It’s no secret that a classic Ford Mustang can fetch quite a price at auction. However, a run-of-the-mill classic Mustang is not exceptionally rare, per se. However, there are a handful of extremely limited edition Mustangs that fetch some eye-watering prices at auction. From modern special editions to one-of-one experimental prototypes, here are five of the rarest Ford Mustangs ever built.
1965 Shelby Mustang GT350R
2020 and 1965 Mustang GT350R | Ford
According to Carlogos, a Shelby GT350R currently holds the record for the most expensive Mustang ever sold. The GT350R that sold for $3.85 million belonged to racing and Ford legend Ken Miles. So, its historical significance definitely helped raise the price.
However, only 34 GT350R Mustangs were ever built. They use the same big-block engine that’s in the iconic Ford GT40. Like the most recent GT350R, Ford and Shelby intended for these Mustangs to dominate the race track.
1964 World’s Fair Skyway Mustang
Mustang at 1964 New York World’s Fair | Ford
The 1964 New York World’s Fair had a display known as “The Magic Skyway” by Ford. It was a collaborative effort between Ford and Walt Disney. Effectively, it was a ride wherein people sat in actual Ford convertible vehicles and were taken through a display of history and time.
Among the vehicles used in the World’s Fair ride were 12 1964 Ford Mustangs. Ford largely destroyed these pre-production cars, as with many pre-production cars. However, two of them still remain. One is still in the hands of a private owner, according to Motortrend.
Ford Aviation Series Mustangs
Ford Apollo Edition Mustang | Ford
Since 2008, Ford has created a single aviation-inspired Mustang each year. However, for the year 2017, Ford produced a Raptor instead.
These Mustangs typically get auctioned off for charity. They aren’t just painted to look the part, either. Over the years, iconic tuners like Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush hand their hands in these wild limited Mustangs.
1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake
1967 Shelby #GT500 Super Snake becomes the most expensive Mustang ever sold at $2.2 million: https://t.co/AwWbMw5zsq pic.twitter.com/EAu0JpdKWC
— Autoblog (@therealautoblog) January 15, 2019
Only one 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake exists. It, too, is one of the most expensive Mustangs in the world. It sold at auction in 2019 for $2.2 million, according to Road and Track.
Shelby built the Super Snake as part of a collaborative effort with Goodyear tires. The vehicle was used to demonstrate Goodyear’s new “Thunderbolt” tires. The Super Snake put its 427 cubic-inch V8 to good use to prove their durability. Goodyear and Shelby had the Super Snake driven 500 straight miles with an average speed of 142 miles per hour. Additionally, the car hit a top speed of over 170 miles per hour during the test. Despite all of this, the tires still had 97 percent of their tread remaining after the grueling 500-mile test came to an end.
Shelby planned on building 50 production examples of the Super Snake. However, Ford put an ax to that plan upon discovering the Super Snake would cost over double the price of a standard GT500.
1967 Shelby GT500 Convertible
The first Shelby GT500 Convertible off the line, finished September 1967.
More info & photos: https://t.co/3T0z5slo9L#MecumKissimmee #Kissimmee #Mecum #MecumAuctions #WhereTheCarsAre pic.twitter.com/nbqkEOEB6h
— Mecum Auctions (@mecum) December 26, 2019
The fact that this car is still around is an enigma. In fact, even Carroll Shelby isn’t quite sure how it made it out alive.
According to MotorTrend, the convertible GT500 prototype should have been destroyed like most experimental cars. However, instead, it wound up surviving and made its way to the Volo Cars museum. Before his passing, Carroll Shelby wrote a letter to the museum regarding the car.
“I am without knowledge how it is this GT500 convertible was not destroyed, other than speculating the theft of the vehicle may have disrupted the standard Ford Motor policy somehow,” wrote Shelby.
Even though it wasn’t supposed to survive, Mustang enthusiasts worldwide are happy that it did!
This is just the tip of the rare Mustang iceberg
The list of rare, one-of-a-kind and collectible Mustangs could go on forever. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more collectible set of Mustangs than these five. After all, some of them aren’t even supposed to be around anymore!
It just goes to show that even when you’re looking at what you think might be another classic car, you might actually be looking at something incredibly rare!
Keyword: These 5 Mustang Models Are the Rarest Pony Cars on the Planet