All we know is the big ol' iron block is expected to be replaced with an all-aluminum engine block for reduced weight plus a few additional horses.

Additionally, the new Shelby also will get Ford's electronic power-assist steering system, high-intensity headlamps and a few other minor improvements. Other new options for 2011 include a glass roof for the GT500 coupe and two new colors: Race Red and Ingot Silver Metallic.

We're also hearing a new SVT package (SVT Cobra? Yeah, sorry, probably not) will include — according to a Ford order book by way of the Detroit News — a new version of the limited-slip rear axle, 19-inch front and 20-inch rear painted forged aluminum wheels, as well as upgraded front and rear springs and rear shocks.

The SVT package also will include a special gear shift knob, a different paint scheme with unique striping.

We'll find out more later today.

We'd normally lay down rose petals ahead of Carroll Shelby's storied boots any day of the week, but this latest "special" edition 500 HP Mustang isn't exactly lighting our pants on fire, especially considering the price. At $33,995 for the upgrade, the GT350 45th's anniversary car is a helluva lot of cheese to ask for a body kit, wheels, a supercharger, Baer brakes, a Borla exhaust and Ford Racing suspension bits. The stock Mustang ain't no joke in it's own right so charging double the price for some extra doo-dads is an awfully tall order.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

This is the very last car I rode in on the American continent. Wert showed up with it just as I was heading out of Jalopnik publisher Gawker Media’s Soho offices to subway to JFK. Contrary to my preconceptions, it is a very nice car.

Much more compact than either the Challenger or the Camaro, the big Mustang is a surprisingly nice place to be in. The plastics are uprange Opel, meaning nowhere near Alfa Romeo Euro-poshness but perfectly okay.

While the doorframe is certainly on the high side, you can stick your elbow out without having to worry about the sudden onset of Saturday night palsy, which is very much not the case in neither the Challenger nor the Camaro. And what is a muscle car without an elbow out the window, after all?

It was a fun 20 MPH ride in bumper to bumper traffic, over the Manhattan Bridge and into Brooklyn. Ray will have a full road test up in the coming days. And I certainly hope he will mention the shift knob, which looks (cue Nascar-like Southern drawl) "totally awesome."

Photo Credit: Ray Wert

Dodge Challenger R/T

The Challenger faced impossible odds: it was our chariot of choice in heavy traffic on the Long Island Expressway on our way to see a Lamborghini Miura. While no earthly car can approach the magic of the Miura, the Challenger failed in every way. The inside is decked out in plastics I would not store leftovers meant for dogs in. The shifter is a wobblefest, the A/C is only good for causing sudden onset hypothermia and cocking an elbow out the window is not recommended if you’re worried in the slightest about the health of your radial nerve.

The car may look fun in the pages of a magazine, but in real life, it just does not work. Yes, every modern American muscle car is a clear derivative of 40-year-old designs but while the Camaro and especially the Mustang display elements of modern thinking, the Challenger is at best a cartoon approximation of a scene from Vanishing Point. It is not in visual harmony with its environment.

Riding in the car with me was Natalie Polgar of Hyperleggera, a svelte and attentive driver, who pointed out the lack of grunt from the very loud 5.7-liter Hemi and the curious lack of cornering finesse.

If you have no elbows—and, consequently, no fingertips for feeling materials—and like driving at night in a straight line, this might be your car. Otherwise, steer clear.

Photo Credit: Natalie Polgar

Chevrolet Camaro RS

A fleeting glance this was not: I spent two days in this car, riding from New York City to Detroit and back, a total of over 1200 miles. Pictured above is that most Detroit of scenes, the abandoned Michigan Central Station, which we approached on a late Sunday morning as inner city residents were tending to their vegetable plots set up in its forlorn flowerbeds.

While the Camaro’s interior is a notch above the Challenger’s, the materials used would never fly in Europe, except perhaps in the lowliest of vehicles. But most surprising is the utter lack of interior space in a 16-foot car weighing close to two tons. Fitting a 6'2" frame into the back seats of any coupé is a challenge, but I have never seen anything as bad as the Camaro. There is much more space in a 1973 Lamborghini Espada—or a Fiat Punto, a European supermini a full four feet shorter than the Camaro. There is room for neither knees nor heads. You might be tempted to say that the point of a muscle car is definitely not the rear seat transport of males in the upper three percent of the height curve—and you might be correct. Still, it is an egregiously bad use of space.

