Ford says every year about one in six Shelby GT500 customers orders the pricey hand-painted stripes.
When Ford revealed in 2020 that the new Mustang Shelby GT500 would be available with hand-painted racing stripes for an additional $10,000, we wondered how many customers would actually choose for the expensive option. The hand-painted stripes, on the other hand, appear to be more popular than we anticipated. We spoke with a Ford official, who said that around one out of every six Shelby GT500s had been ordered with the hand-painted stripes since the model’s introduction.
- About one in six Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 orders each year choose to pay an extra $10,000 for optional stripes, Ford tells Car and Driver.
- There are $1000 vinyl stripes on the options list, but the more expensive choice is a hand-painted application.
- The Shelby GT500’s $10K stripes are available in Absolute Black, Kona Blue, and Oxford White.
We were astonished to find that around 17% of GT500 buyers pay extra for the painted-on stripes. We were also astonished to learn that the stripes have outsold the $10,000 Carbon Fiber Handling package, which featured modifications like aerodynamic add-ons, adjustable strut top mounts, and 20-inch carbon-fiber wheels.
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The $10K carbon-fiber kit, though, was only available for a year, so it’s hardly an apples-to-apples comparison. We certainly can’t say for sure if the stripes or the handling package were more popular for the 2021 model year because Ford claims it doesn’t track exact production statistics by packages or models, but it seems like sales were closer than we’d have imagined.
Every new Ford Mustang, including the GT500, is constructed at the company’s Flat Rock, Michigan assembly factory. Shelby models with painted stripes, on the other hand, have them done after they leave the assembly line as part of a relationship with Penske. Hand-prepping, painting, and clear-coating are all part of the process, according to our sources. This meticulous approach resulted in restricted availability at first, but Ford claims it has recently improved production and is now able to fulfil customer demand.
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We asked Ford’s public relations staff if there are any plans to offer the $10,000 stripes on more ordinary Mustang models, given how popular they are on the GT500. They didn’t want to say anything about future items. After all, it’s difficult to fathom a day when someone would pay $10,000 to paint stripes on a pony car that costs $30,000 to $40,000. On the other hand, we’ve certainly been shocked by Mustang buyers’ enthusiasm for expensive stripes in the past.
