| Shelby Dakota | |
| Manufacturer: | Chrysler Shelby American |
| Production: | 1989 |
| Class: | Mid-size pickup truck |
| Platform: | N-body |
| Layout: | FR layout |
| Body Style: | 2-door truck |
| Engine: | 5.2 L (318 ci) LA V8 |
| Transmission: | 4-speed A500 automatic |
| Related: | Dodge Dakota (first generation) |
| Aka: | Dodge Shelby Dakota Dodge Dakota Shelby |
The Shelby Dakota is a limited-production performance version of the Dodge Dakota Sport pickup truck. Offered by Shelby for 1989 only, it was his first rear-wheel drive vehicle in many years, and his first production pickup truck.
The Shelby Dakota started with a short-wheelbase, short-bed, standard-cab, Sport package pickup. The 3.9 L V6 producing 1250NaN0 was replaced by a 5.2 L V8 with throttle-body injection. The tight space in the Dakota's engine compartment necessitated removing the engine-driven fan in front and using a pair of electric ones instead. Removing the belt-driven fan increased the stock 5.2 L V8's output by 5hp. With that, the Shelby Dakota produced 1750NaN0 at 4000 rpm and 270ft.lbf of torque at 2000 rpm, with a redline at 4,750 rpm.[1] The only transmission option was a 4-speed automatic, and the truck featured a 3.90:1 limited slip differential.[2] When tested by Motor Trend, the Shelby Dakota clocked a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) time of 8.5 seconds and a quarter mile time of 15.6 seconds.[3]
The Shelby Dakotas featured special graphics, wheels, blacked out trim, wheelarch extensions, a sports bar behind the cab and a front air dam with integrated fog lamps.[4] On the interior, they also featured a Shelby steering wheel, seat inserts, and floormats, and individually numbered dash plaques.[3]
Total production was 1,500; 860 in red and 540 in white.[3] List price was $15,813 plus freight.[1]
Dodge later introduced a high-performance version of the second-generation Dakota in 1998 with the Dakota R/T. Though lacking Shelby involvement, it similarly featured performance and appearance upgrades over the standard Dakota Sport, including special wheels and tires, better suspension components, and a larger, more powerful V8 engine.