MAASTRICHT, NETHERLANDS - A detailed view of the 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 know as Eleanor from the movie or Hero Car in "Gone in 60 Seconds" during the 25th edition of InterClassics Maastricht held at MECC Halls on January 12, 2018 in Maastricht, Netherlands.
(Photo : Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
History was made at the Mecum Auctions event in Kissimmee, Florida, on January 16 as a one-of-a-kind 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R sold for a record price of $4.07 million. That amount was $220,000 more than what the same car got back in a 2020 auction, making the winning bid the highest price ever paid for a Mustang.
5R002 is one of only two prototypes built in 1965
The car put up for auction bears the serial number 5R002. The said Mustang was built as a prototype for the famed GT350R competition model, one of only two was built in 1965, and the other car was chassis number 5R001. This Mustang was the one presented for homologation for the SCCA B Production class to the FIA and the second GT350 built by Carroll Shelby.
It was the same car that the great Ken Miles raced in Smithfield, Texas, at the Green Valley Raceway back in 1965. It was the first time a Ford Shelby GT350R entered a sanctioned race and an SCCA event, for that matter. The said race gained even more importance when Miles brought home the win, making it the first recorded race victory for a Shelby Mustang.
Miles' win was immortalized thanks to a photograph capturing the car lifting off the ground during the race. That earned the winning car its famous Flying Mustang nickname. Apart from Miles, other notable drivers spent time behind this Mustang's wheel, including Jerry Titus, Shelby, Bob Bondurant, Chuck Cantwell, and Peter Brock.
Apart from having a modified version of the Mustang's 289 cubic-inch V8 that generates over 350 horsepower, the GT350R also received new suspension tuning, fiberglass body panels, Plexiglass windows, and an improved cooling system. Its interior was gutted with a full roll cage added to meet racing regulations. And because this car was a prototype, the vehicle was fitted with several parts not included in the 34 GT350R customer race cars that Shelby created for 1965.
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The car remains the most valuable Mustang in the world
Shelby sold the prototype in 1966 to Ford engineer Bill Clawson for $4,000. The Dearborn, Michigan native continued to race the car for another year before eventually selling the Mustang again. The car at one point went to a customer in Mexico before ending up in a Shelby American Museum in Boulder, Colorado.
The Museum became the prototype's home for 14 years before famous Shelby collector John Atzbach acquired the vehicle in a deal back in 2010. He restored the GT350R to its original racing configuration when it competed at Green Valley.
Atzbach made a nice profit with the car in 2020, selling it for $3.85 million at a Mecum auction to make it the world's most valuable Mustang. That record was broken just one year later, with the Mustang switching hands again.
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