Photo: Mecum
There were a lot of projects on Carroll Shelby’s table back in the 1960s, when he was just beginning to develop the cars that later would forever change the definition of American performance cars. Among them, the GT350 convertible, a model that was supposed to give birth to a new line of cars in the second half of the decade.
To research what needed to change, Shelby created four GT350 convertibles, each painted in a different color - Ivy Green, Red, Sapphire Blue and Springtime Yellow – and equally split between automatic and manual transmissions.
Over the years, the originality of most of these four cars was lost because of the subsequent work that went into them, but one survived in near-original condition, down to the original engine.
The car in question is of course the one pictured in the gallery above. It was the first of the four to be produced (finished in Ivy Green), and the only one known to still use the 289ci (4.7 liters) engine that was originally fitted on it.
But the list of unique attributes of this GT350 is much longer, according to the listing on the Mecum website where the car can presently be found. By its serial number, this particular GT350 is the first Shelby Mustang convertible, the first Shelby Mustang built with air conditioning, and the only one to have Hertz Gold rocker stripes with no “H”.
Its siblings, the other three GT350s, even if they are probably less impressive than this one here, are still around, and part of private collections. That means they’re pretty much out from the public circuit, and will probably not become available for some time, making this one an even rarer find.
The 1966 Shelby GT350 is scheduled to go under the hammer with no reserve during the Mecum auction in Indianapolis in June (postponed from May).
Over the years, the originality of most of these four cars was lost because of the subsequent work that went into them, but one survived in near-original condition, down to the original engine.
The car in question is of course the one pictured in the gallery above. It was the first of the four to be produced (finished in Ivy Green), and the only one known to still use the 289ci (4.7 liters) engine that was originally fitted on it.
But the list of unique attributes of this GT350 is much longer, according to the listing on the Mecum website where the car can presently be found. By its serial number, this particular GT350 is the first Shelby Mustang convertible, the first Shelby Mustang built with air conditioning, and the only one to have Hertz Gold rocker stripes with no “H”.
Its siblings, the other three GT350s, even if they are probably less impressive than this one here, are still around, and part of private collections. That means they’re pretty much out from the public circuit, and will probably not become available for some time, making this one an even rarer find.
The 1966 Shelby GT350 is scheduled to go under the hammer with no reserve during the Mecum auction in Indianapolis in June (postponed from May).
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