Among the variety of Carroll Shelby-blessed Turbo Mopars from the 1980s, there’s one model for me that stands alone and that is the Shelby Lancer. This is perhaps the model that shows up for sale the least frequently, and I wonder how many were unwittingly banished to the scrap heap by owners and wholesalers who had no idea what they were sitting on. The Shelby Lancer was limited to just 800 units and this one shows just over 92,000 original miles. It’s listed as a preview here on Mecum.com where it will be part of the Kissimmee auction in January with a projected sale price between $14,000 and $18,000.
Frankly, I would be shocked to see it pull that kind of price. Not that I don’t think it deserves it, I do – but it’s more that historically, the late 80s turbo Mopars haven’t commanded a ton of respect in the collector car marketplace. As Kissimmee caters to a certain caliber of customer, I don’t foresee too many of them wanting to part with $20,000 for a turbo Dodge product. I hope I’m wrong, as these were overbuilt machines that features a broad package of upgrades that didn’t stop at the engine bay. The body received a slick body kit with aero enhancements; 15-inch cross-lace wheels; four-wheel disc brakes; and a modified suspension.
You also got these deeply-sculpted bucket seats and the three-spoke steering wheel that was shared across a few different Shelby Dodges. The car shown here is in excellent condition for one with driver-grade miles on the clock; before checking out the odometer, I thought for sure this was the same car housed in the American Muscle Car Museum collection, but that example has a mere 22 miles on the clock! This one has the preferred combination of cloth buckets and the 5-speed manual, as some of these Shelby products featured leather combined with a three-speed automatic.
The 2.2L turbo engine was intercooled and kicked out a very respectable 175 horsepower. Performance was seriously good for the end days of the malaise era, allowing the Shelby Lancer to reach 60 miles per hour in 7.7 seconds and eclipse the quarter mile in under 16 seconds. It’s important to note that this batch of 1987 models was actually assembled at Shelby’s facility, versus the Dodge Lancer Shelby that was built on a Chrysler assembly line. It will be interesting to see if the high water marks of the past few years continue to buoy the values of forgotten classics like these, or if the turbo Dodges have missed the boat. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Larry D. for the find.
A God amongst mere mortals to a young Dodge Shadow owner like myself in the 90’s. I hope this car gets a little respect in the auction, if not then it’s time is coming.
Cool 😎 5sp, 4dr sedan.
Ya, only the rich girls and boys in my town drove a Dodge Shelby back then.. You’d never see them for long though, maybe about a year driving around town, and then those cars were gone…
I dare say I would love to own this. I dare say.
I may be wrong, but I believe this car is registered as a Shelby, not a Dodge. ’88 and ’89 models were called Lancer Shelby, and were registered as Dodges.
Correct. For their first model year ’87 these were largely assembled and modified substantially enough at Shelby’s skunkworks in Whittier, CA that they were legally titled as Shelbys by marque with Shelby manufacturer plates in a limited run of 800 cars (half 5-speeds, half automatics), hence known as the Shelby Lancer (no mention of Dodge).
Those proved popular enough as a “proof of concept” that Chrysler assumed full production in-house for two more model years ’88-89 as the Dodge Lancer Shelby, the “Shelby” here just referring to their equipment/trim package rather than a marque or model name. There were actually fewer of these produced than the initial Shelby Lancers, but not serialized as a limited edition like those were.
If only I had some extra cash….
If only the Mopar/Shelby folks would have made an 80s Shelby Charger, Daytona, Laser, Lancer, Omni, etc. in AWD or RWD like the Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000 cars. My high school girlfriend’s mom got a Daytona (or Laser, can’t recall which) Turbo 5 speed, must have been ’86. She let me drive it. Acceleration was impressive for that time period, but I just cannot love driving a FWD. That car with AWD and some mild tweaks to increase boost would have been awesome.
AWD, boost, and tweaks didnt exist in the 1980’s, unless you’re referring to the high school druggy crowd.
Group B rally cars weren’t the only AWD boosted cars in the 80s.
In recent finds here
https://barnfinds.com/dealer-trade-1983-audi-coupe-quattro/
In case anyone has the opinion these are not real Shelbys visit their facility in Los Vegas has a few Dodge Shelby cars on display
I got a chance to drive a new lancer in the 80s for a few days. A 2.5 5sp. Wonderful car. Almost bought one for myself at the time. The turbo wasn’t desired or needed.