New Shelby Mustang GT350 Convertible Blows Your Hair Back With 810 HP and $128,000 Sticker

The Shelby GT350 Mustang isn’t an official Ford trim level anymore—it’s a comprehensive aftermarket package you get from Shelby American (though you can still buy it through certain Ford dealerships). Last year, Shelby introduced its latest take on the snake—a boosted beast with over 800 horsepower. New for 2026 is a convertible version, which, like the fastback coupe, you can spec in automatic or manual.

I know performance purists have mixed feelings about drop tops (convertibles are inherently heavier and less stable, meanwhile everyone worships the Mazda Miata). As far as I’m concerned, driving doesn’t get much better than rowing your own gears with no roof over your head. I’m not exactly the target audience for a $130,000 Mustang, but if I were, this would be extremely appealing.

In addition to the roofless option, “Orange Fury” paint is also new for 2026.

Nothing’s changed about the core configuration of the 2026 Shelby GT350 from the 2025 model. Shelby is still doing a Whipple blower, Borla exhaust, lowering springs, sway bars, short shifter (on the manual), and some very cool flow-forged alloy wheels, plus special tires and a litany of decorative treatments inside and out. Buying one of these also gets your car on the official Shelby registry.

If you just like the look, Shelby’s also offering a non-supercharged 480-hp version (2026 pricing TBA, but the 2025 model was about $110,000). Check out Shelby American’s build-and-price page if you want to kill some time today, or just bookmark it for later if you want to check out the convertible whenever it gets added.

Ford factory warranties are left intact, and Shelby offers its own three-year 36,000-mile warranty as well. Shelby’s marketing material doesn’t mention any chassis enhancements unique to the convertible, but one would hope an outfit this experienced knows how much power the car can handle without bending in half.

“My grandfather built a quartet of Shelby GT350 convertibles for 1966, each a different color,” said Aaron Shelby, board member of Carroll Shelby International, in a press release. “Those cars became the stuff of legend. Craig Jackson, Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO, who owns one of the four, generously lent us his red 1966 Shelby GT350 convertible for the model’s public reintroduction. Only a small number of the 2026 convertibles will be built, making them extremely rare.”

Less than 1,000 Shelby GT350 street cars will be built for the 2026 model year; convertibles will probably make a pretty small percentage of that. If you’re lucky enough to buy one, do yourself a favor and don’t seal it in bubble wrap so you can auction it in 10 years. Let those horses gallop. Or maybe we should say “let those snakes slither.” That sounds kind of weird, though. These companies need to stop invoking multiple animals on one car.