There are reportedly no plans to release a new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 convertible.
It's been two years since the current Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 range-topper was introduced, but those still waiting for a convertible version may want to give up.
In an interview with Muscle Cars & Trucks published Monday, Ford Chief Product Platform & Operations Officer Howe Titan said that the current S550 Mustang platform is already at the Shelby GT500 coupe reached its limits, which is why a convertible was never launched, he said.
"I think the GT500 we anticipated was going to be towards the top end of [the S550 platform's] capabilities... One thing we didn't do was a convertible variant for that reason," he said." We need to find the bandwidth for the architecture," he said.
Ford last offered the Shelby GT500 convertible for the 2014 model year, and it is still possible that it will return in a future Mustang generation: a redesigned seventh-generation Mustang, the S650, based on an updated version of the S550 Mustang platform. expected to appear in the 2023 model year, and this updated platform could support the new Shelby GT500 convertible.
Ford was at one time thought to be planning an S650 Mustang on the new CD6 rear-wheel-drive platform that debuted on the 2020 Ford Explorer and related Lincoln Aviator. However, Ford's policy of electrifying much of its lineup by the end of the decade seems to have changed its mind. It now appears that the S650 Mustang will be a temporary stopgap until a fully electric Mustang arrives in the next 10 years. Ford is currently investing a lot of money in the development of a new electric platform.
Muscle Cars & Trucks also reports that there are rumors of an electric sedan joining the Mustang family, just as Ford already sells an electric crossover, the Mustang Mach-E. Stay tuned.