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This 1968 Shelby GT500KR Convertible Was Once Companion to a Football Star

Richard Joseph Gannon’s voice can be heard during the sports events covered by the CBS Sports channel, but his face is most famous for his eighteen professional football season appearances. For us, he is a likeable character of Shelby Mustang notoriety and taste – and that should be all that matters to fans of the high-performance Fords. And soon you will be able to do a touchdown inside your car collection with his former 1968 Shelby GT500KR Convertible companion.
1968 Shelby GT500KR Convertible 11 photos
Photo: Mecum Auctions
1968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT5001968 & 1970 Shelby GT500
The Mecum Auctions Kissimmee Summer Special has so many interesting cars it is quite easy to lose track of the biggest stars. If it were not for our interest today for vintage Shelby Mustangs, this quarterback-owned GT500KR might have easily passed under our radar. Luckily, we were hooked the instant we saw the eerie Acapulco Blue shade and decided to dig deeper.

We soon found out that Shelby serial number 04392 is one of just 517 examples of the GT500KR Convertible series, packing the original build sheet and with its entire history attested via the Shelby Registry. The car was originally bought from Schmidt Ford Sales in Baltimore, Maryland and has received a concours-level frame-off restoration to look like this.

The snake’s most powerful weapon lives under the hood – the 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 engine, sending power to the wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. The new owner will also inherit a very elegant black leather and brown wood interior along with an elegant white soft convertible top.

The ten-spoke alloys round up this performance package – but in case wind in your hair motoring is not exactly your cue we also have the Shelby GT500 Fastback alternative at hand. This 1970 example is also hitting the Florida auction block at the end of August and comes with a more relaxed, cruising attitude.

It rides smooth with its 335 hp Cobra Jet V8 mill that comes hooked to a C6 auto transmission and should grace its future owner with factory air conditioning, a tilt-away steering wheel column, and deluxe seat belts. We could even see a use case for somebody to own both – this example has the same Acapulco Blue exterior but switches to a white interior.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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