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World’s Most Valuable? 1965 Shelby GT350R Prototype

Those of you with your fingers on the classic car pulse will know that the outright sales record for the world’s most expensive Mustang was set in January. You will probably also know that this was the legendary “Bullitt” Mustang driven by the late Steve McQueen in the movie of the same name. That record stands at $3.74 million, and there were plenty of people that believed that the record would stand for a very long time. Well, possibly not. There is a vehicle set to hit the auction blocks in May that has the potential to shatter that record and many of those people who are “in the know” believe that it will. The car in question is a 1965 Shelby GT350R. However, this isn’t just any Shelby, but it is, in fact, the prototype. The GT350R is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is listed for sale here on Mecum. If you have a lazy $4 million or so, this truly significant car could very well be yours.

The GT350R, which was assigned the Shelby designation of SFM5R002, was built in 1965. It served as a test-bed for many of the development ideas and components that found their way into the 34 examples of the customer GT350R which were built to compete in the SCCA Production Sports Car Series. Even though it carried the “2” designation, it was the first GT350R to be completed and was also the first Shelby Mustang to both race, and score a competition win. It accumulated a list of pretty illustrious pilots, including Bob Bondurant, Chuck Cantwell, Peter Brock, Jerry Titus, and the legendary Ken Miles. In fact, this was the only Mustang that Miles ever drove in competition. When the GT350R was homologated for SCCA B Production Car racing, it was this vehicle that was not only presented by Shelby for that process, but is also the car that is illustrated in the official Homologation  Papers. It remained in competition for a number of months before SFM5R001 was brought in to replace it. The car then served as a test mule for the production GT350, as well as a mobile sales tool for any competitors that might be interested in purchasing a GT350R for competition. It returned to competition for Shelby later in 1965, before eventually being sold in 1966. From there it continued racing for a number of years with great success, before finally being retired in 1972. At that point, 5R002 was placed on a trailer, painted in grey primer, and then parked in an open shed.

Having been left at the mercy of time and the elements, it would have been conceivable that the car could have deteriorated to a state where it was beyond help. Thankfully, it was discovered in that open shed in 1989, and with money changing hands, 5R002 had a new owner. The car was displayed in “as found condition” for many years, including a 14-year stint in the Shelby American Museum. Eventually, the vehicle underwent a full restoration, a process that took an incredible 4-years. The process took the car back to its roots. As it stands now, the Shelby is in exactly the same configuration that it was in when it made its competition debut in Green Valley, Texas, on February 14th, 1965. That means that it wears the correct Wimbledon White paint, the correct signage, and the distinctive Cragar Shelby 15″ magnesium-centered wheels. Under the hood rests a correct 289ci V8, backed by a 4-speed manual transmission. The restoration work has been completed to the highest standard, and there were a number of former Shelby engineers brought in to ensure that every aspect of the build was undertaken with as much accuracy as possible. This process was also aided by the availability of the SCCA Homologation Papers because as previously mentioned, it was this car that provided all of the information for that process. As a blueprint, that represented a pretty decent starting point.

Given the Shelby’s competition history, it’s no surprise to find that the interior is about as “bare-bones” as you are ever likely to find. In fact, you can be pretty sure that if SCCA Class B regulations hadn’t required it, there would have been no front passenger seat fitted. There is certainly no rear seat, and because regulations required the vehicle to carry a spare tire, there is one secured to the rear parcel tray. Any item surplus to requirements was removed to save weight. This included the carpet, all upholstery, the kick panels, radio, and even the door for the glove compartment. As anyone who has ever raced will be happy to tell you, every ounce counts in the quest for speed. The interior has a true sense of purpose about it and is also spotlessly clean. For those who might doubt the provenance of 5R002, it comes with a raft of documentation tracing its history right back to day one. It is this sort of information that makes the difference between a potentially good find, and a truly great one.

This vehicle poses one truly vexing question, and that is; Can the very first Shelby Mustang race car command a higher price than the “Bullitt” Mustang? That’s a difficult one because the Bullitt Mustang is such an iconic vehicle, and it remains legendary and instantly recognizable some 52-years after it first graced the big screen. However, the Shelby GT350 marked that moment in time when the Mustang graduated from being a pony car that could produce impressive performance, to a raging stallion with attitude and muscle. This is the vehicle that served as a prototype test-bed for the GT350 road car, making it potentially the most significant Mustang to ever emerge from the Shelby factory. When you consider that one of the 34 GT350R customer cars recently sold for more than $1 million and that the 1967 GT500 “Super Snake” sold for a cool $2.2 million back in 2019, that makes a new sales record seem like a possibility. One thing that could potentially negate this is the current economic uncertainty, but if the right buyers do emerge, then it could still happen.

Comments

  1. Avatar Tucker Callan

    Rick Kopecks Car?

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Christopher A. Junker

    Rebuilt original engine?

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Rhett

    THIS is the right Mustang…

    Like 3
  4. Avatar Tempo Matador Ray

    This is definitely one of those rare moments on this forum when folks should be in awe of what is presented and refrain from sharing their personal financial situation…Prototypes are always interesting because there are so many technical aspects that present…Continue to innovate not duplicate.

