Snaproll,
I like your screen name, from it I'll assume you're an akro pilot. You're probably too young to understand how special the new GT500 Shelby is to those of us in our 50's. The marketplace is speaking with buyers lined up to pay 30-40% over MSRP so I have a lot of company. I'll try to explain. 6 months ago I heard that Eric Clapton had reformed Cream with former drummer Ginger Baker and bass player Jack Bruce. The last Cream concert was 35 years ago and in 2005 they got together and played just 4 shows in London. They were better than ever. When Cream first played, I was 12-15 years old, Clapton was god, the music was magic, and I was young. Clapton never stopped making music and I kept listening, but it wasn't Cream. When I heard that they were coming to America and would play 3 more shows in New York City, I picked up the phone, cost be damned, and I was in row 3 when the lights went down. My son Charley tried to tell me that there are many lead guitar players today that are better than Clapton and that spending $6000.00 to fly clear across the country for a concert was insane. Perhaps, but in the middle of the Crossroads guitar solo I couldn't believe I was there, the music was still magic, Clapton was on fire, and for those few hours, I was a kid again. Don't try to tell me that Johnny Whatever is a faster, better player cause I don't care. He's not Eric Clapton and he never will be. Clapton was the original guitar god and he's an icon today. In those same early to mid '60's the Holy Grail of American muscle cars were Shelby's. We couldn't afford to buy them and were excited just to see one on the street. Long before the Saleens, Foose's, Steeda, and whatever else, there was the man, the original Cobra and GT350/500 creating LeMans winning car god. There will never be another Carroll Shelby. And after a 35 year absence from Ford he's putting on another concert, and the car is the best GT500 ever. Well into his 4th heart, it may not be for long. History, heritage, desire, soul, and memories make Shelby and Clapton much more than just a car or concert. Is a Z06 better than the GT500? Only to a kid who wasn't there and couldn't possibly understand. To me, it's no contest. Turn the key of the GT500, step on the gas, and 500 horsepower will send you back in time. "I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees, asked the good lord for mercy, take me if you please".
Chip