1968 Shelby GT500

The 1968 Shelby GT500 arrived with a new engine, a new name, and a reputation that preceded it — Carroll Shelby's high-performance Mustang had matured into a broad-shouldered boulevard bruiser that could embarrass nearly anything on the road.

For 1968, Shelby American moved away from the dual four-barrel 428 Police Interceptor setup of early production cars and embraced Ford's new 428 Cobra Jet V8 beginning in April. The Cobra Jet was a torque monster — 440 lb-ft at just 3,400 rpm — and despite a conservative factory rating of 335 horsepower, automotive journalists of the day quickly discovered the engine was substantially more powerful than the numbers suggested. The 428 CJ also brought a distinctive 16-bolt exhaust flange and die-cast aluminum valve covers proudly stamped 'Cobra Le Mans.'

The 1968 cars wore new sequential turn signals in the taillights — a feature borrowed from the Thunderbird — and featured revised sheet metal compared to the 1967 models. Both fastback and convertible body styles were offered, giving buyers the choice between wind-in-the-hair cruising and the focused feel of the roofed coupe. The interior was upgraded with high-backed bucket seats and Stewart-Warner gauges, underscoring that this was no ordinary Mustang.

Mid-year, Shelby introduced the GT500KR — 'King of the Road' — to coincide with the factory availability of the 428 Cobra Jet. The KR designation essentially formalized what the Cobra Jet engine had already delivered: genuine high-performance credentials from the factory floor rather than from Shelby's California shop. In total, 1,570 GT500KR models were sold for 1968, split between 1,053 fastbacks and 517 convertibles.

The 1968 GT500 occupies a unique place in Shelby Mustang history — it was the last year the cars were truly built with heavy Carroll Shelby involvement at the Shelby American facility before Ford took greater control of the program. That authenticity, combined with the Cobra Jet's proven performance, makes surviving 1968 GT500s — particularly KR convertibles — among the most sought-after Shelby Mustangs of the entire production run.