The 3.6-liter V6 in the RS is not the engine to get if you decide to buy a Camaro. It develops 300 HP, which is sucked up by the car’s osmium heft, leaving you with sluggish acceleration. The big LS3 V8 must be way more fun.

Still, despite its bad design, it was in the Camaro that I finally understood the point of the American automobile. It was late night in a straight line somewhere out in the Detroit suburbs, the landscaped forests causing the 90+ degrees of the afternoon to plunge, and at a dreamy 60 MPH Pink Floyd was on the radio. But more on that later.

The verdict? Avoid the Challenger, try the Mustang. And if you do pick up the Camaro, grab a Dremel and finish the job of cutting air vents for the rear brakes. They were there on the concept Camaro but regressed to fake indentations on the production model, which really is a shame but perhaps reflects on the creeping sense of sloppy design.

The Shelby American Automobile Club has reached an agreement with Carroll Shelby and his companies to end the legal battles and return to the normal life of having fun and enjoying the people and the cars of our hobby. Today, August 8, 2008, an agreement was signed, putting behind us the turmoil and uncertainty that accompanied this legal conflict. We are now and forever the Shelby American Automobile Club. This is the result of some very hard work by people from both organizations. Rick and Ken, as well as efforts by Dave Mathews, Ron Richards and Dave Winkler at SAAC... and Amy Boylan and Carroll Shelby at CSL and Shelby Autos. ... all worked through the negotiations that settled any and all disagreements and put us all on the same page... where we can all get back to enjoying the cars and the history of Shelby American. Much more detail to follow over the next few weeks, but, now more than ever: ..... don't miss the celebration at SAAC-33... We'll be there...Team Shelby will be there... this is what it's all about. Spread the word......It's over.

Those kind of numbers are usually reserved for the elite, which explains the car's $80,000 price tag, plus whatever the dealer thinks he should add for his, you know, trouble. [5.0 Mustangs and Super Fords]

The dealership, LoneStar Ford, is offering a brand-spanking new GT500KR for the bargain basement buy it now price of just $154,991. We'll give you a moment to let that sink in. You done? For the math-impaired, that's approximately a $75,000 mark up to the sticker price. Good luck with that, guys — you've officially made us want to throw up over this truck-axled super-powered 'stang. But if for some crazy reason you want a piece of this action, better hurry because you've only got two more days left to slap down your cash. [EBay via Carscoop]

These items include "approximately 40-Mustang fastback shells, body parts, tools, lifts." This is going to be another online auction currently scheduled for June 24, 2008 at 10:00 am. We're waiting for full details to be released, but in the meantime check out the auction website for more information. (Thanks Cameron!) [67MustangBlog.com]

Shelby Mustang Auction Information

PARK RIDGE, NJ - 05/01/08 - The Hertz Corporation is proud to announce that it has contracted with Kruse International and Dyno Marketing on an exclusive basis to manage the public auctioning of Hertz's inventory of its Limited Edition 2007 Hertz SHELBY GT-H MUSTANGS. A strictly limited run of 500 2007 GT-H Convertible Mustangs were produced by Carroll Shelby exclusively for Hertz. Hertz will launch this program by offering 75-100 Limited Edition 2007 Hertz SHELBY GT-H MUSTANGS at Kruse's 17th Annual Auburn Spring Motorfair to be held on May 29 - June 1, 2008 at the 480 acre Kruse Auction Park in Auburn, Indiana.

According to David Stolt, Hertz's Senior Director of Car Sales Operations, "Hertz offered 40 Mustang GT-Hs for sale at the 2008 Kruse / Dyno Marketing Race Car & Sports Car Auction this past January in Concord, NC. The demand was overwhelming and all of the cars were sold. Kruse International and Dyno Marketing did a fantastic job and Hertz has decided to expand the program and launch a major Shelby Mustang GT-H Convertible sale at the famous Kruse Auburn Spring Motorfair this May." Stolt also said that "Hertz commissioned only 500 of the Shelby Mustang GT-H Convertibles and they are an extremely popular but hard to find vehicle in the Hertz Fun Collection. Therefore, we handle countless inquiries from renters and collectors who want to own that car. Shelby Mustang GT-H Convertibles are rarely available for purchase by the public and Hertz believes that its relationship with Kruse International and Dyno Marketing will provide Shelby GT-H enthusiasts with a fair chance to buy one." It was also noted that the buyers of the Shelby GT-Hs will be provided with all ownership documentation and membership in the official Shelby Registry.

