Car Carrier Hauling New 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500s Flips in Detroit (UPDATE)

Christmas delivery ain’t happening.

byKyle Cheromcha|
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You know that feeling of seeing a present under the Christmas tree, knowing exactly what it is, and just counting down the hours until you can open it? It's gone from gleeful anticipation to downright torture for a pair of 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 buyers on Tuesday after a car carrier bearing two examples of Ford's new master Mustang crashed on I-75 in Detroit and caused the trailer to flip.

UPDATE 12/18: The Drive can now report that the Grabber Lime Mustang Shelby GT500 had been built on a custom order for Henry Ford's great-great grandson. Yikes. Click here to read our new story with more on-the-ground pictures from the accident scene. The original story continues below.

Fox 2 Detroit reports the Ford F-350 hauling the long three-axle trailer spun out as it was descending a long, curved ramp in downtown Detroit connecting two sections of I-75, the Fisher Freeway and the Chrysler Freeway. The rig jackknifed, which in turn set the trailer and the two GT500s on their sides. Whoever strapped them down clearly did an excellent job, but body damage on the Iconic Silver model is visible where it crunched into the F-350. The Grabber Lime car looks to have left a long scrape along the pavement, but it's hard to tell how bad things are from the helicopter shots.

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The crash closed all northbound lanes on I-75 for hours today as authorities called in a special lift rig to right the trailer without damaging the Shelby GT500s any further. The cars and haul truck were all hauled away on flatbeds; thankfully, no injuries were reported, though someone might want to check on the Ford customer service rep who had to deliver that news to the would-be owners.

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"We’re aware of an accident involving a shipment of new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500s," Ford said in a statement. "We’re not aware of any injuries and have nothing further to share at this time."

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How exactly the crash happened is unclear. The overhead shots show the two cars were riding on the long trailer well in front of its axles, not exactly ideal balancing for a gooseneck trailer being pulled by a pickup. You want about sixty percent of the load weight to be in front in that situation, not the entire thing. Given the positioning of the GT500s, it's likely there was another car (maybe even a third lucky Shelby survivor) on the trailer behind them that had been dropped off before the incident. That change in weight balance would've unsettled the trailer.

Starting at $74,000, the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is the ultimate blowout version of the current-generation S550 Mustang—think of it as equivalent to the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1—with a 760-horsepower, 5.2-liter supercharged V8 and a dual-clutch transmission. It'll rocket to 60 in just 3.3 seconds on its way to 180 mph. But these? The only place these might be going is a salvage auction.

It's not the first time we've seen a highly-hyped new car get messed up in an accident before it even makes it to the dealership. In July, a car carrier freight train derailment in Nevada destroyed dozens of fresh Jeep Gladiator pickups en route to their eager new owners. Tough luck. All we can say to these Shelby buyers is that it'll be worth the wait, we promise.

Thanks for the tip, Adam! Got one of your own to share? Email us: tips@thedrive.com

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