DEARBORN, Mich., May 17, 2012 – Paraphrasing a classic quote – “With great power comes the need for great control” – the engineers at Ford’s Special Vehicles Team have stepped up to the plate to manage the massive output of the 2013 Shelby GT500.

Whether a driver is a track-day veteran or getting his first ultra-high-performance sports car, the new launch control system on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 will help ensure he gets smooth, consistent and fast starts every time.

Uncontrolled wheel spin is generally undesirable, whether commuting to work or racing away from the Christmas tree on a Friday night at the drag strip. Both safety and performance suffer when the wheels can’t get enough grip on the road. However, properly regulated, some wheel slip can be your friend.

“Launch control is essentially a special mode of the traction control system that integrates the brake and engine management systems to keep the tires balanced on the peak of the mu-slip curve in order to achieve maximum thrust,” explains John Pfeiffer, senior engineer, SVT Vehicle Engineering. “With so much more power and torque on tap from the new 5.8-liter V8, launch control makes it easier for drivers to take advantage of the performance.”

With launch control enabled, the driver just has to press the accelerator pedal to the floor and then smoothly and quickly release the clutch pedal just as he normally would when executing a clean start. The difference is that the electronics will automatically hold the engine steady at the desired speed and manage the rear brakes to allow the optimum amount of wheel slip for maximum traction. Read more!

2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of the iconic Shelby Cobra.  The most recent celebration happened this past weekend at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. Many, many Shelby Cobra owners gathered for a 50th anniversary reunion put on by the Team Shelby Pacific Coast Division. All kinds of Cobras were gathered in front of the museum, from 289-powered slab-sided Cobras to original 427 side-oiler models to the modern continuation Cobras. Drew Phillips was at the event which drew plenty of locals and took pictures of these awesome cars.

You can enjoy all of these iconic vehicles at the Shelby Cobra 50th anniversary reunion in the photo gallery below. Read more, check out the gallery!

The Carole Nash Insurance Company has been in the business for twenty-five years and is ranked among the top forty insurance brokers in the UK and Ireland. Although they started life as a specialist motor bike insurance insurance company (and still excel at this today) they now offer many types of policies to suit every individual’s needs as well as business needs. With access to some of the most competitive quotes, you could save quite a lot of money by taking out a policy with Carole Nash, whether you are a bike enthusiast, adore classic and vintage cars or are looking to protect your home, and the benefits are fantastic.
For example, extensive UK and European breakdown cover – and you will receive the same amount of cover whether at home or not – an in-house claims team so that one call will sort everything out, and various discounts for club memberships. Almost any recognised club members will be entitled to a discount. Some of these are:

NEW YORK – March 27, 2012 – Shelby American, Inc., a division of Carroll Shelby International (CSBI.PK), will introduce its most powerful Shelby yet on April 5, 2012, at the New York International Auto Show. Carroll Shelby and his team created the Shelby 1000 by starting with a 2012 Ford Shelby GT500 and kicking its handling, horsepower and braking to the performance edge.

The Shelby 1000 will be offered in both a street and a Shelby 1000 S/C “off-road” track version. The street legal, pump gas version dyno’s out at approximately 950 HP, while the track oriented S/C edition is rated at over 1,100 HP.

“Carroll Shelby is a visionary who has pushed the boundaries of performance his entire life,” said John Luft, president of Shelby American. “He challenged the Shelby American team to develop the Shelby 1000 and wanted to unveil this amazing new Shelby at the New York Auto Show celebrating 50 years since he unveiled the very first Shelby Cobra that changed the face of high performance. We will have that very car, Cobra #1 (CSX2000) along with Shelby 1000 on display in our Shelby American booth in New York.”

Richard Childress is a self-made racing icon who has built a legacy as a winning race car driver and team owner. Throughout his 40 year career, he has made more than 190 trips to victory lane, won 12 championships and built cars for some of the most successful drivers of all time. He is dedicated to both winning on the racetrack and establishing trusted race engineered and track proven performance cars for the street. Wearing a familiar black, silver and red color scheme, this custom built 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS/RC1 has a 500 horsepower LS3 V8, is the second of a limited production run from RCR, and is one of the most unique Camaros we’ve ever offered. Read more and see large gallery!

Luxury cars and hip-hop music belong to each other, so the news that Grammy Award-winning artist Nelly will include the 2011 Mustang 5.0-liter V-8  in his upcoming album’s artwork is no surprise for us. The album, set to launch this spring, will feature a 2011 Mustang GT customized by DUB Magazine.

“I don’t care where you grew up, everyone knows the Mustang. At some point, you’ve had a conversation about a Mustang – and it was probably one about you wanting to get behind the wheel of one,” says the 35-year-old rapper. “I’ve always loved the Mustang; the vehicle has power to the point where you can’t help but want to hit the pedal. And the newest one? More power, hotter style.”