Welly 1:24 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang

Another fantastic find from Welly and Rite-Aid, this time one super cool, and fast, version of the 2007 Shelby GT500 Mustang in the original Shelby white with blue stripes.

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The return of the Shelby to Ford

The new 2005 Mustang finally updated the long-in-the-tooth Fox body from the 1970's with a new, up-to-date Mustang while gaining some more retro cues from the original Mustang back in the 1960's.  One of those features returns after a 35 year absence:  the Shelby name in the Ford line.  Only the Mustang by far has earned the Mustang name, and the first to get it is the GT500 in 2007.  The front gains a new larger upper and lower grille with new headlights, snake badge, new foglights, and a lower lip spoiler.  The bulging hood gains hood vents, while the rear gets a Gurney-flap spoiler, faux gas cap with Shelby logo, SHELBY letters on the upper-left, and a new lower bumper panel with fins to aid in aerodynamics.  The double 5-spoke wheels also gain more footprint over the GT, while the chassis gains firmer suspension adjustments and a lower ride height over the GT.  The exhaust has a x-brace for free-flow and a raspy exhaust note.  The engine is the same 5.4L DOHC Supercharged V8 as the Ford GT supercar, but with an iron block and a few adjustments to make 500 hp. and 480 Ib-ft. of torque through a Tremec six-speed manual.  The interior is similar to the Mustang GT except for white-faced gauges, dark gray dash trim, redesigned shifter, and Shelby logo's throughout the cabin.  The only two-tone color option is the black and red for certain colors on the GT500.

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The fantastic Welly version, with a few additional trick touches

The white with blue stripes look natural on this Shelby, more than any other color Welly offers for this 1:24 scale version.  The front has the large grills with the detailed lights and lower chin spoiler on the bumper and a very sharp snake badge on the grille.  The headlights are the best i've seen detailed on a diecast 2005-2009 Mustang:  A round lens deep inside the housing!  The hood has the hood vents and a small black dot for the antenna.  The sides have the flared fenders, black mirrors, blue stripe with detailed GT500 badges, and those chrome 5-spoke wheels really stand out; now about the wheels:  They look equal-length but look again, the rear's are a smidge larger than the front.  Out back is the detailed corner lights on the sides of the bumper, the separate spoiler, detailed taillights, chrome faux gas cap, SHELBY letters, third brake light in the center, and lower bumper fins with those dual exhaust done in silver.  The only issue with the exterior is the blue stripes tend to fade a bit on the front and rear bumpers.

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The hood opens up to show off the supercharged V8 with the detailed hoses, fluid resovoirs in full-form, battery, strut bolts, and airbox to the detailed supercharger.  Down below you can see the detailed engine block, but the drivebelt is missing; I was going to put one in but decided not to because, frankly, you really can't see the drive belt with all of those hoses and resovoirs at the front of the motor.  Overall very nicely-done, with a special bonus of a cover behind the front grille and an underhood cover in black.  Underneath the base shows off the proper drivetrain, suspension, and exhaust setup, including a few small touches like the spare tire well at the rear and the small fuel, brake, and emission hoses.  Now for my additional touch:  I used a silver Sharpie to enhance the undercarriage with silver lower A-arms and engine support member, steering rack and tie-rods, transmission and support brace, driveshaft, and rear axle.  Looks good, don't it?

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Now to the interior:  It's a coal-bin black surprise full of details.  The front seats look like the GT's with the same ribbed pattern.  The rear seats have the same pattern with a deep bottom cushion to make up for the lack of headroom, and join the detailed side panel and rear panel with dual speakers.  The door panels have the detailed speakers, silver handle, red reflector light at the bottom, and on the driver's door the mirror control.  The console features the silver shifter knob (the only silver accent in this interior aside from the door handles!), parking brake, cup holders, and arm rest.  The central controls have excellent detailed paid attention to the radio and HVAC controls.  The 3-spoke wheel has the Shelby badge, while the white gauges are nicely-detailed as well.  Otherwise it's a stark black dash!  Silver Sharpie to the rescue!  The lower spoke on the steering wheel is added, as is the silver strip across the dashboard, and my personal favorite the aluminum pedals with black rubber grips.  Now that's more like it!  One odd note when I was adding the silver dash trim is the outer passenger air vent is closed while the rest is open.

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What a fantastic casting of one of my favorite Mustang generations (even though I prefer the GT over the Shelby), and with a little addition of simple touches what a difference it can make to the casting (not to mention uniqueness).