Ford brings back Mustang GT500KR

Ford announced that the mighty King of the Road Shelby GT500KR will return in the spring of 2008, in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original. Only 1,000 of these special Mustangs will be built.

The team at SVT is tweaking the 5.4-litre supercharged V8 with new calibrations, a cold-air induction kit and 3.73:1 final drive ratio. The KR will be rated at 540 hp and 691 Nm of torque, making it the most powerful Mustang ever.

The suspension has been recalibrated and an underhood cross-brace is added. Visual changes include a new carbon composite hood with scoops patterned after the original KR’s and new Shelby-designed wheels. The show car is equipped with 20-inch wheels, while the production version has 18-inch versions of the same design. The lower front valence features a pair of air intakes leading to functional ducts to cool the front brakes.

The Cobra badges will get special 40th Anniversary branding and an individually numbered plate will sit in the center of the dash. All that and this low-budget expensive car still doesn’t have a retractable radio antenna.