Yahoo Autos 5 Most Expensive Mustangs Sold at Auction
The Ford Mustang was introduced as a way to get into high performance and good looks at an attractive price. That’s still part of the Mustang’s appeal half a century later, whether you’re shopping for a brand new car or a weekend classic, and there are always plenty to choose from because somewhere near 10 million (and counting) of them have been built. Even so, there’s certainly exclusivity and high prices to be found in the Mustang world. Special editions, performance packages, rare options and racing pedigree are all factors that get collectors’ attention and drive prices up. One word, though, stands above all others for Mustang enthusiasts, and that word is Shelby. That all but one of the cars on this list of the most expensive Mustangs to sell at auction is a Shelby shows the value placed on the name by collectors, and the one car that isn’t a genuine Shelby was actually modified to look like a GT500.
By Andrew Newton
1967 Shelby GT500 “Super Snake” Fastback
Final price: $1,378,000
The GT500 was the first big-block Shelby Mustang, powered by a 428 cubic-inch modified Police Interceptor engine. The Super Snake, however, was like no other GT500 and indeed no other Mustang. In preparation for a high-speed test/promotion for Goodyear, Shelby American took a normal production GT500 and fitted it with a 427 that was essentially the same as the one in the GT40 that had just won Le Mans and made 600 hp. After completing the run for Goodyear, there were hopes of building a limited run of 50 Super Snakes, but the car was deemed too expensive and this remained the only one. And when there’s only one of something, especially a ludicrously fast car like a 600-hp ’67 Mustang built by Shelby American, people tend to want it. Picking one “ultimate Mustang” is a near impossible choice, but this car is certainly in the running as reflected by the record price.
1967 Ford Mustang GT500 “Eleanor” from “Gone In 60 Seconds”
Final price: $1,060,000
Movie cars are proven moneymakers at auction, and this car is a prime example. One of about a dozen identical cars built for the 2000 film Gone In 60 Seconds, it’s not originally a GT500 but a heavily modified ’67 fastback with a 351/400hp crate motor, lowered suspension and lots of bodywork. There have been lots of recreations of the silver and black car, but this particular one was an actual movie vehicle apparently used for many of the close-up shots in the film. Even the auctioneers at Mecum were surprised at the result, as it sold for way over the pre-sale estimate. As for that seven-figure final price, most of that money was for the car’s screen time. Otherwise, it was just a handsome resto-mod, but the movie stardom made it the second most expensive Mustang result.
