On January 11th, 2019 a record-breaking sale occurred at Mecum’s auction in Kissimmee, Florida.
A 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake – the only one ever made – received a top bid of $2.2 million. This was twice Mecum’s expected price of $1 – 1.2 million.
This unique Shelby became the most expensive Mustang in 2013, selling for $1.3 million at Mecum’s Indianapolis auction. In less than six years, its value has increased by 69%.
Second place goes to the first sale of the new 2020 Shelby GT500. The high-performance Mustang sold for $1.1 million this Friday January 18th, with all profits going to charity.
The third most expensive Mustang is also a 1967 Shelby GT500 – “Eleanor”. The car was specially built for the 2000 edition of Gone In 60 Seconds. The main Eleanor used in the movie was sold for $1 million at Mecum’s 2013 Indianapolis auction.
What makes the Super Snake so special?
Only one 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake was ever built. And it comes with a remarkable story behind it.
The first GT500 launched in 1967, becoming the most powerful production Ford at the time. Carroll Shelby’s high-performance Mustangs were, and still are, staples of the muscle car market.
Shelby was also the West Coast distributor of Goodyear. So, when Goodyear launched their new Thunderbolt economy tires, they asked Shelby to help with the promotion.
Carroll Shelby decided to put a set of Thunderbolts on one of his new GT500s and drive around the track.
Queue in Don McCain – a car dealer at Mel Burns Ford in Long Beach, California and previously, sales manager at Shelby American. McCain convinced Shelby and chief engineer Fred Goodell to build an even more powerful GT500.
They gave it the heart of a Le Mans racer
McCain suggested swapping the 7-liter, 428 Cobra-Jet V8 engine for a racing spec 427. In fact, it was the same engine used in the Ford GT40 MK II, which dominated the Le Mans race in 1966. It was one of the most advanced engines of its time and purposely built for racing.
The 427 engine featured aluminum heads, aluminum water pump, forged crankshaft and Le Mans rods. A heavier cast iron block was used in order to endure high-compression ratios up to 13.6 to 1. The engine was geared for sustained work at 6,000 rpm.
It produced 550 hp in the GT40 with proper tuning. In the Shelby Super Snake, the final output was around 520hp, although it was advertised at 650 hp.
The “bundle of snakes” exhaust headers were also ported from the GT40 MK II. The Super Snake was also equipped with a new transmission, stronger rear axle, and improved oil cooling. The suspension on one side was stiffened to prepare it for the oval track, where the car only turned in one direction.
These upgrades made the 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake the most powerful Mustang of its time.
And they needed it, because they slapped a set of Goodyear’s Thunderbolt tires. These were just regular tires, aimed at the average driver and cheaper than the standard factory tires.
The Thunderbolt demonstration was a smashing success
The event was organized at Goodyear’s 5-mile test track at San Angelo, Texas.
Carroll Shelby drove the first several laps, reaching top speeds of 170 mph while showcasing the vehicle to reporters and executives.
The actual test was conducted by chief engineer Fred Goodell who drove 500 miles at average speeds of 142 mph. After the test concluded, the tires had lost just 3% of their tread.
The event was a smashing success for Thunderbolt tires and Goodyear’s marketing. You can watch an original marketing video produced for Goodyear below.
Performance-wise, the Shelby Super Snake was incredible. It had 160 more horsepower and topped out 36 mph faster than a production GT500. And, given a set of proper racing tires, the car would have gone even faster.
Commercially, it was a whole different story. Don McCain was convinced he could sell 50 units. But, after getting the Super Snake to his dealership, he soon realized it was too expensive.
The Super Snake’s final cost was double that of a production Shelby GT500. As fast as the car was, nobody wanted to pay $7,000 for it (over $52,000 in today’s dollars). It was later sold for $5,000 and Shelby never made another one.
If they only knew…
Over the years, the car changed hands several times. It received minor modifications to the rear-end and (obviously) lost its Thunderbolt tires. However, it was kept generally intact and was well cared for.
One of the last owners of the vehicle – Richard Ellis – performed a light restoration, taking Shelby Super Snake as close to the original as possible and sourcing some original components. He even found an original set of the Thunderbolt tires it was created to wear.
With such an intense history and being the only one of its kind, it’s clear the 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake is destined for greatness.
The car’s new owner could have bought a range of supercars with better performance or a whole fleet of classic muscle cars. But owning this special piece of Shelby history is worth any money you can afford.
Carroll Shelby is probably smiling from above, seeing one of his best cars take its rightful place on top of the Mustang most wanted list.
