Ouch! Shattered Shelby GT500 Wheel is a Pricey Fix

By John Coyle - April 15, 2021

The carbon fiber wheels of the Shelby GT500 are feather-light and super cool. But when they go wrong, they go very wrong.

In addition to being a car enthusiast, I’ve been a hardcore cyclist for the better part of two decades, and have tens of thousands of pedal-powered miles under my belt. Now, my gearhead inclinations ensure that I’m always looking for cool bits for my cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. That’s a given. But as sexy and light bike frames can be made today, I’m stuck on steel. Sometimes, my fellow cycling geeks will ask me why I remain so old-school, and won’t ride a bike with a carbon fiber fork. Well, this is why. Yikes.

This video was taken by Ford service tech and Tik Toker Matt Pittman, and shows what exactly happens when the trick composite wheels on the Shelby GT500 go wrong — and it’s not pretty. I’ve included a couple of screen grabs from his video below, and while it’s a little tough to see in the pictures, this is a textbook case of catastrophic failure. There’s a giant hole in the wheel, and shards of carbon fiber also managed to take out the brake line. As you might recall, the carbon wheels weren’t exactly an inexpensive option, and replacing this unit is going to cost around $7,500 — in parts alone.

Obviously, cost is a factor here, but given how the pandemic has impacted parts production, there’s also the question of availability. If you’ve been working on your project during lockdown, you know shortages and shipping delays have often meant unusually long waits — so here’s hoping it won’t take too long for this GT500 owner to get back on the road. In the Tik Tok clip, there’s no mention of what happened to cause the wheel to sheer like this, but in my opinion, it could have been so much worse.

For example, there doesn’t appear to be any body damage around the wheel well, which you might see if the sexy seven-spoke failed slamming into a crazy-deep pothole or a curb. And given that the brake line got clipped, it’s fortunate that the driver was able to bring the car to a stop without the help of a fixed object. I’ll be keeping an eye on this story to see if any more info surfaces about exactly what happened to cause this failure. But if you happen to see anything, or have a story about a carbon bit going wrong, hit me up — I’d love to know!

Photos: Ford