---
title: "Here’s Why Ford Didn’t Make a Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible"
description: "Ford has confirmed it isn’t going to push the S550 platform to accommodate a convertible version of the GT500. Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer, indicated that the S550 platform was maxed out."
date: "2021-09-25"
modified: "2021-09-25"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin V. Shaw"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/42515/heres-why-ford-didnt-make-a-mustang-shelby-gt500-convertible"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Convertible"
  - "Ford"
  - "Mustang Shelby GT500"
  - "sports car"
---

# Here’s Why Ford Didn’t Make a Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/09/Ford-GT-HERO.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Ford’s [Mustang Shelby GT500](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/36732/2020-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-heres-why-youd-pay-107000-for-a-mustang>) is in its second model year with a 760-horsepower supercharged 5.2-liter V8. Driving it is pure pleasure and it shifts in an incredibly quick 80 milliseconds. In short, the GT500 is a muscle car enthusiast’s poster car, which is [exactly where Ford CEO Jim Farley wants it](<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi7xuDU7przAhV9kWoFHajrCEgQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fnews%2F42213%2Fford-ceo-jim-farley-isnt-trying-to-reinvent-the-wheel-just-everything-else-around-it&usg=AOvVaw2U1TvMS6GxdUdyziwYbLjq>).

That poster car, however, is going to be restricted to a hardtop, as Ford isn’t going to push the S550 platform to accommodate a convertible version. Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer, [indicated in a chat with Manoli Katakis from *Muscle Cars and Trucks*](<https://www.musclecarsandtrucks.com/s550-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-convertible-wont-happen/>) that the S550 platform was maxed out.

![message-editor%2F1632596177849-fordgtinline1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1632596177849-fordgtinline1.jpg>)
**Lincoln Hill for Shelby**

“When we designed the (S550 platform Mustang) we really looked at the high end and projected what we’ve historically been able to do,” said Thai-Tang. “The GT500 I think we projected for. It’s towards the top end of the capabilities of (S550)… one of the things we didn’t do was a convertible variant for that reason. You have to find the bandwidth of the architecture.”

Between the ongoing [semiconductor chip shortage](<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi7xuDU7przAhV9kWoFHajrCEgQFnoECAMQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fnews%2F42171%2Ffords-chip-shortage-is-improving-despite-ominous-headlines-ceo-says&usg=AOvVaw1SeykYO5j7FjbyjBwfyhfW>) and updated platforms for new vehicles, platforms and chips are in the headlines quite a bit lately. Automakers like Toyota are thinking flexible and modular, especially as the EV landscape shifts. [The new Tundra, for example, is built on the combination of three platforms](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/42434/why-the-2022-toyota-tundra-doesnt-chase-max-towing-like-other-trucks>) (the F0, F1, and F2) to best utilize the best of each one. It remains to be seen what the Ford S650 generation will be able to accommodate; we do know that [Farley and the rest of his team at Ford are staying quiet about its next-gen Mustang](<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi7xuDU7przAhV9kWoFHajrCEgQFnoECCAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fnews%2F42160%2Ffords-ceo-wants-next-the-mustang-to-be-a-poster-car&usg=AOvVaw2NO6-a1zHVgAhtTOkmOtLx>), for now.

If you have your heart set on a convertible, you can still get a [GT droptop](<https://www.shelby.com/Vehicles/Shelby-GT-2021>) with a 5.0-liter V8 that makes 460 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. And you can add Ford Performance supercharger that can boost horsepower over 700. It’s not the same caliber as the GT500, but it's damn close.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUQeDQulcOM

*Got a tip? Send the writer a note: kristin.shaw@thedrive.com*

## Author
Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream.

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