Carroll Shelby’s 1968 ‘Black Hornet’ Mustang for sale

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 09.10.2019

Big money asked for Shelby’s personal one-off GT500 EXP500 CSS

As far as collectible Mustangs go, the Carroll Shelby name is unrivalled in desirability.

But there are Shelby cars, and then there are Shelby’s cars. This stunning 1968 Shelby EXP500 is one of the latter.

This special ‘Stang, the one-off "Shelby Black Hornet" has recently come up for sale in the US, and is listed for a whopping US$850,000 (AU$1,261,103) or best offer.

The listing states the car to be "in mint condition", with the odometer showing just 558 miles to-date, and showed "273 miles when Mr. Shelby signed the title 10 years ago".

READ NEXT: CARROLL SHELBY - THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGEND

The car –coded EXP500 CSS - was built as an exacting tribute to Shelby’s "Green Hornet" 1968 Mustang, prior to that car receiving EFI and independent rear suspension. The only distinguishing feature is its "Stetson Black" paint, chosen in tribute to Shelby’s signature Stetson hat.

The car was previously auctioned in 2008, in partnership with Restoration Hardware, to raise money for the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation. The car, up until then, was part of Shelby’s personal collection, and is believed by the seller to be one of the last cars he owned and drove.

READ NEXT: 1967 SHELBY GT500 EXP "LITTLE RED" PROTOTYPE FOUND AFTER 50 YEARS

The car began life as a 1968 Mustang with a 390ci big-block V8. During the build, it received a 428ci CobraJet with Holley high-volume fuel pump, Mallory ignition and Griffith radiator.

Further under its skin sit power brakes and power steering, rounded out by Shelby 10-spoke wheels, sequential Shelby tail lights and Lucas foglights and a variety of other upgrades.

The sale includes a die-cast replica toy and the original California title signed by Shelby.

While the asking price of AU$1.2 million is an unthinkable amount for most of us, it pales in comparison to the current record-price fetched for a classic Pony Car. At the start of this year, a one-off 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake sold via Mecum for a winning bid of US$2.2 million (AU$3.2 million).

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