Two Shelby Prototypes

Two Shelby Prototypes

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 3, 2018


1997 Shelby Aurora V-8 Can-Am

Photo – Bonhams

The Shelby Can-Am was a racing series that used purpose-built race cars from Carroll Shelby. All cars were identical and powered by 255 horsepower V-6 engines. The series – which was open to amateurs – ran from 1991 through 1996 in the U.S.

Originally, Shelby wanted to offer a bigger, badder version of the car. He only built one prototype – and this is it. It’s powered by the then-popular 4.0-liter Oldsmobile Aurora V-8. It was tuned to make 500 horsepower and was the same engine used in the Series 1 sports car. This is the only example built and it ran some test laps at Willow Springs but otherwise has been sitting in Ol’ Shel’s personal collection since. This would be a fun track day toy for someone and it should cost them between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $100,800.


1983 Dodge Shelby Ram Prototype

Photo – Bonhams

The first generation of the Dodge Ram was produced from 1981 through 1993. The beginning of production coincided time-wise with Chrysler’s relationship with Carroll Shelby. You might think it’s weird to have Shelby’s name on a truck, but hey, he built a Dakota and a Durango.

This one-off Ram was partly a styling exercise (to mimic the styling of the recently introduced Shelby Charger). But because Shelby couldn’t help himself, the motor was spruced up as well: it’s a 300 horsepower, 5.9-liter V-8. It’s a pretty decked out truck all around. This is coming from Carroll’s personal collection where he maintained this 11,000 mile truck since new. It should sell for between $10,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $33,040.

Shelby Ram Prototype

1983 Dodge Shelby Ram Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 3, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

The first generation of the Dodge Ram was produced from 1981 through 1993. The beginning of production coincided time-wise with Chrysler’s relationship with Carroll Shelby. You might think it’s weird to have Shelby’s name on a truck, but hey, he built a Dakota and a Durango.

This one-off Ram was partly a styling exercise (to mimic the styling of the recently introduced Shelby Charger). But because Shelby couldn’t help himself, the motor was spruced up as well: it’s a 300 horsepower, 5.9-liter V-8. It’s a pretty decked out truck all around. This is coming from Carroll’s personal collection where he maintained this 11,000 mile truck since new. It should sell for between $10,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $33,040.

January 2018 Auction Highlights

We’ll start off January’s first results rundown with Bonhams’ final sale from December, their London Olympia sale. The top sale was this 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for $619,297.

Photo – Bonhams

Both of our feature cars from this sale sold, with the Bristol 411 bringing $58,459 and the TVR 2500 $33,845. Click here for more results.

Mecum held the first sale of 2018 (in Kissimmee, Florida). A number of our feature cars sold, beginning with two previously-featured wagons: a 1948 Buick that brought $29,700 and a 1969 Dodge Coronet 500 that sold for $19,800. The Plymouth Pickup sold for $36,300, the Dodge $55,000, and the ’72 International Pickup $26,400.

The top sale was this 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari for $3,410,000.

Photo – Mecum

Cars that didn’t sell included some pickups, like the Mercury, Ford, and Chevrolet. The Buehrig Carriage Roof Coupe we featured a while ago also failed to sell here. The Brumos Porsche 911 GT3 didn’t find a new owner in Kissimmee, after nearly a year of trying. The ZR1 Corvette and the Ruf BTR were also no-sales. More can be found here.

Next up, Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. We featured a few of their “Reserve” cars – all of which failed to sell: the Talbot-Lago, Rolls-Royce Phantom III, a previously-featured Plymouth Concept Car, and a previously-featured Shelby Cobra Dragonsnake.

Meanwhile, the top sale was a charity car: a 2017 Ford GT. It brought $2,500,000. Click here for more results.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

On to RM Sotheby’s in Arizona. Every car we featured from this sale sold, including both Alfa Romeos, with the Boano Speciale bringing $1,270,000 and the oldest surviving Alfa Romeo in the world, $445,000. Both Fords also sold, with the Model K selling for $252,000 and the Brewster-Ford $89,600. The top seller was this 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C for $2,947,500.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III from this sale did sell, bringing $593,500. And the beautiful Ferrari 212 Inter brought $1,187,500. Click here for complete results.

And finally, for this rundown, Gooding & Company in Scottsdale. The top sale was the Ferrari 275 GTB Speciale we featured. It sold for $8,085,000. The Bristol 402 we featured failed to sell, as did the Bugatti Type 29/30.

We’ll award Most Interesting to this 1963 Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype that brought $1,760,000.

Photo – Gooding & Company

The Kaiser Dragon we featured sold for $37,400 and the D.B. HBR5 $47,300. Click here for more results and to see the cars that are still for sale.

October 2017 Auction Highlights

Welcome to October, though we’re starting in September with Mecum’s Louisville sale. We didn’t get to feature anything from this one, but this 1968 Shelby GT500 was the top sale, bringing $90,500. Click here to see what else sold.

Photo – Mecum

Onward to Bonhams’ sale at the Simeone Foundation in Philadelphia. This is always a good one, and their top sale here was $1,001,000 paid for this 1913 Rolls-Royce 40/50HP Silver Ghost London-to-Edinburgh Sports Tourer by Reuters.

