24 Carroll Shelby owned cars head to auction

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 12.04.2018

Bonham’s June auction will be a dream for Shelby fans

Two dozen cars from the estate of Carroll Shelby will be facing the Bonhams block come June at the Greenswich Concourse d’Elegance, 30 minutes north of New York.

The cars on offer reflect the diverse nature of Shelby’s larger collection, also tracing his automotive career highlighted by his collaborations with Ford, Dodge and General Motors.

Spanning almost a century of American icons, the available lots consist of a 1927 Model T open-cab express wagon and a 1931 Model A roadster right through to modern icons, including a 2008 Shelby GT 500KR and 2011 Shelby GT 500 Super Snake.

An early highlight includes a 1935 Chrysler Airflow; believed to be formerly owned by Steve McQueen, another name in his own right synonymous with big-dollar auction lots.

A 1965 Cobra 427 Continuation marks the early years of Shelby’s long and fruitful relationship with Ford. This particular car was gifted to the 1999 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Heather Kozar, but was considered "too much car" and subsequently bought back by Shelby.

A number of one-offs and prototypes will be on offer for the most dedicated of historical collectors.

A 1982 Shelby Charger prototype marks his first collaboration with Dodge. And a 1983 Dodge/Shelby pickup concept is up for sale, even though it never survived through to the production stage. And on offer for the most hardcore buffs - a slice of Shelby’s own supercar venture, in the form of his personal Shelby Series 1 roadster, chassis #0001.

It’s not all American iron either, with both a production-spec DeTomaso Pantera available, as well as a 1987 DeTomaso GT5-S going under the hammer. The GT5-S interestingly was utilised in development of the Dodge viper, when a force-fed V8 was being considered to sit inside the Viper’s long bonnet as opposed to its eventual naturally aspirated V10. The GTS-5 however, will be sold without a driveline.

The Carroll Shelby collection will go under the hammer at Bonhams in Greenswich on June 3^rd, 2018. View the list below or look at them in closer detail at the Bonhams website.

The full list of lots includes:

• 1927 Ford Model T open-cab express wagon
• 1931 Ford Model A roadster
• 1935 Chrysler Airflow
• 1955 De Soto Firedome Hemi V8
• 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 continuation
• 1966 Shelby GT 350 convertible, reportedly the first of 12 continuation cars
• 1967 Lincoln Continental convertible
• 1968 Shelby GT 350
• 1969 Shelby GT 500, previously owned by actor Jacki Cooper
• 1969 Shelby GT 500
• 192 Shelby Charger prototype
• 1983 DeTomaso Pantera
• 1983 Dodge/Shelby pickup concept
• 1987 Shelby Dodge CSX, serial number 001
• 1987 Shelby Charger GLH-S, serial number 001
• 1987 DeTomaso GTS-5 (no driveline)
• 1987 Dodge Shelby Lancer, serial number 001
• 1988 Dodge Shelby Dakota prototype
• 1989 Dodge Shelby CSX VNT, serial number 001
• 1999 Shelby Series 1, serial 001
• 2008 Shelby GT 500KR
• 2011 Shelby GT 500 Super Snake
• Oldsmobile Aurora race car

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

Sell your car for free right here