The Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake - The Snake That Bites Back

The Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake - The Snake That Bites Back

Supercharged, Street-Legal, and Born to Dominate

You know, when people talk about muscle cars, everyone throws around the usual suspects—the Charger, the Camaro, the GTO. But when it comes to real-deal American horsepower, the Shelby Super Snake is like a rattlesnake in a henhouse. Loud, dangerous, and not exactly house-trained.

This isn’t just a Mustang. It’s a Mustang with a PhD in Bad Behavior and a master's in Engineering Mayhem. And unlike some cars that are all bark and no bite, the Super Snake has plenty of bite—on the track, on the dyno, and sometimes even on your insurance premium.

Enter The Super Snake.... A 1967 One-Off That Started It All

Let’s go back to the late '60s—1967, to be exact. Carroll Shelby was cookin’ up something wild. He took a GT500 and swapped in a 427 cubic-inch race engine—the same one you'd find in a Ford GT40 that was winning Le Mans at the time.

That car was dubbed the Shelby GT500 Super Snake, and it was originally built as a tire test car for Goodyear. Yep, Goodyear needed a way to test their new Thunderbolt tires, and Shelby said, “Why not build a street car that’s secretly a race car?” Classic Carroll.

The car hit 170+ mph back in 1967. For a muscle car on bias-ply tires? That was like putting a rocket booster on a lawn chair. Only one was ever made—that prototype still exists, and it’s worth millions now.

Super Snake Returns in a Modern Resurrection

Now, fast forward a few decades. In 2007, Shelby American brought the name back, and boy did they do it justice.

Based on the Ford Mustang GT500, the Shelby Super Snake became a street-legal monster tuned to the edge of absurdity.

Production Years:

  • 2007–2014 (First modern run based on S197 Mustang)
  • 2015–2022 (S550 platform)
  • 2023+ (Seventh-gen Mustang – S650 teased for future builds)

Every few years, they dial the madness up even higher. Each Super Snake was built in limited numbers, making them instant collectibles—and unlike that guy at your local car show with the chrome air filter, this thing actually lives up to the hype.

Horsepower? Let’s Talk Numbers

Super Snake isn’t just a cool badge. It’s Shelby’s way of saying, “We got bored, so we added more power.”

Here’s a rough idea of the evolution:

2007 Model

  • Horsepower: 600 hp
  • Engine: 5.4L Supercharged V8
  • 0–60 mph: ~4.1 seconds
  • Top Speed: ~155 mph

2010 Model

  • Horsepower: 750 hp
  • Engine: 5.4L Supercharged V8
  • 0–60 mph: ~3.9 seconds
  • Top Speed: 180+ mph

2013 Model

  • Horsepower: 850+ hp
  • Engine: 5.8L Supercharged V8
  • 0–60 mph: ~3.5 seconds
  • Top Speed: 200+ mph

2017 Model

  • Horsepower: 750–825 hp
  • Engine: 5.0L Whipple Supercharged V8
  • 0–60 mph: ~3.5 seconds
  • Top Speed: 200+ mph

2021 Model

  • Horsepower: 825+ hp
  • Engine: 5.0L Supercharged V8
  • 0–60 mph: ~3.4 seconds
  • Top Speed: 200+ mph

The 2021 Shelby Super Snake Speedster even included a limited drop-top option, and let me tell ya—it looks like a Batmobile that grew up in Texas.

Track-Crushing Capabilities

The Super Snake isn’t just a burnout machine (although it does that better than anything short of a Top Fuel dragster). This thing handles.

Each model gets:

  • Performance suspension upgrades
  • Wilwood or Brembo big brakes
  • High-performance cooling systems
  • 3.73 rear gears or optional drag setups
  • Custom aero kits and carbon fiber accents On the track, it’s no joke. While it's not a pure race car like the GT350R or GT4 Mustangs, it will give a Porsche owner heart palpitations if they underestimate it on the straights.

Off the Track Achieving Showstopping Style and Storytelling

If you drive a Super Snake, you’d better get used to parking lot conversations—because people will ask.

The car comes with bold striping, Super Snake badging, deep dish wheels, and a throaty exhaust note that makes pedestrians drop their coffee.

Shelby also adds serialized plaques, custom leather, and interior upgrades so you don’t forget how rare your car is every time you buckle up.

You’re not just buying a car. You’re buying a rolling story—a direct link back to Carroll Shelby’s legacy. You could daily drive it, but let’s be honest—you won’t make it a week without turning it into a YouTube highlight reel.

Records and Rarity

How rare are they? Shelby builds only a few hundred Super Snakes per year, sometimes fewer, depending on the trim and options.

The original 1967 Super Snake prototype sold at auction for $2.2 million in 2019. That’s not just rare, that’s holy-grail territory.

And let’s not forget: at one point, the modern Super Snake held the title of “World’s Fastest Street-Legal Mustang”, clocking over 210 mph in testing.

That’s faster than most Lamborghinis and Ferraris—except this one has a trunk big enough for golf clubs and a gallon of 10W-30.

What Makes It Special

Look, there are a lot of fast cars out there. But the Shelby Super Snake is special because it knows what it is.

It doesn’t try to be subtle. It’s not chasing Nürburgring lap times. It’s a muscle car that punches hard and makes no apologies.

If the regular Mustang GT is a street fighter, the Super Snake is the guy who shows up wearing brass knuckles and a bandolier.

And I’ll tell ya—every time I’ve driven one, it’s been a blast. Big noise, big grip, and bigger grins. That’s what American muscle is all about.

The Super Snake Is a Legend That Keeps Slithering

In the end, the Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake is more than a badge—it’s a symbol. A symbol of what happens when engineers stop asking “why?” and start asking “why not?”

It’s raw, it’s rare, and it’s ridiculously fast.

If you ever get the chance to drive one, take it. If you ever get the chance to own one? Well, congrats—you’ve just joined the elite club of people who own a snake that eats everything in its path.