Auctions are venues where amazing things happen. Throughout history we have witnessed cars that had been sold for huge amounts of money. Of course, in order for a car to be sold at an auction for a hefty price, there has to be something special about it. One such perfect example is this 1965 Shelby GT350R which was just recently sold at a Mecum auction for a total of $3.85 million! People say that actions speak louder than words and this is absolutely correct for this car.
To every car enthusiast the 1965 Shelby GT350R rings a special bell whenever they come across it. Original or restored, this mighty muscle car is what every car collector is trying to have in his collection. This is the very same car that paved the way for American muscle cars, especially the Mustangs, and it is regarded as one of the most important cars in history. So, what makes a car so special and how can it possibly be sold for so much money?
The car you see here is not your regular 1965 Shelby GT350R. No, this is the Ken Miles R-Model and it was, back in the days, the first competition car built. Often referred to as the Flying Mustang, the GT350R was originally developed as an answer to Ford. Namely, the company wanted to change the public`s opinion of the Mustang being only a “secretary`s car”. It is now pretty safe to say that they have nailed it. The Flying Mustang was originally designed for one reason. Namely, it was supposed to qualify for the SCCA Production Sports Car competition. Looking back, not only they have managed to do it, they absolutely dominated it.
In order to show you just how good this 1965 Shelby GT350R was, let us take a look at some of the facts and numbers. First of all, this was the first ever Shelby Mustang to win a race and had more than 10 first place finishes in B-Production during its debut season. People like Jerry Titus, Ken Miles, Chuck Cantwell, Peter Brock and Bob Bondurant drove this mighty muscle car. It was exactly Jerry Titus the won the 1965 National Championship with the help of the previous points he got driving 5R002 earlier that season.
Further on, this model helped the designers to develop and improve every aspect of every future Shelby Mustang. This was also the only R-Model that had numerous design attributes that were unique to 5R002. Couple of magazines also featured the Flying Mustang on their covers. Sports Car Graphic did this in March 1965 and it was followed by Road & Track in May the same year. However, the car can also be seen even in some books and periodicals.
The price only for the 1965 Shelby GT350R at the Mecum auction was $3.5 million but once you combine all of the fees there are, the price reaches nearly $4 million! We can all hope that the new owner is going to take good care of it, this is the least that they can do!
