[Raven87]

Long time lurker, first time poster here...

First, I am not a new guy to high performance cars. I'm 55 and I've owned a ton of very, very quick cars. My current toy is a solid mid-11 second GN and my last 'new' toy was an '07 Mustang GT lightly modded.

Here's my dilemma... I was ready to pull the trigger on either a 2010 Grabber Blue GT500 or a new '09 Z06 (GM is offering 0% interest!) when I stumbled onto a couple of KR's, both '09's. I've received pics from the dealers and fell in love immediately.

So - given that I am thinking I should be able to buy the KR in the high $50k range versus a solid price of $50k for the GT500, is the premium for the KR worth it? I know the 2010 GT500 has a lot of the KR's features (HP, suspension, etc...) but still it's not as exclusive as the KR nor does it have the CF pieces and that gorgeous hood.

Am I wasting money to buy the KR if that's the way I go? I should know today or Monday for sure.

Advice???

This post has been edited by Raven87: 26 September 2009 - 02:02 AM

[frydguy79]

Raven87, on Sep 26 2009, 05:01 AM, said:

Long time lurker, first time poster here...

First, I am not a new guy to high performance cars. I'm 55 and I've owned a ton of very, very quick cars. My current toy is a solid mid-11 second GN and my last 'new' toy was an '07 Mustang GT lightly modded.

Here's my dilemma... I was ready to pull the trigger on either a 2010 Grabber Blue GT500 or a new '09 Z06 (GM is offering 0% interest!) when I stumbled onto a couple of KR's, both '09's. I've received pics from the dealers and fell in love immediately.

So - given that I am thinking I should be able to buy the KR in the high $50k range versus a solid price of $50k for the GT500, is the premium for the KR worth it? I know the 2010 GT500 has a lot of the KR's features (HP, suspension, etc...) but still it's not as exclusive as the KR nor does it have the CF pieces and that gorgeous hood.

Am I wasting money to buy the KR if that's the way I go? I should know today or Monday for sure.

Advice???

kr rwhp 509-515
10 500 470-485
not quite the same

[Sleestack]

Raven87, on Sep 26 2009, 03:01 AM, said:

Advice???

If the car is a frequent driver, get the 2010 GT500. If it is a track car, get the Z06. If it is a collector and show car, get the KR. Problem solved. Good luck with your search.

[GT500_ROCKS]

if you are going to mod the car, dont do a Kr, besides looks like with the knock sensors the 10's might be better too tune closer to the edge. Personally between those choices, id wait for a '11 with the AL block and mod the chet out of it or get the Z06! Z06 will out handle out brake and out accelerate either the 10' 11' or the KR stock to stock!
Also dont pay msrp on a GT500 shop theya re out there and with deals, dealers with kr's that had $60k ADM's are still sitting on them, lol just my .02

[Torch40]

A Vette is cool but it's not a Shelby. So that part of question should be easy. I'd agree with Sleestack if it's a daily then buy the '10 and start modding. If you're more the collector type then the '08 KR is what I would buy not the '09

[dupuyf]

Torch40, on Sep 26 2009, 10:46 AM, said:

A Vette is cool but it's not a Shelby. So that part of question should be easy. I'd agree with Sleestack if it's a daily then buy the '10 and start modding. If you're more the collector type then the '08 KR is what I would buy not the '09

BUY THE KR, IF NOT WAIT ON THE 2011 CHEVY Z-28 550+ HP

[LuisA]

i was looking at those same choice plus GTR.......KR won hands down!

[XLR8]

My vote is for the KR also.

If I didn't already own the GT500 I would be getting a KR today, for not much more than I paid for 2007.

[Stalwart]

It is my understanding the 2010 falls short in handling compared to the KR, that is at least what the magazines reported. The KR is a lovely beast, my wife and I are in love with it, it doesn't feel like any Mustang I've ever driven. It turns flatter and with more precision than my '89 Testarossa.

[MY500SS]

With some going for around 60k, I just know that years from now I'll be kicking myself for not buying a KR.


Go with the KR.

[Jody]

"If the car is a frequent driver, get the 2010 GT500. If it is a track car, get the Z06. If it is a collector and show car, get the KR. Problem solved."

I agree with Sleestack.