    Like 15
  5. Avatar Chris M.

    A treasure of automotive history. Regardless of brand loyalty this is one of the most significant cars of all time.

    Like 18
  6. Avatar ccrvtt

    Just. Freaking. Awesome!

    Like 7
  7. Avatar KevinLee

    THE flying Mustang!

    Like 3
  8. Avatar Classic Steel

    I love ❤️ it !

    i heard Hertz is bidding on it for their specialty rental. Just 19.95 plus 90 thousand per mile 😂. The rental paperwork uses legal terms such as rental person is putting house , vital organs and first born as collateral.

    Seriously a very sweet historic item.

    It needs to be put in a museum behind
    glass even though one would want to race it but ..its non replaceable 👀

    Like 5
  9. Avatar ken tillyUK Member

    Would it not have been better to have left it as it was when found unrestored as per the “Bullitt” Mustang? As it is now it’s no longer an original prototype “as raced GT350R”. The engine is not the original lump and I suspect that the gearbox and differential aren’t either, however, all things considered most of it is still a great piece of American road racing history and I wish I could afford to buy it!

    Like 3
    • Avatar seth karpen

      cars that were raced went thru engines and transmissions. Also as a test mule items would tend to get swapped out. Tired race engines were just pulled and replaced. No one ever thought that
      this car would be worth stupid money with original parts

      Like 7
  10. Avatar Jeffry R Harris

    Why does those it have the 5003 in the engine compartment? Different the the ser#?

    Like 2
  11. Avatar nlpnt

    This would be a great parts car for a ’65 Falcon sedan restoration.

    Like 14
    • Avatar ken tillyUK Member

      That comment should wake some BF r’s up today nlpnt!

      Like 6
  12. Avatar JoeNYWF64

    No headrests – on a “race” car.
    I’m surprised the ’65-6’s didnt get the t-bird tailites, tho maybe they would not look right on the 1st gen stang.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Dave at OldSchool Restorations

      Joe, maybe you’re not old enough to actually remember when… ?

      Like 3
  13. Avatar Mike

    I wonder where Carroll would sign when there’s no glove box door?

    Like 10
  14. Avatar Steve

    Wish I had four million!

    Like 5
  15. Avatar James Vansicklin

    36 R models,And magnesium american racing torque thrust wheels NOT cragars, cragars were on the street 65s,I dont believe this was Kopec’s R he had the Essex wire R model which he sold years ago

    Like 1
  16. Avatar John

    This may be my favorite “Barnfinds” car. I stood next to it once while Ken Miles was getting ready to drive it. I still have an Instamatic camera photo somewhere. I was 16 or 17 at the time and was plotting my future as a world-famous sports car racer (well, I did have an H prod Sprite for a bit).

    Just a curiosity and most definitely not a criticism: Given the very important SFM5R002 serial number, why might the cowl have a hand-written “SFM5R003” on it? Obviously the car has bee restored to an impeccable standard and the number had to have been re-produced there for a reason.

    Was there an SFM5R003? Did the “03” number appear on the homologation paperwork? Any Shelby experts out there with an answer?

    Like 3
  17. Avatar Joe Haska

    Loved this write up and all the INFO! Thanks

    Like 2
  18. Avatar George Mattar

    Not Ricks car. Significant yes, but could not be driven today with illegals tailgating in 30 year old Hondas with no insurance or drivers license. Ask Richard Rawlins what a POS Mexican did to a Mustang he and monkeys restored.

    Like 2
  19. Avatar Jim King

    Uuhhh, wasn’t the mustang in BULLIT a 67 or 68?…this is a DANG FINE car and proud worth multiple millions but it wasn’t in bullit!

    Like 1
  20. Avatar Troy s

    Car on car, I’ve often wondered which Mustang was better in racing, the early Shelby GT350R or the Boss 302. Only one way to find out get em out there on the track. 4 million dollar car or not just one hard run up against the legendary Boss 302, flat out too.
    Okay, back to reality, cars like this here original Shelby or the Bullitt Mustang are treasures, which one is more valuable than the other will be determined by the market. One thing to remember is they are absolutely non-drivers meant to be locked away….if shown,,,with armed guards. Takes the fun out of it.

    Like 1
  21. Avatar Ohio Rick

    Get rid of those wheels and get some 18s on that sucker. Drop in an LS engine with a nice high-stall Powerglide. Let me think a bit longer on what else I can do to destroy it’s value (as I often read others suggest on listings here)!

    Like 1
  22. Avatar Brian M Member

    The American Muscle Car museum in Melbourne, Fl has the 10th prototype, SFM-5014R, in its collection. Go to: http://www.americanmusclecarmuseum.com/shelby-vehicles/27-1965-shelby-gt350r-fastback-factory-prototype-10.html to see a write up and history of this particular vehicle. While there tour the site and look at other cars in this collection, only viewable at charity events. (Been there twice)
    the owner claims that this is one of only two remaining prototypes so the one in this article must be the other.

    Like 1

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