versions of the regular Cobra

I thought using the KR designation was a great idea, but it turns out to be just a tweaked GT500. All they really added to the engine was the Ford Racing air filter and tune. Anybody with a little mechanic skills can do that. They put a rear gear that should've been in the car in the first place. The only thing lighter is the hood. Oh, and they also added uglier wheels.

I'd love to own a KR, but I hoped it would have been more of a pure race car like previous Rs. The GT500 is plush enough. The KR could've been a little rougher.

[PerformancePartsInc]

The '08 GT500KR was never designed to compete with or emulate a '93, '95 or '00 Cobra "R" model... It was designed in the spirit of the 1968 1/2 GT500KR...

[vladedivac]

Can we assume then that there is not going to be a GT500 R? The last Cobra R came out 8 years ago. Just would have been cool to have a true race version of the newest Shelby to show the "other guys" Ford can still build a race car from the Mustang.
When magazines put the KR out on the track it falls short to other cars and the Mustang gets bashed; the KR base price IS $80,000. Then you get ricers bragging about their new Nissan (pretty cool car but funny looking), elitists and their M3 (also cool but even more funny looking with the boy racer body kit), and the Vette people with well the Vette.
I know Ford can build another ultra rare street legal race car from the new Mustang chassis. I guess we did NEED yet another nostalgia car. Hope they come out with a new sticker edition to replace the California Special and call it the King Cobra or King Cobra II to be in the spirit of the '78.
What other "editions" are we missing? The Boss? How about the Sprint or the Grande? The one I'd want, the Charlie's Angels edition...

[Gary Paul]

Ford has gone in another direction with its "race model" Mustangs. There is no need (and would be very little demand) for a stripped down Shelby.

Ford Racing now offers turnkey Mustang race-only cars (not street legal) for amateur racers to buy and participate in specific classes. The FR500C is based on the 3-valve Mustang GT. One magazine has declared that "at $125,000, the FR500C is one of the great bargains of the road-racing world". The new FR500CJ (reviving the Cobra Jet name from the old musclecar era) is based on the 5.4L engine. I believe the FR500CJ will cost less than the FR500C and is intended for drag racing use (instead of road racing).

[vladedivac]

I don't there was any need for the previous R model Cobras either. That's why they made so few of them. So you are saying that if they made a stripped down race version of the GT500 that it wouldn't sell? Anything with "Mustang" and "Ultra-Limited" that can perform will sell, I think. Anyone think they'd lust after an ultra-rare GT500 "R" built solely to compete with higher end cars?

[travelers]

If you want a race car go with the new CJ version. I know its not street legal but......

[royo]

The GT500KR is what the GT500 should be.

[B0SSRAC3R]

Originally Posted by royo

The GT500KR is what the GT500 should be.

The KR is so over the top with bling!! But that's just my opinion. I've never been a big fan of badges and stick-on parts, more interested in suspension and horsepower. But hey, it's a great spy car, all it needs is a rocket launcher to pop out of the fog lights. ROFL! But seriously, I understand the appeal and the legacy.


Btw, I have an SVT Enthusiast 2005 Volume 8 Issue #2 on ebay--this is the one with the first glimpse of the red 2007 GT500 on the cover. Also the Shelby Magazine #1 from 2007 and a bunch more Shelby magazine covers. Here's the link. I've been saving these for years but it's time for spring cleaning.