Sotheby’s – ARIZONA 2020 Auction featured a 1967 Shelby GT500 listed as lot #235. Painted in the factory original Dark Moss Green, this GT500 was a numbers matching beauty.
The auction estimate was $150-200k, and the final sale price was an astounding $224k. I stopped bidding at $175k, and was truly impressed to see how high it went.
With the Bullit Mustang selling at auction on January 12th for over 3.7mil, and the recent Ford vs Ferrari movie, Shelbys and rare Mustangs are a hot commodity.
Today, there is a 1967 Shelby GT350 being auctioned by Sotheby’s as part of the PALM BEACH 2020 auction that was moved to 100% online bidding due to the coronavirus. Within the first 2 days of the auction, the bidding price already hit $100k, vs the $100-135k estimate. UPDATE: Although bidding was fast, it slowed at the end, closing at 105k, plus the 10% Sotheby’s premium. Somebody got a great deal on a popular color combination GT350.
There is a very good chance this car exceeds the top of the estimate. I haven’t seen another car already hit the bottom of the estimated selling range, so this GT350 is really showing some serious interest among buyers.
A few interesting facts about the 1967 Shelby GT500 and 1967 Shelby GT350
This 1967 Shelby GT500 features white racing stripes. Many people view the racing stripes as being part of the original spec, however none of the GT500’s left the factory with racing strips. They were instead added at dealerships by the request of customers. I look at the non-racing stripes as being more original.
A second variation between the original design of the Shelby GT500 and what we see in the example sold in the ARIZONA 2020, is that the original called for inbound high beam lights in the grill.
Some states had a minimum distance requirement between headlights, making the two inboard lights out of compliance. Dealers in those states had to retrofit the lights to what are now considered outbound, as you can see in this example.
I’ve always been asked, ’What is my favorite car?’ and I’ve always said ’The next one.’ Carroll Shelby
I read a comment on a Mustang forum that one user said the inboard driving lights look best with the racing strips. Of course the racing stripes weren’t part of the original design, so the intention of Shelby wouldn’t have been to have the inbound lights match racing stripes.
The vehicle sold at Sotheby’s featured both racing stripes and outbound driver lights, making it a slight variation of the original design for the car.
I happen to prefer the look of the outboard lights, they are more similar to the legendary Boss 429, but for a Shelby GT500, the inbound is the way Shelby designed it.
While the GT350 and GT500 look very similar, they do have several differences. The primary being the GT500 features the Police Interceptor 428 engine rated at 355 horse power, while the GT350 featured the 306 horsepower 289 engine. The 289 engine could be had with a Paxton Supercharger for an additional cost of $549.00 in 1967 dollars.
1967 Shelby GT500 and GT350 Production Numbers
1967 Shelby GT350: 1,175
1967 Shelby GT500: 2,048
Comparable 1967 Shelby GT350’s currently for sale
1967 GT350’s are a bit harder to come by. Fewer were made, however, there are GT350’s from previous years that are available, although not as collectible in today’s market. This example below as inboard high beam lights and a racing stripe, but is not an especially desirable color.
Comparable 1967 Shelby GT500’s currently for sale
Many of the GT500’s currently for sale are listed as “Price on request”. There are a couple listed around 250-275k, but I think that is well above current market value. This example as $189k has inbound high beams, racing stripes, and is in the desirable dark blue with black interior. It’s a very nice example, although I personally prefer the Dark Moss Green more.
Buying at Auction vs a Dealer?
If you want to dive into all the details of the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 or GT350, DYIFord has a GREAT article that I’d highly recommend.