If I could turn back time, I wish I would have waited.
I would definitely buy a 2008 KR.

In your post you seem to prioritize "exclusive and carbon fiber". Get the KR.

I have never heard or read anyone say or write, "I wish I would not have bought a KR".

This post has been edited by Jody: 26 September 2009 - 02:52 PM

[Raven87]

Thanks so much for all the great replies.

As far as use, the car I buy will not be a daily driver or even a semi-frequent driver. I've got other vehicles for those needs, including the GN for the strip when I get the urge.

I am very impressed with the Z06's specs and performance. IF i were looking for another drag/track car based only on performance, this would be first choice. But its not.

I have been researching the KR through out the afternoon and have talked to two different dealers. The best price I have found here in Ohio and southern Michigan is mid-$60k plus T&T. Not bad, considering what the dealers were getting/trying to get not that long ago.

I guess to be honest I'm looking for uniqueness and not just performance; I want to buy a car that stirs my soul and makes me not want to get out of it or stop looking at it. The Z06 is not that kind of car for me.

Neither is the 2010 GT500.

I've driven the 2010 GT500 and am very impressed. But until I figured it out, I didn't know what was 'missing' for me. It just did not 'grab' me like a $50k car should do. I was puzzled at first but after I thought about it for a while, it came to me.

I'll tell you a quick story here that will help explain...

When I was about 14 years old, I had gone on an overnight fishing trip (on a boat) with my Dad and a couple of uncles at a lake. When we were ready to head home the next morning and after docking the boat, etc, as we were leaving I spied a very unique green Mustang parked near one of the lake homes. I asked my Dad to stop so I could see what the car was because I had not EVER seen one like this one. At this point in my young life, I was not completely car-crazy but I definitely was quickly becoming so.

So, he stopped the car, I hopped out and went over to the car in the early morning summer sunrise and saw a car that today STILL sticks in my mind.

It was a green Shelby GT 500 with white stripes and black interior, covered in a heavy due from the humid summer night.

I was absolutely smitten by that car. I leaned over and peered into the window on the driver's side (after carefully clearing away some of the moisture from the window) and saw the roll bar and Hurst shifter, the gauges, the bucket seats, etc and fell in love right then and there. The hood, the rear spoiler, the stripes, the badging "S-H-E-L-B-Y" - all of it - just stuck in my mind and has to this day.

I can still see the heavy dew covering the car's surface and windows, beaded up into huge droplets from the obvious well manicured wax job... the huge rear tail lights that initially caught my eye... It's all right there..

So, fast forward about 40+ years... I've never owned a Shelby although I have owned over a hundred vehicles of various types, a lot of them performance cars. Nearly 90%+ of them were GM. But - in the back of mind has always been the memory of the Green Shelby that stirred my soul that late summer's morning.

Until I saw the first pictures of the KR's from the dealers did I 'get it' - the KR moves me just like that green GT500 did way back then.

That's why I've decided to buy a KR now. I do not want to 'settle' for anything less.

Yes, the Z06 will wax it on a track and the 2010 might make a little more sense financially when you compare dollars to horsepower. But still, to me - the KR is king, just like that green one I saw over four decades ago.

And it's good to be King.

[shelby001]

KR, KR , KR now the time to buy.

[Jody]

Raven87

That is a great story, thanks for sharing!! Good decision going with the KR. What color do you want to get?

[kestrel]

Hi Raven87,

Thank you so much for the great story.

I too was thinking about the same things as you when considering which vehicle to buy, but only considered the ZO6 for a very short time. It then came down to deciding between a 2010 GT500 and a 2008 GT500KR. I've loved the looks and exclusivity of the KR since they came out, but at the beginning they were priced out of my range, plus we were moving, switching jobs, etc. It didn't make sense. Well, now that we're settled, we had the decision to make. We tossed it around and finally the wife said, "just get the KR. You know you'll be kicking yourself in the rear if you didn't." Like always, she was right. Don't get me wrong, I do really like the new 2010s and if I had the money I'd get one of those as well. We just decided that the KR was the way to go for what we wanted, plus the price was right...under $59,000. It was totally worth it IMO. We love the car!

