The opening night of the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction couldn’t have been any more surprising for its guests as a supercharged concept version of the Mustang-based 2011 Shelby GT350 took the center stage to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the first GT350 and the first Shelby Cobra.

The opening gala which took place in Scottsdale, Arizona was marked by Carroll Shelby and the Shelby American team unveiled the supercharged version of the 5.0-liter V-8 engine found in the latest Mustang. The Shelby American team worked with experts from Ford Racing, Goodyear, Borla, Cragar and Baer for the performance upgrades.

“The 2011 GT350 balances heritage with modern necessity,” said Shelby American president Amy Boylan. “This Shelby is truly a complete performance package.”

The GT350 will feature the new Ford V8 coupled to a 6 speed manual transmission and center exit exhaust. At $33,995 for the upgrade, the GT350 will get a new body kit, a supercharger producing 500 horsepower, Baer brakes front and rear , Cragar wheels and some Ford Racing suspension bits. As for the color combination, white with Guardsman Blue racing stripes is the only available option at present.

The limited edition car for the 2011 model year, will be launched this spring at a starting price of $33,995 plus a donor Mustang GT that would amount to a total of around the $60,000 – i.e. exceeding even the price for GT500. According to Shelby American 100 orders have already been placed. So any more interested buyers out there, shoot ahead?

Just an FYI – here is the way, dial Roger Sorel at (702) 942-7325 or log onto www.gt350.shelbyamerican.com.