Paul Katsus has always had a strong interest in American muscle cars. Paul Katsus who has studied the Shelby cars would like to share some interesting history of the very special 1968 Mustang GT500 KR. The car saw its beginnings in April 1968, when Ford produced a version of the 428 cubic inch v-8 known as the "Cobra Jet". The KR stood for King Of The Road, a name that was leaked out from General Motors. Carroll Shelby jumped on the name and quickly swept it away from General Motors. The Cobra Jet engine was officially rated at 335 horsepower. But as was the case for horsepower numbers of the times, the engine was considered to be underrated, with the true output closer to the 400 horsepower. The Cobra Jet was a Ford 428 Police Interceptor engine with improved cylinder head for better breathing, larger exhaust manifold and medium rise intake manifold.
Like all Shelby Mustangs of the time, the GT500 KR was fitted with standard high performance goodies not even available as options in other car makes. Weight savings (and thus performance enhancing) body parts consisted of a ram air fiberglass hood, fiberglass front end, fiberglass truck lid, and fiberglass rear end. There were air scoops behind the front and rear windows, as well as at the rear wheel wells. There was a little known dealer installed option that would allow the air to be directed from the air wheel air scopes to cool the rear brakes.
The Shelby GT 500 KR existed for only less than one full model year. The first year for a Shelby Mustang convertible was 1968. The advertising at the time called the Shelby convertible "The mother of all ragtops, all others are pale by comparison" . The Shelby GT 500 KR convertible was produced in limited quantities. A total of 518 examples of the GT 500 KR were produced, making these convertibles very collectible. Pristine examples of these convertibles sell for $175,000 - $200,000 at recent car auctions.
Like all Shelby Mustangs of the time, the GT500 KR was fitted with standard high performance goodies not even available as options in other car makes. Weight savings (and thus performance enhancing) body parts consisted of a ram air fiberglass hood, fiberglass front end, fiberglass truck lid, and fiberglass rear end. There were air scoops behind the front and rear windows, as well as at the rear wheel wells. There was a little known dealer installed option that would allow the air to be directed from the air wheel air scopes to cool the rear brakes.
The Shelby GT 500 KR existed for only less than one full model year. The first year for a Shelby Mustang convertible was 1968. The advertising at the time called the Shelby convertible "The mother of all ragtops, all others are pale by comparison" . The Shelby GT 500 KR convertible was produced in limited quantities. A total of 518 examples of the GT 500 KR were produced, making these convertibles very collectible. Pristine examples of these convertibles sell for $175,000 - $200,000 at recent car auctions.