1,100hp Ford Shelby Mustang at New York Motor Show

This is the Ford Shelby 1000 Mustang, revealed in all its glory here at the 2012 New York International Auto Show.

You'd never say the standard 2012 Ford Shelby GT500 was really lacking in the oomph stakes, with an output of 550hp and 510lb ft of torque from its 5.4-litre supercharged V8, yielding a sub four-second 0-60mph time.

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But, Shelby obviously didn't feel 550hp was quite enough. So they took the GT500 back to the drawing board and doubled its horsepower. Enter the Shelby 1000 Mustang, making its debut here at New York.

How powerful is the 2012 Shelby 1000 Mustang?

The clue is sort of in the title. On "street legal pump gas" the Shelby 1000's motor churns out 950hp, but the 5.4-litre V8's output can be upped to over 1,100hp if the track-orientated S/C edition is specced.

To cope with a 100 per cent power increase, Shelby American takes the standard Ford 5.4-litre small block V8 and strips it down, fitting a new crankshaft, con rods and pistons to deal with the extra forces involved.

Gas-flowed heads and an uprated exhaust are fitted to improve breathing, as well as a new supercharger all helps to coax those 1,100 horsepowers out of the motor, before Shelby "sprinkles it with a little Shelby magic" to complete the transformation. Er...right.

How fast is the 2012 Shelby 1000 Mustang?

The Shelby brand is no stranger to speed. It developed the AC Shelby Cobra of the 1960s - the car rumoured to be the trigger for the introduction of the national 70mph motorway speed limit after a coupé version was clocked travelling at 196mph on the motorway.

Shelby is remaining coy about how quick its new Mustang is, but as the GT500 will hit 60mph from rest in less than four seconds, expect the 1000 to better that slightly - if it can get that colossal power down - with a top speed well in excess of 200mph.

All that power, what about handling and brakes?

With 1,100hp at your disposal and a spasmodic sneeze-induced stab of the right foot unleashing at least 50 per cent of that, you'd hope the car's chassis has been upgraded to cope with the power. Thankfully, it has.

The 1000 Mustang gets six-piston calipers up front and four-pot items at the rear to haul the car down from the inevitable massive speeds it will attain. But keep the speedo needle wound on and the 1000 Mustang should entertain.

The chassis has been reworked with new suspension struts, a stiffer anti-roll bar and more solid bushings to improve feedback as to how the car is behaving, while a new solid drive shaft and upgraded transmission should hopefully help reliability.

A new set of lighter, forged alloy wheels replace the standard-fit items to help reduce unsprung weight and further improve handling the, too.

Whether these changes add up to make this Mustang a Bugatti Veyron rival, we're not sure. With the standard 550hp car somewhat traction-limited, and a touch wayward in the chassis department, we can't quite see it happening.

What's special about the 2012 Shelby 1000 Mustang?

Inside, the 1000 Mustang is pretty much standard, with sat-nav and leather making this a useable mode of transport. Importantly, an additional set of gauges has been gratfed to the driver's side A-pillar - after all, with 950hp on tap, you'll need to keep an eye on those temperatures and pressures.

Apart from the ridiculous horsepower figure, the 1000 Mustang is significant. It comes in the 50th anniversary year of the AC Shelby Cobra, one of the most iconic cars ever produced.

And if that wasn't enough to tug the heart strings, the latest equine-named Ford gets the legendary Super Snake badging applied to only the most hard core Shelby specials around.

Alongside that there's some fairly subtle bodywork modifications that, together with the badging and "1000" graphics on the car's flanks, let people know you're in something special.

How much does the Shelby 1000 Mustang cost?

The street package 1000 Mustang will set you back around £94,000 while the extra horsepower from the S/C pack will cost you roughly £97,000 - both at today's exchange rate.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Well it is until you factor in the cost of the donor GT500 Mustang you'll have to source. Shelby is expecting the total cost of a completed Shelby 1000 Mustang to be in the region of $200,000 - that's around £125,000.

A limited run of only 50 vehicles will be produced by Shelby, so if you want one, you'll have to be quick.

Microsoft meets 2012 Ford Mustang with Project Detroit
Road Test review: Ford Mustang (2005 - 2010)
On Bing: see pictures of the Ford Mustang GT500
Find a used Ford Mustang on Auto Trader