The 2011 Shelby GT350 seemed to have a polarizing effect when it debuted at Barrett-Jackson’s opening gala event on Monday night. Some of you loved it and others instantly objected to everything from the looks of the car to the $33,995 price tag that doesn’t include the base car. With 500 horsepower from the new 5.0-liter V8, there’s no arguing that the 2011 GT350 has plenty of performance potential, but is another $60,000+ Mustang what people really want?

The first thing we did when we arrived in Scottsdale last night was to make a bee-line to check out the car in person. We also caught up with Jim Owens, Shelby’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, who talked to us about the car. Follow the jump for what we learned about the 2011 GT350.