Shelby GT350R HPE850 Is a Hellcat Slayer, Needs a New Tamer

The first Shelby GT350 to ever hit the market came out in 1965, and it had a 4.7-liter V8 that was capable of just over 300 horsepower. 50 years later the world witnessed the launch of the third generation GT350, powered by the mighty 526 horsepower Voodoo V8 engine. An ever fiercer version was presented with the GT350R. In 2015, 100 units of the standard GT350 were built, while the R version was much rarer at 37 cars.

In 2016, 5,643 GT350s left the factory floor. Shelby built an extra 526 GT350R units for that year. For 2017, those figures went up to 6,173 and 942, respectively. But it was all downhill from that point on. A total of 3,745 GT350s came out for 2018, while 2019 saw the number going down to 2,789. With the R version, things were slightly different. 633 cars were produced in 2018, and 806 in 2019.

People are still arguing over the exact production numbers for the 2020 model year, but most estimate it to be around 2,180 vehicles all in all. One thing's for sure. There are less than 30,000 of these cars out there, which means they might make a good investment for the future. But, of course, if that doesn't sound exclusive enough, we've tracked down an exciting option for you.

This yellow 2016 Shelby GT350R has quite the story to tell. The seller states that this car used to belong to John Hennessey, the president of Hennessey Special Vehicles. Also, this seems to be the first-ever Shelby GT350R to receive the Hennessey HPE850 treatment. That means this is now rated for 858 horsepower and 673 lb-ft (912 Nm) of torque! That's more than you get in a Shelby GT500. And it's just enough to help you gap a GT500 if one ever attempts to do a pull on you.

It's also good enough for terrorizing Hellcat owners, as proven by Hennessey in one of their previous tests.But the story doesn't end here. This car was also featured on Top Gear in episode 1 of Season 25. Matt LeBlanc drove this car as part of a test involving a Jaguar F-Type SVR and a McLaren 570GT. The vehicle was sold to a dealer in the United Kingdom, but it has spent some time in Spain as well.

Underneath the yellow and black wrap, this was a Wimbledon White GT350R. But it's hard to believe anyone would want to revert to that color, considering the way it looks now. So far, it has only been driven for 13,392 miles (21,553 km). With four days to go before the auction is over, 13 bids have been placed so far. The highest one stands at €40,000 ($46,587). But this is most likely going to fetch a 6-figure amount by the end of it all.