While Carroll Shelby’s involvement with an automotive project almost always tends to yield positive results, sometimes his endeavors fade into obscurity. This seems to have happened with the Dodge Durango SP360 SUV, which was given the Shelby treatment in every way imaginable and is still, to this day, a formidable high-performance SUV. It’s not exactly at the top of the list for most collectors, however, so finding one doesn’t yield much of a reaction other than, “Oh yeah, they made that.” This example listed here on eBay appears to remain in excellent condition with one very important alteration from Shelby’s original formula.
When the Durango entered the market, it did so at exactly the right time. The SUV craze was in full swing, and Dodge needed a vehicle other than the Cherokee to hang its sport utility credentials on. Taking the Dakota pickup and effectively giving it a traditional body was the answer, as the exterior treatment and interior fittings are all basically lifted straight from the popular pickup. The Durango was a hit when it was introduced, and I can recall seeing these first-generation rigs seemingly everywhere (not so much anymore.) The Shelby version obviously took that mall-crawler SUV and gave it an aggressive paint scheme reminiscent of a Viper GTS, among other changes.
On the inside, driver and front passenger got these terrific Cerullo bucket seats, and the rest of the interior corresponded nicely with gray leather and black inserts. Shelby’s signature was seen on the bucket seats and the dashboard, with the latter adorned with carbon fiber trim. The exterior obviously sports a custom body kit with giant driving lamps up front, and those slick polished “twist”-style wheels are entirely period-correct. The most significant change from the Shelby recipe made by a previous owner, however, is the suspension: they smartly installed Edelbrock IAS shocks and presumably some lowering springs to kill the ridiculous fender gap these trucks originally came with.
There’s one other deviation from Shelby’s grand design that is apparent when you peek under the hood: the signature Kenne Bell supercharger is no where to be found. I found it odd that the seller made no mention of this, since it obviously transformed the 5.9L V8 in a significant way. However, there were a handful of these trucks sold without the supercharger kit, usually as a means of getting the price down for customers more interested in the looks than the performance. It does limit the appeal significantly, however, if you’re looking for a truly high-performance SUV. Perhaps it’s possible to retrofit a S/C kit and realize Shelby’s ultimate vision.
That huge gap between the body and the back bumper near the taillights! They really were all like that, the regular production ones too, and it was the first thing I ever noticed about the original Durango.
Another “wow” factor is that it didn’t rust out in 5 years like most Durango’s and Chrysler Aspen’s.
It seems like a very nice find, but at 25 K, I am not that optimistic!