"Kruse International is the largest collector car auction company in the world and we are very pleased that Hertz has chosen to work with us and Dyno Marketing again to offer these wonderful, truly limited edition collector cars for sale to the public" said Dean Kruse, President of Kruse International. "We believe that as many of the Shelby Mustang GT-H Convertibles as possible should be gathered for sale at the same time so that potential buyers and fans will have a great experience. Bidders will also be able to bid live online during the auction. If you have ever wanted to own one of these rare "instant classics" you MUST attend!" The 17th Annual Auburn Spring Motorfair is one of the premier annual auction events, featuring 1,000 outstanding collector cars in the Auction, swap meet, and car corral. This event is held at the 480 acre Kruse Auction Park on May 29 - June 1, 2008 and is fun for the whole family. For additional information concerning the auctioning of the 2007 Hertz Shelby GT-H Convertibles, including how to register to bid, please contact Malinda Blue-Barfield at (800) 968-4444 x 242.

[Source: Kruse]

Employees hope that the sale will cover the back-taxes so that they can get their back-pay. You'll remember one employee told us that Unique Performance lied about paychecks to get people to continue working. Details below:

Unique Performance/Unique Motorcars Auction

Bankruptcy Case No. 07-36211-BJH-7, Vintage Automotive Restoration. Moved for convenience of sale: Bankruptcy Case No.07-31392-BJH-7 Secure Car Armour Corp., armored luxury cars and bankruptcy case no. 07-45584-DML-7, Thomas Estate, 2005 Hummer
DATE:
March 27th, 2008, 10:00 AM
LOCATION:
13950 Senlac Drive, Farmers Branch, TX 75234
INSPECTION:
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 from 9 am until 4 pm (CDT)
STYLE:
Online Only

[Rosen Online Auction]

History

After the success of Gone In 60 Seconds, Unique Performance with the blessing of Carroll Shelby started building "Eleanor" replicas. Turns out that most of those replicas may have been built with salvage or otherwise questionably titled Mustangs and, despite taking huge deposits, weren't being delivered. After being raided by police and shut down, the company filed for bankruptcy and refused to pay Unique Performance employees. That's where we stood before these latest revelations.

Statement From Doug Hasty's Lawyer

Every customer that has received a car has ultimately been satisfied with the quality of the car they received. Farmers Branch Police are continuing their witch hunt. They continue to leak false accusations to the press knowing that we have not had an opportunity to have access to the cars to rebut their claims. There were no title issues or criminal problems with the titles and no one has been defrauded. We are eager to address these cases in a court of law, on the record, where people will have to be responsible for their conduct. And I'm referring specifically to the Farmers Branch Police Department.

Special thanks to 67Mustangblog for following the story so closely. [All information via CBS-11 TV]

A follow up report from CBS-11 in Dallas, which broke the story, confirms what we heard from an ex-employee about the company not paying wages. The company apparently owes something like $40,000 in back pay to employees.

The picture painted of the final days by the former employees at Unique Performance is bleak, with management apparently telling employees that they should continue to make cars and that they would be paid "probably in an hour, probably by the end of today, three o'clock today, four o'clock today and nothing, but please keep building this cars."

A lawyer for Doug Hasty, the CEO of Unique Performance, said "Many of those matters are in bankruptcy court and the decisions about who gets paid what and when belong to the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy trustees." So who knows when or if these people will get paid.

Though businesses frequently go under and in many cases don't tell employees about what's going on until the end, this particular story is so gripping because of how easy it all seemed. There's such a strong desire for specialized cars, specifically muscle cars, that a small company was able to convince dozens of buyers to put down hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars for cars endorsed by Chip Foose and Carroll Shelby, two names intimately associated with American muscle car performance.

And though the original intention of the company was probably not to deceive, the money involved seemed to allow the deception to go on for months before finally coming to a head with the police raid last month. We even did a story in January about Foose Mustangs going on sale at Ford dealerships, though it looks like the company might have been experiencing problems before then.

It's a sad story and the victims seem to be both the unpaid employees that built the cars and the wealthy customers who may never see them. [CBS 11]

In addition to the Shelby goodies, the car will also include special door sill plates, special gas cap insert and an autographed photo! Our artist's rendering above of what we think the special "BJ" edition will look like. [Phoenix Biz Journal]