Gary Patterson, president of Shelby American Inc, speaks to Autocar about UK plans, mixing old with new and what lies ahead for the performance-led Ford tuner.
What are your plans for the UK market?
“We’re looking to do a lot more business in the UK. It’s clearly a market that has some real excitement for Shelby: it has embraced the Mustang Bullitt, which shows that the market for speciality V8 Ford Mustangs there is very strong. Everybody wants a V8 if you are getting a muscle car from America. We love V8s and we love boost: for 2019 the Shelby Super Snake has more than 800bhp and is emissions legal on pump fuel. We also think that the new Shelby GT, with 480bhp and Ford Performance-tailored suspension, has great potential as a muscle car that can be driven every day.”
How would you characterise a modern Shelby vehicle?
“I would say it’s about balanced performance – a good blend of straight-line [performance], handling and braking. Since the 2007 Super Snake, we’ve created a look and feel for all the vehicles through the signature front fascia, bonnet, wheels and stripe. When you see one from 50 yards away, you know it’s a Shelby. There are a lot of people out there doing things to Mustangs – Roush, Saleen and others – but we want to make sure that we’re not just stickers and scoops, that we have a lot of content in our cars.”
How do you balance tradition with appealing to younger buyers?
“I still have the first car I bought, a ’69 Mustang Mach 1 with a Big Block [V8]. But that’s not what my kids want. The important thing is to educate people about Shelby – to tell the story and have them embrace it, both the old and the new. Ten years ago, our customers often already had a vintage Shelby when they bought a new car to go with the old one. But as time has progressed, a younger generation is starting with the new one. Then they find out about the Shelby story, feel the tradition and buy the older car as well. It’s flipped around.”
