The final version of practically anything is usually pretty good, unless we’re talking about what a commercial kitchen throws in the pot for a stew when attempting to use up the last of the ingredients. That same philosophy can occasionally hold true when manufacturers go parts-bin raiding to monetize the last of a product line, usually creating some silly special edition nobody actually wants. The Dodge / Shelby years may have been a little bit of both: some truly great ideas that cascaded towards a compelling final product while using whatever K-Car derived resources were available to the Shelby team. This 1989 Shelby CSX VNT listed here on eBay has just 23,000 miles and represents the pinnacle of Shelby’s re-engineering of the humble 4-cylinder platform.
The Shelby-tuned CSX cars have been sought-after by a small but mighty group of collectors who seem absolutely determined to preserve the limited stock of these cars. This includes the Omni GLHS and the Dodge Spirit R/T, both of which still occasionally pop up for sale in condition similar to this VNT. You can’t blame them – anything with the Shelby named seemingly turns to gold, and even if the value of a Chrysler Corp. Shelby will never approach that of a Shelby Cobra, the amount of work done by the team at the Chrysler Shelby Performance Center in Whittier, California certainly revealed no less of an obsession with extracting more power and performance from a car.
VNT is an acronym for “Variable Pressure Turbo” which enabled the front-wheel drive beast to provide greater adjustment and more streamlined power delivery. The VNT system used a unique turbocharger developed specifically for this application that featured a wastegate with adjustable “vanes” used to adjust the flow of exhaust gases to the turbine. This, in turn, eliminated some of the knee-jerk power delivery turbocharged cars were known for, allowing the VNT to spool up quickly from a stop without sacrificing performance at the top end. The VNT made a healthy 174 b.h.p. and 205 lb.-ft. of torque.
Of course, you got the usual Shelby upgrades as well, including Recaro-like bucket seats with unique Shelby cloth; a three-spoke Momo steering wheel; commemorative plaque on the dash; Shelby floor mats, and more. The other major innovation is the ridiculously cool “Fiberide” carbon fiber wheels, which Shelby contended represented significant weight savings over conventional wheels. The seller is including the original wheels on the as-delivered tires but for show use only; it will arrive in your driveway riding on a set of a very slick Dodge Shadow ES wheels painted gold, which I actually like better anyhow. If you wanted a near-new Shelby CSX VNT, now’s your chance.
Very thoughtful of the seller to have sourced some Shadow ES wheels and painted them gold, so he didn’t drive around on the Fiberide wheels. Those things are irreplaceable.
Some serious dedication was lavished on this car. I’m not going to get into the economics of doing that, because it looks like it was at least somewhat enjoyed. It’s very cool that the owner changed out the wheels so he could drive it. Most collectors these days would just mothball the car completely.
People fall into two camps with these Shelby four cylinder turbo Mopars. You either love them or you despise them and think they are absolute blasphemy. I fall into the former category. While they are very different than the Shelbys of the 1960s, they were a perfect product for their time and could embarrass most of their contemporary V-8 performance cars in handling certainly and even acceleration in many cases.
I do think the initial bid price is in the dreamer range however. While these are very cool, they do not bring big money, and the Shadows and Lancers tend to bring less than the two L-body variants.
Yup, the economics definitely will not add up for me! I paid quite a bit for the car back in 04, and didn’t have a proper garage to store it and keep it safe, so I paid for storage of it for 12 years until I finally built enough garage space back in 2016 to hold my collection. I don’t dare add it all up because I don’t really want to know what the cost of preserving this car was! These cars have been like children to me, and it’s super sad to be selling them off, but it’s time for me to pass the torch to others to hopefully preserve them.
I believe VNT stood for “Variable Nozzle Turbo”, if my old brain is drawing on the right dendritic pathways…
Shelby was sure able to wrangle a buncha ponies out of that little engine.
Dann, is right VNT is variable nozzle turbo charged.
That is correct, I worked at a Dodge dealership through the ’90s in both parts and service departments. Did not see many of these. They also made a 4-door Dodge Spirit with the VNT engine.
Spirit R/T had the Turbo III engine without VNT.
However, interesting to find this Turbo IV (with VNT) engine was available in ’90 for the regular (non-Shelby) Shadow ES, Daytona Shelby, and LeBaron GTC, along with some very limited-production Competition versions of the Shadow and Daytona.
18k open bid no takers. that number i would think is good money for it. just because it has Shelbys name on it doesn’t mean it’s worth 100k especially on 1 of these. it’s a pimped-up shadow.
Owner has had it for 20 years and put on 1400 miles.
Sweet
I used to go to an all Mopar show held down in Vernon CT. every summer. Not sure if I ever saw it there. These were quick little cars for the time. Overall it looks in beautiful condition and it was obviously very well cared for. Personally, for a 80’s Shelby Mopar, I’d prefer a Shelby GLHS Charger or Omni but these were pretty cool. As far as market value, I’ve seen some pretty crazy sold prices for the Shelby GLHS Chargers and Omnis but I think there might be a bit more of a popularity with those as opposed to the CSX’s and the Spirit R/T’s. I think his opening bid might be a bit steep but I guess it would depend on the love someone might have for wanting one of these cars.
Paul-I took this car to the vernon golfland mopar show once (maybe 10-12 years ago), and also attended with a glhs and an iroc rt other times. I’ve also taken a few of my cars to the Friday night cruises they have there. Unfortunately, I haven’t been to the mopar show in quite a few years. They used to post about the show on the bulletin board next to the entrance, and I drive by there all the time, so I always knew when it was, but since they stopped doing thay, I always seem to miss it!
I love this car but, man, I would have to drive it!
I was owner Shelby CSX #151, bought it new in November of 1989. Cars didnt sell well, was one of 4 on the lot so got a good deal. Was fun little car, the turbo gave a great kick. Had a good bit of torque steer but manageable. Car cornered well. Front spoiler hit every driveway entrance unless you crawled up. Just a slice in time out of the 80s.
I had an 87 Shadow at 17 years old. I wanted to find one of these at a junk yard and put the body kit on my car, but of course that was not to be. At 10 years old with 80k on the odometer the car was on its last legs anyway. It was a charming car and a step above its competitors at Ford and Chevy I thought.