I remember going on long road trips for different international racing events. At times I would spend up to 70 hours driving or sitting in the car to get there. And we would always play different games to keep us entertained. One of our favorite ones sounded like this: you inherit $1 million, which four cars would you buy? You need to get a tuned Japanese car, an Italian exotic, a German luxury car, and some good old American muscle!
That list will look different depending on personal preferences. But thinking of the American muscle part of things, you just have to consider a rare and potent Ford Mustang.
Buying a brand new Shelby GT500 will cost you about $100,000 or less, but then again you can always run into another one at any given time. In the search for something more exclusive, you need to think of limited production numbers. Most of the time, a first-generation model seems to be the right choice.
While a Mach 1 is always nice, there are quite a few of those around. Ford built over 72,000 units in 1969 and an additional 40,000+ in 1970. Going for a convertible might sound like a better idea, as about 22,000 were built during those two years.
But why stop there? If your bank account looks like your phone number, why not go for a Boss model? The 302 is quite rare, with less than 10,000 units delivered by the Blue Oval but will 290 horsepower be enough for you?
Photo: Mbrown / Bring a Trailer
And that brings us to the highly-coveted, Boss 429. The 7.0-liter V8 pumps out 375 horsepower and 450 lb-ft (610 Nm) of torque and the best part is the exclusivity that comes attached to it. A total of 857 units left the factory floor in 1969, and that number went down to 499 in 1970.
You know what that translates to! Earlier this year, one of these bad boys sold for $329,500 on BaT even though it had been driven for 48,000 miles (77,248 km)! The car we came across now has just 4,000 miles (6,437 km) over that number, but it still looks quite impeccable thanks to a previous restoration.
This has had the same owner for 40 years now, and we imagine that it must be difficult for him to let it go. It even has some minor upgrades that make it even more desirable, including a set of aftermarket gauges, traction bars, and exhaust headers. By the looks of it, you can just get behind the wheel and drive off right after you seal the deal.
Speaking of which, the auction will be coming to an end two days from now. With six bids so far, the highest one is at $150,000. But it's not likely that this will go so cheap. The seller is located in Skokie, Illinois, and has included two short videos of the car running. If the photos didn't persuade you to get in on the action, that exhaust note might just do the trick.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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