When Ford launched the Mustang for the 1964 ¼ model year with 1965 vehicle identification numbers, the 289-cubic-inch Windsor had to suffice in terms of V8 options. Be that as it may, a Texas-born chicken farmer by the name of Carroll Shelby made the best out of what he’s been given by the Ford Motor Company to develop the corner-carving GT350 in 1965.
Fast forward to 1967, and that’s when GT500 chassis number 0100 rolled out with a 428-cubic-inch FE shared with the Police Interceptor. The following year, the Dearborn-based automaker started installing the Cobra Jet engine at the factory, thus birthing the GT500KR. The initials at the end of the moniker stand for King of the Road, referencing the performance of the 7.0-liter colossus that made 335 ponies at 5,200 rotations per minute.
The horsepower figure was actually underreported, and torque wasn’t shabby either at 440 pound-feet (600 Nm) at 3,400 revs. A grand total of 1,452 examples of the GT500KR were produced for the 1968 model year, which makes it rarer than the GT500 and GT350 of that year. Of those, 933 left the assembly line with the fastback body style. Chassis 8T02R20616103416 is one of those cars, and it’s perfect in almost every respect.
According to the Marti Report, the Highland Green-painted muscle car was ordered with the GT Equipment Group, Visibility Group, Sport Deck Rear Seat, power steering and power front disc brakes, a tilt-away steering column, AM radio, the Interior Décor Group, a tach, and a trip odometer.
Produced two days behind schedule on June 6th of 1968, this King of the Road was sold new at Niantic Motors in East Lyme, Connecticut and spent time in Missouri prior to the current owner’s purchase in 2006. Refurbished with maximum attention to detail, the car still features the original four-barrel carburetor, engine block, radiator, and C6 transmission’s R servo.
A numbers-matching survivor that’s certain to sell for a truckload of dollars, the GT500KR in the following videos is rocking a fiberglass hood with a functional ram-air scoop. Grille-mounted Lucas fog lights, air scoops on the sail panels and rear fenders, a rear spoiler, and sequential taillights also need to be mentioned, along with paint imperfections on the leading edge of the right hood scoop. Pictured on 15-inch alloy wheels fitted with Shelby center caps and Goodyear white-letter tires, the vehicle is decked in woodgrain trim pieces for the dashboard, center console, and the interior door panels.
Trimmed in black vinyl with Comfortweave inserts, the seats are complemented by a roll bar with inertia-reel seatbelts. The wood-rimmed steering wheel frames a five-digit odometer that shows just under 64,000 miles (102,998 kilometers), which is nothing for the Cobra Jet or the C6.
Listed on Bring a Trailer with nine days of bidding left at the moment of writing, 8T02R20616103416 currently stands on a high bid of $130,000.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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