Shelby GT500 Super Snake and Its 800 hp to Debut at New York Auto Show

The Super Snake name dates back to 1966 when two twin-supercharged, 800-horsepower Cobras were built for Carroll Shelby and his pal Bill Cosby. Cosby later immortalized the car in his “200 M.P.H.” stand-up routine, suggesting that the car was so deadly it should immediately be delivered to segragationist Alabama governor George Wallace.
Wallace died of septic shock thirteen years ago, but the Super Snake name lives on, having been applied to West-Texas-chili-grade Mustangs since 2008. The 2012 rendition brings the horsepower figure back up to the storied 800, using fewer cubic inches and only one supercharger. And now we know it’s scheduled to debut at the New York auto show this month.
Last year’s model started at 630hp, with 725 on offer for an extra four large. This year, 750’s the standard power figure, with the 800-hp motor commanding a premium. Shelby claims the full-boogie, melt-banana version will come in somewhere under $100k. How much under, we’re not quite clear, but given that last year’s Super Snake package started at just under 30k on top of the price of a $49,495-and-up GT500, we imagine the dollar figure will be somewhat in the same ballpark.