This is really no surprise to anybody who has been following the saga that is Unique Performance. On November 12th Unique Performance filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy ending a company that was flying high for about 5 years with partnerships involving some of the biggest names in the automotive world.
The Timeline goes like this, Lawsuits were filed by disgruntal customers who were not getting thier cars on time, Shelby Autos terminated their licensing agreement on the continuation Shelby GT500E and GT350SR’s, Farmers Branch Police raided Unique’s facility on November 2nd for an alleged title washing scam and seized 61 vehicles, Foose terminated his licensing agreements for all models including the Foose Mustang, Foose Camaro and Foose Challenger, Unique Performance files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
According to Autoweek.com, the terms of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy include Unique Performance ending it’s business operations immediately. In the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, Unique listed no assests of any kind. A Dallas legal publication listed Unique’s debts at $1 million to $100 million, but did not list the major creditors.
Hardcore fans of the original Knight Rider tv series may not like what they are reading but with no new F-Body coming soon the producers had to look elsewhere for a car to replace K.I.T.T. the talking car. The Shelby GT500KR Mustang is that car and it will be making it’s TV screen debut real soon in the new Knight Rider TV show as KITT. According to Jalopnik.com they are filming the pilot right now in LA for the new tv show and somebody on the set snapped a few photos of the Black with Silver stripes Shelby GT500KR that plays KITT on the show.
Rumors have been flying around for the past year Ford is cooking up another special edition Mustang for 2009 and some have said it could be a 2009 Mach I or a BOSS Mustang. Well those rumors have just been fueled even more with the discovery that Ford is searching for the red Mach 1 coupe used in the 1971 James Bond Movie ‘Diamonds are Forever’. Could we see a James Bond 007 limited edition Mach 1 in 2009, your guess is as good as mine but I doubt it seriously, the James Bond part. I do expect to see a 2009 Mach I given all the inside sources reporting their will be, you can almost look on any Mustang message board and find somebody who has talked to someone inside Ford saying their will be a 2009 Mach I. My guess is there will probably be one but until we see evidence it’s all just rumors at this point.
ROUSH Performance debuted a new commerical during the Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade that featured many of the ROUSH Mustangs and trucks. Unfortunately about 99% of the country did not get to see it because it was only shown locally in Detroit. Thanks to this new thing called Youtube we can view the commercial in it’s entirety. Enjoy…
It has been a busy month for Shelby Licensing as they have terminated Unique Performance’s license and now they are basically doing the same with Shelby American Automobile Clubs (SAAC) license. Their license to operate as a Shelby sanctioned club runs out on January 31st, of 2008 and Shelby has announced he will not be renewing it for unknown reasons. Not only is Shelby not renewing the license but SAAC has also been served with a letter from the Law offices of Neil Cummings & Associates on Shelby’s behalf to return all documents, materials, registry information, financial statements and merchandise to him.
It seems like a coincidence this is all coming down as Shelby Autos just announced thier own new club called Team Shelby last week in partnership with the owners of BlueOvalNews.com.
To me it’s just basic business, Shelby or his staff finally realized the profits they could be making or the profits SAAC was making (probably not much) was more then what they were getting from the licensing agreement and decided to be the big business bully. Another shady thing Shelby recently did was to Register the trademark “SAAC” on November 16, 2007 as all this was going down. I am a little surpised that SAAC did not register the trademark. Continue reading ‘Shelby Not Renewing SAAC’s License, Wants All Paperwork, Registry & Merchandise Returned’
A member over at TheMustangSource forums was at the San Francisco Auto over the weekend to see the Highland Green Bullitt but instead the Black Bullitt was on hand. He snapped some photos of the yet to be seen 2008 Black Bullitt Mustang and posted them up for everybody to see. Check out the photos here.
It might be a match made in heaven as Kenne Bell and Shelby Autos are teaming up to equip the 725 horsepower Shelby GT500 “Super Snake” with a Kenne Bell 2.8H Billet Twin Screw kit. The twin screw kit was specifically designed for the Shelby GT500 ‘Super Snake’ to increase horsepower to the 725 mark. Shelby Autos decided on the 2.8H because of its ultra high efficiency, compact design, unique ‘Mammoth’ inlet system and proven performance. The kit which is not warrantied by Ford or Shelby Autos includes an upgraded billet twin 75mm throttle body and one piece aliminum driveshaft. The 725 horsepower ‘Super Snake’ package costs $27,995 and is only available on coupes because of the lack of structural rigidity in convertibles. A 600 horsepower 2.3 roots type kit will be available for convertible models.
For more on the 2.8H Twin Screw kit from Kenne Bell check the out specs here.
WebRidesTV has put together a nice compilation video of the 2008 Bullitt along with an interview of Paul Randell (Chief Engineer) and Doug Gaffka (Chief Designer) while at the 2007 LA Auto Show. Both of them talk about the features the Bullitt received to keep this car one of the most unique Mustangs ever built. Jessyca Rayanne of WebRidesTV does the interview, might not be safe for work.
Barrett-Jackson gets it’s own limited edition Shelby GT Mustang via a partnership with Ford Motor Company and Shelby Autos. The 2008 Barrett-Jackson Shelby GT will be available in any color as long as it’s Black with Red LeMans stripes in either coupe or convertible form. The new limted edition BJ model was unveiled this week with reps from Ford, Shelby and BJ at the Arizona Internation Auto Show. MSRP for this model will be $38,980 with a scheduled production run of around 100 units.
Features unique to this model other then the Black exerior and red LeMans stripes include Barrett-Jackson door sill plates, Black interior with the Shelby GT serial number plate, special gas cap insert and a autographed photo of Carroll Shelby, Craig Jackson, Amy Boylan and Steve Davis.
Some good will actually come from this limited edition model because the purchase price includes a $250 donation that will be made to the Carroll Shelby Childrens Foundation.
If anybody reads this before the big NASCAR race today in Miami you might want to check out the pace car as it will be a 2008 Bullitt Mustang. Somebody snapped a few shots of the car outside a hotel in Miami. Enjoy…
This is really no surprise to anybody who has been following the saga that is Unique Performance. On November 12th Unique Performance filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy ending a company that was flying high for about 5 years with partnerships involving some of the biggest names in the automotive world.
