When one of the world’s best car constructors permits an automobile company to put his name on a car, you know it’s going to be an absolute beast of a machine. Barely twelve months after the Mustang took America, and the world, by storm in the calendar year 1964, gearheads with a taste for speed could front for a Shelby variant.
Get an insurance quote from Hagerty - a company that provides insurance for people who love cars. In addition, if you are looking to invest in a classic car or sell one of your own, the Hagerty marketplace is for you!
It didn’t hurt matters that Shelby and Ford were all but tied at the hip in the minds of most car fanatics thanks to their legendary partnership beating the pants off old man Ferrari at LeMans with a series of increasingly successful bespoke endurance race cars. The effort created something of a performance halo over the entire brand, meaning a tie-up for production made perfect sense. The chicken farmer from Texas sure could build a car.
![10 things you should know about the shelby mustang]( "10 things you should know about the shelby mustang")
1 - In the Beginning
Most gearheads know the otherworldly buzz, bordering on mania, surrounding the Mustang when it first dropped, going on to become the most successful new machine at Ford since the vaunted Model A. Roughly one year later, the Shelby GT350 appeared and ended up being the smallest and lightest of the GT350 models.
2 - This Blows
For the 1966 model year, a Paxton supercharger was offered as an option on the GT350, a model which technically dropped the ‘Mustang’ moniker from its official name. A handful of these ‘66 cars were allegedly ‘65 fastbacks ordered by what was then known as Shelby American. Finding one of these Frankensteins is rare (and prized) today.
![10 things you should know about the shelby mustang]( "10 things you should know about the shelby mustang")
3 - Be Gentle on the Rental
Bright minds in Ford’s marketing department tag-teamed the car rental company called Hertz to craft roughly a thousand GT350s for fleet duty in a program famously called “Rent-A-Racer.”. Called the GT-H, the first few were four-speed manuals and, despite popular belief, not all were black with gold stripes. A small number escaped the factory painted in other hues. The hook was $17 a day and 17 cents a mile. It became so common for renters to swap engines out of the cars that when Ford relaunched the GT-H in 2006, they included a fail-safe system to prevent tampering.
4 - ‘69 Dressed Up As a ‘70
As the decade drew to a close, so-called ‘creative differences’ began to rear their heads between Ford and Shelby. This caused the latter to terminate the partnership in mid-1969. While no 1970 GT350 or GT500 models were technically constructed, a number of unsold units (suggested to be just under 800 cars) were given VINs for the 1970 model year - under the watchful eye of federal agents, apparently.
![10 things you should know about the shelby mustang]( "10 things you should know about the shelby mustang")
5 - Gap Years
It shouldn’t be any surprise that a hardheaded racer and bull-nosed business professional eventually had a disagreement, one in this case that led to an approximately 35-year hiatus between official Shelby Mustang models. Seeking to dip a toe into other automotive projects, Ol’ Carroll would eventually lend his name to a number of cars including a series of Dodges.
6 - Another Mental Rental
Getting back into the Blue Oval wheel house, the mid-2000s era saw a return of the Shelby GT-H rental special. These were all painted black with gold stripes, a nod to the original effort. Each had a dash plaque, other tweaks, and 30 horses (some say 25) more than a standard Mustang GT. Legend has it that top brass were initially queasy about leading with this model before the revived GT500 officially hit showrooms. They needn’t have worried.
![10 things you should know about the shelby mustang]( "10 things you should know about the shelby mustang")
7 - First to 500
Why’s that you ask? Because the Shelby GT500, originally shown at the ‘05 New York Auto Show, ended up being a very hot commodity. Its supercharged 5.4L V8 belted out 500 horsepower, making it the most powerful Mustang built at the time and vaulting over cars like the Corvette - at a much cheaper price. Shelby was back in Ford showrooms in a big way.
8 - Super Snakes Alive
By the time 2011 rolled around, America’s economy was (kinda) recovering, so obviously the perfect panacea to financial drought was a GT500 Mustang tweaked by Shelby American to create 750 horsepower. Dubbed the Super Snake, it basically took a production GT500 and added more of everything - bigger supercharger, better handling, and a higher price.
![10 things you should know about the shelby mustang]( "10 things you should know about the shelby mustang")
9 - You Old Crank
Car nerds will wax about the beauty of the “flat-plane crankshaft” which was a key part of the 5.2L V8 engine and its rated 526 horsepower. Everyone else was simply agog at the raucous exhaust note created by the presence of that crank when it arrived in the 2016 model year, a staccato machine gun ripsawing its way to the 8,000-rpm redline.
10 - Naming Rights
The history of Shelby’s name, as lent for use on high-performance cars, has more twists and turns than the Nurburgring. Shelby American was formed in 1962 and its name has actually been used by numerous outfits founded by Shelby himself. Fights have been had and arguments undertaken – some in the courtroom – about the use of the Shelby name and trademarks on certain projects.
Shelby isn’t the only bit of nomenclature people were fighting over related to Mustangs. The “KR” name, which stands for King of the Road, is one Carol Shelby had to fight for the rights to use. Chevy had been toying with using the name, but once they passed, Shelby jumped at the chance. The first Mustang to carry the KR name was the 1968 Shelby GT500KR.