Photo – Bonhams

We featured a number of cars from this sale and some of those failed to sell, including this Stearns-Knight, the Mobile Steam car, and a previously-featured Humber. The Stoddard-Dayton Raceabout sold for $106,700 and the 1917 Mack C-Cab truck was a steal at $8,800 (because that’s probably about what the paint on it cost). Click here for everything else.

RM Sotheby’s was also in Pennsylvania in October, in Hershey to be exact. Sadly the most interesting car of the entire auction, the Gasmobile, was withdrawn (as was the Derby). The top sale was this 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow for $2,310,000.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Some big dollar feature cars included the Belgian-bodied Duesenberg for $1,485,000, the other Duesenberg for $549,000, the White Yellowstone Bus for $165,000, and the Stearns-Knight Touring for $132,000.

Other feature cars that sold included a pair of Stanleys, with the older one bringing $55,000 and the newer one $36,300. The Moon Roadster sold for $66,000. The Apperson Touring sold for $24,750 and the Sears Motor Buggy $35,200. Click here for complete results.

How about some results from Coys? This 1926 Bugatti Type 37 was the top seller at their Blenheim Palace sale back in July. It brought about $968,950. We didn’t feature anything from this sale but you can see more from it here.

Photo – Coys

Finally, Motostalgia’s McPherson Collection sale in Texas. We featured a Zimmer Quicksilver that ended up selling for $15,400. The top sale was this 1958 Facel Vega FVS Series 4 for $190,000. Click here for complete results.

Photo – Motostalgia

GT350H

1966 Shelby GT350H Fastback

Offered by Mecum | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | August 3-5, 2017

Photo – Mecum

Hertz is a company that has been involved with automobiles since 1923. At one point they were part of the Yellow Coach company, a manufacturer of buses that eventually became part of GM. In the 1960s, Shelby built a run of special cars for the rental car agency: the GT350H.

The GT350 is powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 that was modified by Shelby to put out 306 horsepower. The Hertz cars were almost all painted black with gold stripes. Dubbed “Rent-a-Racer,” the GT350H could be picked up at your local Hertz counter – if you were a member of their Sports Car Club.

Back in the day, people rented these and entered them in SCCA events. The fun legend is that some would be returned to Hertz with remnants of a welded-in roll cage. There were 999 of these built – and those that hadn’t been totaled in racing accidents (it had to have happened at least once) were returned to Ford after a specified amount of time. Ford removed any go-fast parts aspiring race car drivers may have installed and then flipped the cars onto the public market.

Imagine something like this today. It would never happen. It’s like if you could roll up to Avis and request a new Dodge Demon to take to the drag strip. Society, as litigious as it has become, would never allow for it. This is a piece of motoring history because it is a product of its time. And because of that, it is really, really cool. This well documented, well presented example can be yours. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $120,000.

Shelby Series II

2007 Shelby Series II Prototype

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 16-19, 2017

Photo – Mecum

Cars bearing Carroll Shelby’s name first appeared in 1962. It’s been more a less a steady stream of different cars since, from his long association with Ford, to his brief stint with Chrysler in the 80s. The thing almost all Shelby cars have in common is that they are hopped up versions of already existing vehicles, from the AC Ace to the Ford Mustang to the Dodge Omni.

But in 1998 Shelby American introduced a car called the Series 1. It was a clean-sheet design and the company built 249 of them in 1999, all fully road legal and ready to go. While the cars were being built, however, Shelby American was acquired by another company (they got everything, including the Series 1, except for the Cobra “continuation” business). When that company went bankrupt on an unrelated matter, Carroll Shelby bought the Series 1 rights back. He built a handful of additional Series 1 cars in 2005.

In 2006, Shelby found some new backers who wanted to put the Series 1 back into production. The car was slightly restyled and rechristened the Series II. Three Series II Prototypes were built, with this being the only one in black (they were largely based on some of the leftover Series 1 cars that Shelby built, as this car was actually constructed in 2005). It is powered by a supercharged 4.0-liter Oldsmobile Aurora V-8 making 550 horsepower. If it sounds weird that you’d built a raw American sports car powered by an engine from an Oldsmobile sedan, remember they used that V-8 in IndyCar, too. $225,000 was to be the going rate, but some federal emissions laws changed and the project was cancelled.

This pristine example has only 22 miles on it. Shelby cars are still super collectible, so if you want one of the newest – and rarest – look no further. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Monterey.

S/N # CSX5505

Update: Not sold, high bid of $400,000.

November 2016 Auction Highlights

The top seller from Mecum’s Dallas sale was this 1965 Shelby GT350 that went for $410,000, which means the Porsche 911 GT2 Evo we featured failed to meet its reserve.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

But the Graham Hollywood did manage to sell, for $47,000. Click here for complete results.

Auctions America’s Hilton Head sale saw our featured Porsche Carrera GT sell for $800,000, which was more than any other car there. The Ruf RGT brought $73,700. We’ll give Most Interesting – or at least Well Bought – to this 1928 Buick Six Coupe that went for $10,450. Click here for the rest of the results.

