A lot of brands are set to enter the Indian market in the near future, from the French Peugeot in 2020 to more early entrances such as the South Korean Kia and Chinese-owned British brand Morris Garage in the upcoming months. However, perhaps the most exciting entry of all is the recently announced foray of the wildly popular Ford car-tuning house Shelby in India. Shelby is to Ford what AMG is to Mercedes and Abarth is to Fiat. The brand is responsible for taking US muscle cars to wilder extremes of performance, with models such as the Shelby Cobra. Now sources indicate that Pune-based AJP Group will be involved in bringing the famed tuner to India. After entering into an arrangement with the US-based tuner, the Indian group plans to assemble Shelby branded cars for sale in the country.
There are also reports that the launch of these high-end cars could take place by the second-half of 2019, which is not that far. Shelby brand was gets its name from its founder and world-revered auto engineer Carroll Shelby. The brand has tuned cars such as the Ford Mustang and Raptor for extreme performance and they are adored all over the world. Speculations are rife over which car will the brand launch in India. The first car from the tuner in India could be the 2020 Shelby Mustang GT500. This is one insane Ford Mustang and its massive 5.2L supercharged V8 engine has been tuned to deliver mind-boggling 700+ Bhp of power!
The venture’s COO in India Manas Dewan had the following to say about news around the events:
“The Shelby racing cars are built on the Ford platform but souped-up and modified for performance. AJP Group is a technical partner of Shelby India. We will assemble the cars in India and carry out necessary modifications and upgrades. Shelby India will look after the marketing and distribution of these cars. Ford will support Shelby India’s customers with warranty backup just as it does worldwide,”
Shelby brand has been featured in multiple Hollywood movies and has almost a cult following in the United States. However, do not expect the cars to come in cheap as the prices could well be in the range of Rs. 2 crores! That is some serious money for a powerhouse of a car. Although Shelby build cars on production line Ford products, they tune and tweak the cars for delivering raw power. It is not just the engines that are maxed to the max but Shelby cars often come with changed aesthetics including body kits, new parts, and use of futuristic materials such as carbon fiber.
We have talked about the monster Mustang GT500 before, but Shelby offers two more cars based on Ford Mustang -- GT350 and the GT350R. These come with a 5.2L V8 engine rated to deliver 519bhp and 582Nm. With the launch of Shelby in India, we could see the muscle car scene in India enter a new era. Previously Ford brought their Mustang in India, and the reception to the car was very good. Now with Shelby too entering India, things are bound to get more interesting.