Leave it to Shelby American to take things to the extreme. The legendary tuner known for its Cobras and souped-up Mustangs just gave a Ford F-150 more power than Ford’s own Raptor, or Chrysler’s mighty Hellcats.
Shelby’s F-150 Super Snake boasts a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that pumps out 750 horsepower. That’s 300 hp more than the Raptor’s 3.5-twin-turbocharged V6 can muster. The Shelby truck can’t match the Raptor’s off-road performance, but it will smoke it on the street. Its stainless steel Borla exhaust system should create a more dramatic sound, too. Like a standard F-150, buyers can choose between rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.
In addition to the mechanical upgrades, Shelby gave the F-150 a more aggressive look. The truck features reworked bumpers, rocker panel extensions, 22-inch wheels, and a new hood with a massive scoop. Shelby also added a new grille that looks a bit awkward, plus racing stripes and the requisite brand-identifying badging.
The F-150 Super Snake will be sold through Ford dealers, but Shelby only plans to make 150 of these trucks this year. With a starting price of $96,880, they won’t come cheap, either. Keep in mind that the base price of an entry-level rear-wheel drive F-150 is $27,110, while the Raptor starts at $49,520 (both prices exclude destination).
For buyers wanting the ultimate performance truck, though, the Shelby F-150 Super Snake might be worth it. Factory muscle trucks were popular for a while, with monstrous machines like the Ford F-150 Lightning and Dodge Ram SRT-10 battling it out for supremacy. But automakers have largely abandoned that concept in favor of trucks that, like the Raptor and Chevy’s new Colorado ZR2, focus on off-road capability rather than on-road performance.
Instead, the high-horsepower action has shifted to SUVs. While Ram has said it won’t put a Hellcat V8 with the full 707 hp in one of its pickups, Jeep did exactly that with its Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Maybe it’s time for a muscle truck renaissance, too.
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