- The Shelby GT500KR was created almost by chance as a result of another car breaking down
- Shelby used it as the inspiration for the Cobra Jet
- Today, the car is worth more than supercars
Published on Jul 08, 2024 at 12:18 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jul 08, 2024 at 12:18 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood
This is the 1968 Shelby GT500KR, a unique (almost) one-off inspired by the Shelby GT500.
Built as a personal project by a person connected to Ford a few decades ago, it now belongs to a man who said this was his dream car.
Except he’s already trying to sell it less than two years after acquiring it.
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The current owner bought the car in 2022 and is already planning on selling it, as he explained in the video shared by YouTuber Lou Costabile.
Perhaps the owner realized running the car is more expensive than anticipated, or perhaps the value has gone up and he’s trying to monetize his purchase.
Either way, this car is a classic masterpiece, and so anybody who buys will love it, and any would-be seller will likely regret selling it.
The Shelby GT500KR was greenlighted by Shelby himself
This one-off was designed for Bob Tasca of Tasca Ford in the mid 1960s.
The story is about a mechanic from Tasca Ford who took a Ford Mustang 390 GTA for a spin, and the gearbox broke.
This accidentally started an engineering ‘revolution’, so to speak, because the incident made Tasca ask his mechanics to go wild with the car.
They fitted various components from a 428 Police Interceptor, a 406, a 390 and a 427.
The result was a unique car that Tasca loved so much he called it the KR, which stands for King of the Road.
Carroll Shelby himself liked it, and he used it as an inspiration for the Cobra Jet.
Carroll Shelby’s legacy
Much like Enzo Ferrari, Carroll Shelby just wanted to win races.
Also, much like Ferrari, Shelby ended up creating amazing road cars while attempting to create the perfect race car.
Today, the Shelby name still plays a significant role in the industry.
The most powerful Mustang ever made, for example, is a Shelby Mustang.
And ‘Eleanor’ from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, one of the most famous Mustangs ever built, is also a Shelby Mustang.
