<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/convertibles/" rel="tag">Convertible</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/coupes/" rel="tag">Coupe</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/" rel="tag">Performance</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/ford/" rel="tag">Ford</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/"><img hspace="0" vspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---01opt.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><small>2011 Ford Shelby GT500 - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></strong></em></div>
<br />
Ever since <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> introduced the modern <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/shelby+gt500">Shelby GT500</a> four years ago, almost no one has complained about the prodigious power levels produced by its supercharged 5.4-liter V8. With as much as 540 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque in the 2010 model, there was no shortage of grunt. No, the issue was an excess of mass. <br />
<br />
Before the contemporary GT500 was born, Ford had a blown aluminum block 5.4-liter V8 in the short lived GT supercar. However, when the engineers at Ford's Special Vehicle Team developed the GT500, they opted to mount the GT's cylinder heads on the cast iron block used in the big F-Series pickup trucks. After debuting a visual refresh for the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/mustang">Mustang</a> a year ago, Ford has spent the last two months announcing fresh new powertrains for the base and GT models. That process has now come full circle with SVT rolling out a heart transplant for the Shelby GT500. The 2011 model finally has the aluminum powerplant we all wanted when it debuted, and the effect is absolutely en-lightening. Read on to find out more.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/">2011 Ford Shelby GT500 with SVT Performance Package</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500000_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500001_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500002_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500003_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500004_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/">2011 Ford Shelby GT500 Live</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---01_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---02_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---03_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---05_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---06_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
<em><strong><small>Live photos by Sam Abuelsamid</small></strong></em><em><strong><small> / </small></strong></em><em><strong><small>Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.</small></strong></em><p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>2011 Ford Shelby GT500 finally gets aluminum engine, loses 120 pounds</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/">2011 Ford Shelby GT500 finally gets aluminum engine, loses 120 pounds</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19336665/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
More...
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><small>2011 Ford Shelby GT500 - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></strong></em></div>
<br />
Ever since <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/ford/">Ford</a> introduced the modern <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/shelby+gt500">Shelby GT500</a> four years ago, almost no one has complained about the prodigious power levels produced by its supercharged 5.4-liter V8. With as much as 540 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque in the 2010 model, there was no shortage of grunt. No, the issue was an excess of mass. <br />
<br />
Before the contemporary GT500 was born, Ford had a blown aluminum block 5.4-liter V8 in the short lived GT supercar. However, when the engineers at Ford's Special Vehicle Team developed the GT500, they opted to mount the GT's cylinder heads on the cast iron block used in the big F-Series pickup trucks. After debuting a visual refresh for the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/mustang">Mustang</a> a year ago, Ford has spent the last two months announcing fresh new powertrains for the base and GT models. That process has now come full circle with SVT rolling out a heart transplant for the Shelby GT500. The 2011 model finally has the aluminum powerplant we all wanted when it debuted, and the effect is absolutely en-lightening. Read on to find out more.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/">2011 Ford Shelby GT500 with SVT Performance Package</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500000_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500001_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500002_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500003_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-with-svt-performance-pack/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/2011gt500004_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/">2011 Ford Shelby GT500 Live</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---01_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---02_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---03_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---05_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-live/low/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/gt500live---06_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
<em><strong><small>Live photos by Sam Abuelsamid</small></strong></em><em><strong><small> / </small></strong></em><em><strong><small>Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.</small></strong></em><p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>2011 Ford Shelby GT500 finally gets aluminum engine, loses 120 pounds</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/">2011 Ford Shelby GT500 finally gets aluminum engine, loses 120 pounds</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblog</a> on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19336665/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/08/2011-ford-shelby-gt500-finally-gets-aluminum-engine-loses-120-p/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>
More...
