CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Ford Motor Co. will return to the top level of prototype sports car racing in 2027 in the World Endurance Championship series with a factory team that will compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

While the Shelby GT500 Super Snake was a rare prototype, this muscle car was the rarest to leave the Ford Motor Company’s factory.

"The 'next one' will write a new chapter in the Shelby story," the Instagram caption reads. The teaser photo is extremely zoomed out, so it's all but impossible to tell what the car is. There are some hints, though, that have us wondering if we're reading too far into the teaser or if Shelby is about to remaster one of its greatest hits.

What if Mustang hadn’t been given a stay of execution, and the Probe actually had replaced it as the focus of a performance push based on advanced technology instead of throwback pushrod growl? What ripple effects might the success of the Probe had over the course of the next few decades as the rest of the world’s automakers were confronted by a revitalized Dearborn leading a super-hot compact coupe revolution?

Muscle-car fans should remember the last Shelby GT350, which was produced by Ford, because it featured a flat-plane crank V8 that could rev all the way to 8,250rpm – something no Mustang before could handle. This time, however, the new GT350 models will be built by Shelby American.

If you were bummed out that you can’t buy a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 from the Ford dealership anymore, then we have some good news for you. The GT350 is back, but now its being offered directly from Shelby American rather than Ford Performance. If you want one in your driveway, however, be ready to drop some serious coin.

The all-new Ford Mustang GT350/GT350R is the most powerful muscle car in production, boasting up to 830 horsepower in its top spec

Shelby American pulled the wraps off two new GT350s today at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. One of them is for the street and the other’s for the track. There’s even a third in the works, a spec race car made for Trans Am competition.

Australian touring car legend Dick Johnson. The five-time Australian Touring Car Championship winner and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner was celebrated

Ford may no longer have the rights to build a GT350, but Shelby American has their own solution — with an 810-hp supercharged V-8.

The latest Ford Shelby GT350 packs up to 810 hp and a race car-derived GT350R version adds another 20 hp to that.