2010 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake - Front Side

On its third pull, the blue black 2010 Shelby GT500 Super Snake just lit up K&N’s dyno to the tune of 635 horsepower and 581 lb-ft of torque. Quick mental math says somewhere between 730 and 760 horsepower at the crankshaft.

I quickly text Scott Black of Shelby’s PR company for an explanation. He responds: “We are in the midst of changing our marketing materials to reflect 750…which we announced at the car launch last month.” Hmmm. Must have missed that. I don’t miss the unintentional irony of Black’s sign off: “We tend to be a bit conservative.”

Seven hundred and fifty horsepower is conservative? Yeah, like an 8 x 8 In’n'Out Double-Double “Animal Style” or Giselle Bundchen in spattered green body paint.

2010 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake - Bumper

Head still spinning from the obscenity of 635 wheel horsepower (three shy of what a Corvette ZR-1 makes at the crank) we head to Fontana to test the Super Snake’s traction and road test editor’s Scott Mortara’s launch skills.

Mortara has already been prepped for this adventure. Vince LaViolette, Shelby Automobile Inc’s senior designer, test driver, and, apparently, vehicle transporter already gave us a tutorial when he dropped off 2010 Shelby Super Snake #001C. “Drop the clutch and then immediately shift to second,” says LaViolette, while spasmodically jerking his left foot and right hand backwards. “Otherwise, you’re just going to sit and spin.”

2010 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake - Wheel

We take him at his word, but it’s no good. Despite the brief engagement, the Super Snake simply roasts its PZeros in first gear and then all the way through second and most of third gear. It doesn’t matter what technique Mortara employs — hard, gear crunching launches, a soft roll into first, even second gear starts — he simply can’t set the Super Snake’s ponies into forward motion. It’s like the Raiders on third and short. Despite all the firepower, it simply can’t convert. Only at the top of third gear does the pavement finally catch up to the furiously melting Pirellis. From then on the Super Snake is like a Rocket (Ismail?) through the quarter mile.