The 2007 Shelby Terlingua: The Supercharged V6 Mustang That Earned Its Place in History

The 2007 Shelby Terlingua is one of those under-the-radar Mustangs that proves less can be more. Carroll Shelby and his crew took the lowly V6 Mustang and turned it into a genuinely capable track machine. With black paint and bright yellow-orange accents, it looked the part. The lower, stiffer suspension and upgraded brakes made it handle far better than a normal V6 Mustang, and with the optional Paxton supercharger, power jumped from a modest 210 horsepower to 375.

That was enough to get from 0-60 in just over five seconds, matching the V8 GT of the era.

The backstory is just as fun. In the early 1960s, Shelby and Dave Witts bought 200,000 acres of Texas border land, including the town of Terlingua, which had seven residents at the time. The land was full of rattlesnakes, mule deer, and armadillos, so they kept it as a weekend getaway.

Artist Bill Neale created the Terlingua Racing Team logo featuring an attack jackrabbit. Shelby placed that decal on the 1965 Mustang GT350-R before its first race, and Ken Miles won. In 1967, Jerry Titus won a Trans-Am championship in a Mustang running full Terlingua livery. Forty years later, the 2007 Terlingua honored that victory.

Buyers could bring in their own V6-powered S197 Mustang for the conversion or order one with the package already installed. The base package cost $7,995 and included 18-inch wheels, a Ford Racing short-throw shifter, track suspension, a Baer big-brake kit, Shelby dual exhaust and intake, engine recalibration, and styling upgrades.

The Performance Pack added 20-inch Shelby Razor wheels, Momo seats, unique front and rear fascias, and the supercharger, for an additional $18,995. Since a standard V6 Mustang started at $19,995, the full Terlingua treatment was expensive, which is why it didn't sell in large numbers.

Still, this supercharged sleeper has earned its place in Mustang history.