Mustang Value
Values are going up for the majority of Mustang models. According to the Haggerty Price Guide, in the past five years, condition 3 (good) value Mustangs in the guide (1965-2014) have appreciated in value. The only exception is the most modern Mustang covered by the Hagerty Guide (2005-14), which is down slightly at -3.9% to $32,000.
You can learn more about valuation trends with Hagerty’s valuation tool
For a bit of fun, check out this feature on the most expensive Mustangs ever sold at auction.
Get an insurance quote from Hagerty - a company that provides insurance for people who love cars. In addition, if you are looking to invest in a classic car or sell one of your own, the Hagerty marketplace is for you!
It didn’t hurt matters that Shelby and Ford were all but tied at the hip in the minds of most car fanatics thanks to their legendary partnership beating the pants off old man Ferrari at LeMans with a series of increasingly successful bespoke endurance race cars. The effort created something of a performance halo over the entire brand, meaning a tie-up for production made perfect sense. The chicken farmer from Texas sure could build a car.
1 - In the Beginning
Most gearheads know the otherworldly buzz, bordering on mania, surrounding the Mustang when it first dropped, going on to become the most successful new machine at Ford since the vaunted Model A. Roughly one year later, the Shelby GT350 appeared and ended up being the smallest and lightest of the GT350 models.
2 - This Blows
For the 1966 model year, a Paxton supercharger was offered as an option on the GT350, a model which technically dropped the ‘Mustang’ moniker from its official name. A handful of these ‘66 cars were allegedly ‘65 fastbacks ordered by what was then known as Shelby American. Finding one of these Frankensteins is rare (and prized) today.
3 - Be Gentle on the Rental
Bright minds in Ford’s marketing department tag-teamed the car rental company called Hertz to craft roughly a thousand GT350s for fleet duty in a program famously called “Rent-A-Racer.”. Called the GT-H, the first few were four-speed manuals and, despite popular belief, not all were black with gold stripes. A small number escaped the factory painted in other hues. The hook was $17 a day and 17 cents a mile. It became so common for renters to swap engines out of the cars that when Ford relaunched the GT-H in 2006, they included a fail-safe system to prevent tampering.
4 - ‘69 Dressed Up As a ‘70
As the decade drew to a close, so-called ‘creative differences’ began to rear their heads between Ford and Shelby. This caused the latter to terminate the partnership in mid-1969. While no 1970 GT350 or GT500 models were technically constructed, a number of unsold units (suggested to be just under 800 cars) were given VINs for the 1970 model year - under the watchful eye of federal agents, apparently.
5 - Gap Years
It shouldn’t be any surprise that a hardheaded racer and bull-nosed business professional eventually had a disagreement, one in this case that led to an approximately 35-year hiatus between official Shelby Mustang models. Seeking to dip a toe into other automotive projects, Ol’ Carroll would eventually lend his name to a number of cars including a series of Dodges.
6 - Another Mental Rental
Getting back into the Blue Oval wheel house, the mid-2000s era saw a return of the Shelby GT-H rental special. These were all painted black with gold stripes, a nod to the original effort. Each had a dash plaque, other tweaks, and 30 horses (some say 25) more than a standard Mustang GT. Legend has it that top brass were initially queasy about leading with this model before the revived GT500 officially hit showrooms. They needn’t have worried.
7 - First to 500
Why’s that you ask? Because the Shelby GT500, originally shown at the ‘05 New York Auto Show, ended up being a very hot commodity. Its supercharged 5.4L V8 belted out 500 horsepower, making it the most powerful Mustang built at the time and vaulting over cars like the Corvette - at a much cheaper price. Shelby was back in Ford showrooms in a big way.
8 - Super Snakes Alive
By the time 2011 rolled around, America’s economy was (kinda) recovering, so obviously the perfect panacea to financial drought was a GT500 Mustang tweaked by Shelby American to create 750 horsepower. Dubbed the Super Snake, it basically took a production GT500 and added more of everything - bigger supercharger, better handling, and a higher price.
9 - You Old Crank
Car nerds will wax about the beauty of the “flat-plane crankshaft” which was a key part of the 5.2L V8 engine and its rated 526 horsepower. Everyone else was simply agog at the raucous exhaust note created by the presence of that crank when it arrived in the 2016 model year, a staccato machine gun ripsawing its way to the 8,000-rpm redline.
10 - Naming Rights
The history of Shelby’s name, as lent for use on high-performance cars, has more twists and turns than the Nurburgring. Shelby American was formed in 1962 and its name has actually been used by numerous outfits founded by Shelby himself. Fights have been had and arguments undertaken – some in the courtroom – about the use of the Shelby name and trademarks on certain projects.
Shelby isn’t the only bit of nomenclature people were fighting over related to Mustangs. The “KR” name, which stands for King of the Road, is one Carol Shelby had to fight for the rights to use. Chevy had been toying with using the name, but once they passed, Shelby jumped at the chance. The first Mustang to carry the KR name was the 1968 Shelby GT500KR.
Mustang Value
Values are going up for the majority of Mustang models. According to the Haggerty Price Guide, in the past five years, condition 3 (good) value Mustangs in the guide (1965-2014) have appreciated in value. The only exception is the most modern Mustang covered by the Hagerty Guide (2005-14), which is down slightly at -3.9% to $32,000.
You can learn more about valuation trends with Hagerty’s valuation tool
For a bit of fun, check out this feature on the most expensive Mustangs ever sold at auction.
