Stellantis North · 1989–present
Shelby Dakota
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 125 hp (93 kW) 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 5 hp (3.7 kW). With that, the Shelby Dakota produced 175 hp (130 kW) at 4000 rpm and 270 ft⋅lbf (370 N⋅m) of torque at 2000 rpm, with a redline at 4,750 rpm. The only transmission option was a 4-speed automatic, and the truck featured a 3.90:1 limited slip differential. 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. 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. On the interior, they also featured a Shelby steering wheel, seat inserts, and floormats, and individually numbered dash plaques. Total production was 1,500; 860 in red and 540 in white. List price was $15,813 plus freight. 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.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Specifications
- name
- 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
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7493378CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_DakotaCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1334911981 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1989_Dodge_Dakota_Shelby.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Latvian98 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.