Early Mustangs are big business in the classic car world, and have been for a while. See the Bullitt Mustang, a GT390 driven by Steve McQueen in the film, that made $3.4m earlier this year; that followed a '67 GT500 Super Snake that sold for $2.2m in 2019. Even 'Eleanor' from Gone In 60 Seconds (the Nicholas Cage one) made a million bucks a few years back. If your 60s' Mustang has some provenance, it has some value.
And none of them come with much more provenance than this 1965 GT350R. All of which are pretty special (because there were just 37), but SFM5R002 is more significant than most: it's the first Shelby 'R' Mustang ever built, the prototype car. Known as the 'Flying Mustang' it was driven by Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant, Pete Brock and others; it dominated SCCA racing and was used as the Shelby demonstrator for potential customers to show off what could be done with Ford's pony car. Mecum Auctions described it as "the most historically significant Shelby Mustang in the world", helping to explain why it has sold over the weekend for $3.85m. That's without fees, too, and just a little more than £3m. A new record for a Mustang at auction which, given what's preceded it, is some achievement.
As is often the way with these cars, the Flying Mustang has an incredible story behind it. Following its race career in the USA, it was sold for $3,500 in 1970 (plus $350 for a trailer) to Luis Blanq-Cacaux in Monterrey, Mexico; having raced it for two years it was parked up and not found until 1989. Once back in the US, it was placed in the Shelby American Museum for 14 years, and it wasn't until 2010 that 5R002 was seen in public again, then in the possession of John Atzbach. It was displayed at the Quail Motorsports Gathering, celebrating 45 years of Shelby Mustangs. Though at this point it was still sporting the grey primer finish applied by Blanq-Cacaux in the 70s; it desperately needed restoration.
Over four years and thousands of hours of research, the Mustang was returned to its original racing state. It has since won concours awards and been used by Ford in notable Shelby anniversary events. The racing Mustangs really don't come better known (or better presented) than what you see here - hence someone was willing to pay nearly $4m.
The video of the sale below is well worth watching, too, with masked bidders phoning in quite incredible numbers as tension and genuine excitement rises. Can a Mustang ever surpass this Shelby record? You would think not, given the amount of money involved, but then the classic car market is nothing if not unpredictable...
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