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It’s Just About Time The Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept Finally Went Into Production

You might still remember that gorgeous 1964 Daytona Coupe-inspired Ford GT concept from back in 2005.
Ford Shelby GR-1 38 photos
Photo: Ford
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You know, that stunning, ridiculously shiny 6.4-liter full-aluminum V10-powered beast. The one that would turn the heads of even the most pretentious public out there but never got to see the light of day due to Ford’s lack of conviction and vitality to sustain the project at that time.

If you haven’t already guessed (or painfully remembered), I’m talking about the Ford Shelby GR-1. The jaw-dropping front-engine, two-seat fastback concept debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto Show and perfectly blended the new and the classic into a shining display of luxury and horsepower.

Just imagine leaning on that hood for a photo, perhaps with a warm, golden sunset reflecting off the bodywork. To be fair with you, my brain did just accidentally start daydreaming of that scene for about 5 minutes just now (oops!).

Ford Shelby GR\-1 concept
Photo: Ford
At this point you might be saying to yourself ‘okay, but why all the hype about a 2005 concept that never hit the tarmac? I mean, it’s 2020 and the GR-1 was laid six feet under long ago.’ Well, not exactly.

Superperformance is "a distributor of complete, rolling-chassis replica and continuation race cars of the 1960s" based in Irvine, California. Replicas including the Ford GT40, Corvette Grand Sport and Shelby Cobra earned them a fair amount of praise, but I’d say the best is yet to come!

They now embark on the production of 325 Ford Shelby GR-1 units under the 2015 Low Car Volume Manufacturers Act, following a deal struck with Ford and Shelby. The tuner will not only produce aluminum-bodied coupes, as well as carbon fiber bodies, but will even take the game as far as developing an electric version. 200 pieces will be aluminum special-edition vehicles (polished or painted), while the rest will feature carbon-fiber bodies.

You’ve read it well folks, it’s finally happening!

Ford Shelby GR\-1 concept
Photo: Ford
We had to get licensed by the original manufacturer, and it had to have all credibility. So I just kept plodding along and eventually the stars aligned, the right people at Ford got to hear about it and…a couple of guys at who really wanted to see it happen at Ford Design in Europe, and the next thing I know is Ford Licensing is contacting me," said Superperformance CEO Lance Stander.

One key difference from the original concept, according to Stander himself, is that the V10 engine will be replaced by a 700-plus-horsepower, supercharged V8 similar to that of the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500.

Stander added “it sadly won’t be a V10. Ford doesn’t have a V10 apart from one they utilize in trucks, and we want the GR-1 to be a production car with a production engine—all coming from Ford.”

Ford Shelby GR\-1 concept
Photo: Ford
The automatic Tremec dual-clutch transmission of the GT500 will also run on the GR-1, and plans extend from a six-speed manual to a fully electric drivetrain.

Superperformance’s newly revived Ford Shelby GR-1 won’t hit the roads for another two years, which might seem like a while, but that’s certainly better than never, right?

Now, realistically speaking, I’ll probably (uh, definitely!) never be the happy owner of one of these beauties on wheels. But that’s okay, I just want to see the baby go!

So shiny, so perfect…
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About the author: Silvian Secara
Silvian Secara profile photo

A bit of an artist himself, Silvian sees two- and four-wheeled machines as a form of art, especially restomods and custom rides. Oh, and if you come across a cafe racer article on our website, it’s most likely his doing.
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