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

The Delahaye we featured from Osenat’s sale blew past the upper end of its estimate, bringing $261,352. Most interesting goes to this 1959 Bond Minicar Mk F which sold for $5,880. Click here for all of the results.

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

November was the first time we featured a car from an Aguttes auction. It was a Venturi Atlantique that ended up not meeting its reserve and therefore not finding a new owner. The top sale was this 2004 Porsche Carrera GT that brought $604,737. Click here for more results.

Photo - Aguttes

Photo – Aguttes

And finally, Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Motor Show Sale where the top sale was yet another Porsche, this time a 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster that was hammered away for $328,706.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The Noble M12 brought $32,568 and complete results can be found here.

The First Cobra

1962 Shelby Cobra 260

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 19-20, 2016

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is the very first Shelby Cobra built and it has been owned by Shelby since day one, which makes this an incredible opportunity to acquire one of the most important cars around. So here’s the story: in 1961, Carroll Shelby asked AC Cars of England if they would build him an AC Ace that could house a V-8 engine.

And, luckily for car people everywhere, they did. Shelby managed to source a V-8 from Ford, as Chevrolet wasn’t willing to play ball (something General Motors probably doesn’t want to dwell on all these years later). The engine was a 260 cubic inch (4.2 liter) V-8 from Ford that makes 260 horsepower. Shelby stuffed it in the front of this beautiful English roadster and the rest is history.

This car, CSX 2000, was used as a factory test car, demonstrator, and show car used to get people interested and sell some cars. Carroll Shelby, always the marketer, repainted the car between showings to make people think that production was well under way. It worked, even if a second Cobra wouldn’t be built for another seven months.

It is mostly original (other than the paint) and has been used on and off over the years and has been shown recently at Pebble Beach, among many, many other places. It’s as famous as Cobras come and is being offered from the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust. Only 75 Cobras were fitted with the 260 engine, but this is the one to have. In fact, of all Cobras, this is the one to have. The bidding will quickly shoot into the millions, but whoever comes out on top will have something truly special. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s.

Update: Sold $13,750,000.

June 2016 Auction Highlights

We move into June, but not before flashing back to April for Coys’ Ascot sale. We didn’t feature anything from this sale, but the top seller was this 1932 Bentley 4-Litre Saloon by Thrupp & Maberly for about $205,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

Next up, Bonhams in Connecticut where a previously featured Templar Touring failed to sell (as did the Frick Special). The top sale was this 2005 Ford GT for $291,500.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Two of the cars we featured brought an identical amount: $24,200 (the Car-Nation and the K-R-I-T), while the Jowett sold for $34,100. Click here for complete results.

Now on to Russo & Steele’s Newport Beach sale. We didn’t get to feature anything from this sale either, but the top seller was another Ford GT, this time a 2006 for $292,600. Click here for more results.

Photo - Russo & Steele

Photo – Russo & Steele

Onward then, to The Finest and their inaugural sale held in Hershey. Our featured Delage Shooting Brake failed to sell, but this 1968 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 was the top sale at $577,500. Click here for more results.

Photo - The Finest

Photo – The Finest

And the final auction for this rundown, Mecum’s Portland sale. The top sale here was this 1965 Shelby GT350 that went for $305,000. Our featured Chandler brought a very affordable $13,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

May 2016 Auction Highlights, Pt. II

We’re back with more from May, but as has been the case recently, we backtrack, this time to March for results from Coys’ Spring Classics sale in London. A previously-featured Delin Voiturette sold for $93,610. The top sale was this 1984 Lamborghini Countach 5000 S for $368,200.

Photo - Coys

Photo – Coys

The one-off supercar, the Aspira F620, went for $126,110. Complete results can be found here. Moving on, we end up at Bonhams Aston Martin Works sale, where our featured Lagonda wagon failed to sell. What did sell, and for the most money, was this 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series 5 Vantage Convertible for $1,470,701.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our other two feature cars both sold with the V600 Vantage bringing an impressive $654,859 and the Project Vantage Concept Car $127,825. Click here for full results.

Mecum’s annual trek to Indy had a lot of cars cross the block. None were sold for more than this 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster for $1,100,000.

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The Stoddard-Dayton we featured didn’t sell – neither did the Devon GTX or a previously-featured Locomobile. The Corvette Z06 brought $210,000 and the Buick GS Convertible went for $185,000. Click here for more results.

On to Silverstone Auctions’ Classic Race Aarhus Auction where our featured Reo Royale failed to sell. The top sale was this this 2010 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Recreation that brought about $363,500. Click here for more results.

Photo - Silverstone Auctions

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

And finally (into June), results from Historics at Brooklands’ June sale where this 1991 Ferrari Testarossa was the top sale at $226,140.

Photo - Historics at Brooklands

Photo – Historics at Brooklands

A previously-featured Victor Electric brought $54,145. Our other two feature cars both sold, with the Elva bringing $124,215 and the Lea-Francis $47,775. Click here for further results.