Ford has already announced the price of the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, so the $73,995 starting price isn't a shock. It's more expensive than its closest rival, the Chevy Camaro ZL1, but the GT500 is also poking into supercar performance territory. When you look at it like that, the pricing looks more attractive.
However, judging by a leaked order guide first posted by the Mustang6g.com forum for the 2020 Mustang GT500, the Blue Oval has taken a leaf directly out of the Italian-supercar book when it comes to optioning Painted Over The Top Racing Stripes. While the Vinyl Over The Top Racing Stripe costs $1,000, the painted on version costs a stunning $10,000.
Ford has confirmed the cost of the stripes isn't a printing error, although prices are subject to change before the wheeled missile hits the roads. There is also some reasoning out there for the crazy cost. According to this video from the Speed Phenom channel on YouTube, the car has to be shipped out to Penske for the stripes to be painted before clear coat is applied. The advantage of painted stripes is that they eliminates gaps left when they aren't wrapped around the edges at the end of body panels and you don't get the raised bump on the edges. The reason the car has to go to Penske is down to Ford's limited production capacity to paint stripes.
How many people will actually choose the $10,000 stripe option over the $1,000 stickers remains to be seen, but we suspect it'll be collectors picking GT500s up as investment pieces that will spend the extra cash. After all, it's not like people can tell until they get up close and it's not the kind of detail people will be paying attention to as a GT500 streaks past them. In 20 or 30 years though, collectors will definitely be getting up close to check.
The strip is the most expensive aesthetic option on the GT500 list, and second overall only to the Carbon Fiber Track Pack with its MSRP of $18,500. If the leaked guide holds up for release, it'll be easy to spend over $100,000 on a Mustang Shelby GT500.