Europe Won't Get The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Sorry

When you think of Europe, you probably think of culture. Refinement. High-brow art and old-world etiquette. You'd also think something brash and American, like the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, would be a welcome change of pace there, but it isn't. La tristesse.

With a supercharged V8 and 760 horsepower, the GT500 all but shits spangly stars and stripes. And it is apparently too much for European emissions standards, according to Muscle Cars and Trucks. From the story:

Ford Performance Marketing Manager Jim Ownes confirmed to MC&T that the GT500 will be sold in North America, Mexico, and the Middle East. But not Europe.

Already, the UK has announced its intention of banning gas and diesel cars and vans by 2040. France, too, has said similarly. Norway is tackling the issue even more aggressively, saying that it wants all new passenger cars and vans sold to produce zero emissions in 2025. Between now and then, the emissions regulations are just going to get tighter and tighter.

The Shelby's case, as Muscle Cars and Trucks points out, is similar to how the C7 Chevrolet Corvette and the Camaro SS, fitted with General Motors' LT1 engine, were also banned from the continent.

I do feel for Shelby fans in Europe, but at the same time, it's kind of nice to get something they don't. The fact that we don't get the Cactus, cool Audi RS wagons (until now) or the Peugeot 508 SW wagon is a crime, I tell you. A crime!

Perhaps if Ford rebranded the Shelby as the Ford Capri GT500, it could land in Europe.

via Motor1