The most expensive 1965 shelby GT350R in the world.

This is probably the most expensive Ford Mustang 1965 Shelby GT350R in the world.

As early as June 5438+October 2020 10, the 1968 Mustang GT Fastback (named Bullitt) driven by steve mcqueen in the movie "Police King Kong" was auctioned for 3.74 million US dollars, exceeding the 2.2 million US dollars created by 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500.

It takes a very special Ford Mustang to break this record, so we think Bullitt Mustang will keep the title of auction champion for a long time.

However, the organizers of Mecum auction believe that a very rare Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 R prototype may set a new auction record when it falls in May.

What makes this Shelby Mustang GT350 R so confident?

It has a nickname "Flying Mustang", and it is the first Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R.

It is recognized as the most important Shelby wild horse in the history of the world, and can be said to be the most important wild horse in history.

Less than a year after the release of Mustang 1965, Ford had an indissoluble bond with Shelby at that time. The original Ford factory hoped to build a pure performance mustang with Shelby brand aura. Carroll Shelby, who was entrusted with the heavy responsibility, not only upgraded the Mustang to SCCA level, but also planned to dominate the championship of the production car 1965 BP group with GT350.

#5R002 is the first GT 350 "R" racing car suitable for racing specifications. It has many functions and is one of Shelby's test prototypes. It is used to test the functions of various new concepts and components. It was tested by drivers and engineers such as Kim Myers, Bob Bondurant, Chuck Cantwell, Peter Brock and Jerry titus. The driving test mileage exceeds 80,500 kilometers, and the GT 350 is customized for the next 34 cars.

In addition to tests and competitions, it is also used as a demonstration car of the factory to attract buyers to feel the powerful potential of this R-Model. In fact, with such diverse tasks, #5R002 has become a special specification of GT350R, which makes it completely different from the production version of R model in many details.

#5R002 was put into the race by Shelby at 1965 to test the ability of GT350R. The first race took place on Valentine's Day. Kim Myers drove #5R002 to the Green Valley Circuit in Texas, and undoubtedly won the first victory of GT350R. In that game, the photographer captured the photos of vehicles jumping in the air.

This vivid photo was used to promote Shelby in marketing activities. As the Shelby Mustang GT350R continued to dominate the track, people's understanding of Ford Mustang changed.

Next, GT350R basically dominated the entire SCCA BP series. Two weeks after winning the championship for the first time in Texas, another driver, Jerry Titus, also won the championship four times in Pomona, Santa Barbara, Tucson, Arizona and Phoenix with the GT350R, and won the second place in Riverside, California.

Chuck Cantwell, a GT350 program engineer, also participated in Liushuquan in July of the same year and won the second place in Group B of the production car, and then won the team championship in the national competition the next day. Another driver, Ed Leslie, also took part in the Candlestick Park race in San Francisco with his #5R002, ranking second behind another GT350R car #5R00 1.

According to the data, #5R002 was retired at 1966, and later sold to Bill klausen, an engineer in Ford's performance department, for $4,000. In the future, he also drove #5R002 on the track, and also kept a lot of documents about racing cars.

After several engine failures, klausen turned to Ford's original factory for help. To his surprise, he got the GT40 "XE" experimental engine with complete competition specifications. Theoretically, this racing engine can't leave the sight of Ford's original factory, lest his rival General Motors get any information. Today, the engine is still under the hood.

The restored 5R002 made its debut in Amelia Island Concours in 20 14, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of Mustang and won the best award of the year.

The prototype of Shelby Mustang GT350R will be sold at Mecum's 33rd Spring Classic Auction held in Indianapolis from May 12 to May 17. The auction company Mecum thinks that such a cultural relic GT350R will surpass the world turnover record of Bullitt Mustang (US$ 3.74 million). However, according to the assessment of insurance company Hagarty, it is roughly estimated that the transaction amount of GT350R prototype #5R002 is one million dollars, and the price is about three times higher than that of the mass production model of GT350R. To be the most expensive mustang in the auction, the price of 5R002 must exceed 3.74 million dollars.