Ford F-150 Shelby: 200km of big dumb fun
11.10.2019
Translation: machine translated
The Ford F-150 is big. The Shelby version is bigger. And stronger. Much more powerful. The pickup truck has 755 hp and makes no sense. Nevertheless: I love it dearly.
Let's be honest: the Ford F-150 makes no logical sense on Swiss roads. There is a more sensible solution for practically every application that Ford advertises. The F-150 becomes even more absurd when the engineers at the Shelby performance label take a closer look at the vehicle.
The result is a vehicle with 755 hp and a weight of two and a half tonnes. Five seats and a loading area. The bonnet is 1.70 metres high. On top of the 755 hp, it consumes 19.5 litres of petrol per 100 km in the city and 11.8 litres overland. And no, the figures won't look any more reasonable the longer you look at them. This results in emissions of 380 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre and an "energy efficiency class G" label. I didn't realise the classes went up to G.
A vehicle for Americans. Or enthusiasts. Apparently.
The ignition keys are in my hand. The F-150 Shelby with all its horsepower is mine. For one day only. And only for 200 kilometres. Because the car is a collector's item. Every kilometre I drive it reduces its selling price and value. Let's not even talk about scratches and accidents.
The first few metres
Being honest, I have to admit one thing: The Shelby scares me a little. The vehicle is huge. Everything about the car is big. Yes, legally, the thing that sounds like a lorry from the engine is a car. I don't understand why I'm allowed to drive it with a B licence. Or should. Nevertheless, I'm not complaining. Because how often do you get the opportunity to drive a truck like this?
I press the ignition button, the computer starts up. A Ford logo and ugly Ford software appear on the dashboard screen. Horrible. Android Auto takes over as I have my Huawei P30 Pro connected to the car. Better. The engine revs up. I would expect a contented, bearish growl from a truck when stationary. But the Shelby sounds nastier. There's a kind of deep howl underneath the hum. Something that wants to be released.
In terms of construction, the Shelby edition of the F-150 is a cousin of the standard F-150, and the tuning company Shelby has tinkered with pretty much every component of the vehicle. The shock absorbers have been replaced by Fox Shocks, which are normally used on racing cars. A Whipple Supercharger ensures that the power can be released quickly and in a focussed manner. And it quickly doubles the horsepower. Plus an exhaust system from Borla. According to the sound, it's a slightly silenced version of the Touring exhaust system. Probably too loud for Switzerland.
I shift into D; the Ford F-150 Shelby is an automatic. I tap the throttle. You don't have to give the Shelby much until it's moving pretty fast. I put the indicator on and turn out of the courtyard at Auto Kunz onto the road.
I'm off to the village centre
After just a few hundred metres, the fear disappears. Because the Shelby is fun. Sure, I've never driven anything of this size that also has so much power, but the Shelby can be quite friendly when it wants to be. It can also be quite different. For the "different" I chose a long stretch of road off a motorway behind Beromünster. To get there, I have to go through Beromünster.
How was I supposed to know how narrow it is there?
Okay, everything is tight with the Shelby. I realise that before I reach Beromünster. On a normal road, I easily take up the whole right-hand lane. On narrow roads, I can easily take up half the left lane. Twice I have to pull over and let another SUV - one of them a cute little Ford Ranger - pass. Both times, the man and woman behind the wheel smile at me. I wave back.
In Beromünster, I realise that the Swiss traffic is happy to see the F-150 with me. Yes, the thing is big. Yes, it takes up far too much space. Yes, manoeuvring is almost impossible. No, the Shelby doesn't like tight bends. It certainly doesn't like corners and only likes car parks when they are only half full. But the Swiss like the vehicle.
I wave back to children in Beromünster, smile at adults and gratefully raise two fingers in the direction of other drivers who let me do my thing. Because in Beromünster, I don't drive through the village centre. In Beromünster, I am the village centre.
I'm sure that no Swiss person wants a Shelby in their neighbourhood. Because most road users hear me before they see me.
So does a motorcyclist behind Entlebuch. I actually want to go to Migros to buy a Coke and a sandwich, but I've missed the turn-off. No problem, because there's a roundabout coming towards me. I can easily turn round without blocking all the traffic.
The motorbike driver waits to enter the roundabout, hears me before he sees me. Turns his head in my direction. He is a little startled. Then, I'm sure, a grin behind his helmet. He raises his right hand, clenches it into a fist and sticks his thumb up. I wave back and laugh.
Pedal down
Only one question remains after Beromünster: how does 755 hp feel? The answer is provided by a longer straight. After finding out that the Shelby is practically undriveable in two-wheel drive without a load, as it spins through every junction as a rear-end skid, I continue in four-wheel drive. So it sticks to the ground, the F-150.
On the longer straight, I know it's 80 km/h. It's remote. There's nothing behind me. Nothing far and wide in front of me either. You can see where this is going...
Kickdown.
The Whipple Supercharger does its thing. It howls, shrill and aggressive. Then the discharge. The 755 hp are pressed hard into the tar. It pushes me into the seat. Although the Shelby takes a relatively long 7.6 seconds from 0 to 100, it still has power. It seems endless, because until I reach plus-minus 80 km/h, I don't have the feeling that the Shelby is exhausted. I have goosebumps.
As I pull back into the car park at Auto Kunz at the end of the drive, the wheels dirty, the side doors slightly splattered, I realise one thing: I never want to drive anything else again. Sure, the truck is big and stupid and completely overpowered, an environmental nightmare and difficult to manoeuvre.
But it has one more lover. The unbridled power, the space, the sheer stupid fun of driving it... Yes, Ford and Shelby, you've done something great.
So.
So, that's it. I'm going back to driving something smaller. And thanks to Arag for letting me drive the truck around in the gravel pit. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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