Price-wise, the market seems to be around $60,000 now. There were three around Phoenix that sold quickly (mine plus two at another dealership) once the price broke that barrier. Also, LuisA just picked one up in Florida for $59,900. On the other side of the coin, another dealer near Phoenix wouldn't take less than $64,XXX. Sure, it has navi, but that was still about $6000 more than I paid for one without navi. I think they still have the car (Tom Jones Ford in Buckeye, AZ). Now that another month has gone by, they might be willing to negotiate a little more.

Good luck on your search. Once you get it, you'll really be in love.

Thanks again!

Joe

[Raven87]

Thanks Kestrel and Jody. I think the color I am going to end up with (assuming I can find it) is black. If it was offered in green, that would be it.

I've seen the Vista Blue with silver stripes and it is a REAL close 2nd pick. I also like the silver with blue stripes and have seen a Torch Red with Silver stripes.

Honestly, they're all gorgeous. Probably my last pick would be in white because I'm just not that into white cars (no offense meant at all to those with white cars).

That story is still vivid and real to me today. I wish I could describe how just 'seeing' that car made me feel - feelings that I have never forgotten. I just knew I was standing near a car that was life-changing for those who appreciated such a monster. The lines of the car were perfect and everything about it from the hood to the rear spoiler was absolutely perfect.

I have never since first seen a car like that one that has ever made me feel the way I felt that morning. Even though I was tired from lack of sleep and ready to go home and crash, when I saw the rear of that Shelby I would have jumped out of the moving car if Dad had not stopped it.

When I got back in the car, Dad asked me what the car was. I told him I wasn't sure but that it was the most awesome Mustang I had ever seen. Days after that, I began scouring magazine racks, trying to find pictures and info on the car but back then, there wasn't much out there. And with the Internet decades away, information was pretty slim.

it would be a long, long time before I realized just how lucky I was to have seen such a car in an every day environment. I never saw that car again and I've always wondered just what happened to it. Hopefully, it survived.

Wow...

This post has been edited by Raven87: 26 September 2009 - 04:46 PM

[kestrel]

2009 Black/black:

Ford of Ocala, FL

Montrose Ford, Alliance, OH

You'll have to use the filters on the Montrose page to find it.

[GT500_ROCKS]

Raven87, on Sep 26 2009, 08:42 PM, said:

Thanks Kestrel and Jody. I think the color I am going to end up with (assuming I can find it) is black. If it was offered in green, that would be it.

I've seen the Vista Blue with silver stripes and it is a REAL close 2nd pick. I also like the silver with blue stripes and have seen a Torch Red with Silver stripes.

Honestly, they're all gorgeous. Probably my last pick would be in white because I'm just not that into white cars (no offense meant at all to those with white cars).

That story is still vivid and real to me today. I wish I could describe how just 'seeing' that car made me feel - feelings that I have never forgotten. I just knew I was standing near a car that was life-changing for those who appreciated such a monster. The lines of the car were perfect and everything about it from the hood to the rear spoiler was absolutely perfect.

I have never since first seen a car like that one that has ever made me feel the way I felt that morning. Even though I was tired from lack of sleep and ready to go home and crash, when I saw the rear of that Shelby I would have jumped out of the moving car if Dad had not stopped it.

When I got back in the car, Dad asked me what the car was. I told him I wasn't sure but that it was the most awesome Mustang I had ever seen. Days after that, I began scouring magazine racks, trying to find pictures and info on the car but back then, there wasn't much out there. And with the Internet decades away, information was pretty slim.

it would be a long, long time before I realized just how lucky I was to have seen such a car in an every day environment. I never saw that car again and I've always wondered just what happened to it. Hopefully, it survived.

Wow...

no white KR's
Black is my fav too!

[Raven87]

kestrel, on Sep 26 2009, 09:00 PM, said:

2009 Black/black:

Ford of Ocala, FL

Montrose Ford, Alliance, OH

You'll have to use the filters on the Montrose page to find it.

Thanks. I'm emailing the Alliance OH dealer right now.

Thanks again.

Steve

[kestrel]

Raven87, on Sep 26 2009, 06:35 PM, said:

Thanks. I'm emailing the Alliance OH dealer right now.

Thanks again.

Steve

Hope it turns out well! BTW, I'm from Ohio. We just moved out to Arizona in June 2008.