It's been a long time in the making, but now — finally — Kiwis wanting to buy themselves a Shelby Mustang will be able to do so on home soil in right-hand drive.
It's been confirmed that Shelby American will have a New Zealand distributor; Shelby NZ, which will operate as a division of award winning Americana-specialist car builders Matamata Panelworks.
As part of the announcement, it's been confirmed that two different models will soon be offered locally initially; the Shelby GT (with power ranging between 300kW and 520kW depending on options), and the Super Snake.
The latter will be offered in either a traditional guise, or in an ultimate wide-body guise (as pictured) with power output from the 5.0-litre Coyote Ford V8 rated at over 800hp (600kW).
“The even better news for New Zealand Shelby fans is that the cars, parts, accessories and merchandise will not only be offered directly from our Matamata premises, but also via a number of selected Ford dealers throughout NZ,” says Ross Prevette, Operations and Sales Manager for Shelby NZ.
“Shelby has been recognised globally as the premium upgrade for Ford Mustangs since 1965, and 55 years later the iconic brand still remains very much in a class of its own,” adds company owner Malcolm Sankey.
There's been no word yet as to whether the upcoming Shelby GT500, or the screaming GT350/GT350R are included in Shelby New Zealand's plans. Pricing for the line-up has also not yet been confirmed.