1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 Fastback (LHD) - From the 'Ian Cummins Collection'

Description

Texan racer and builder of the legendary Cobra sports car, Carroll Shelby joined forces with the Ford Motor Company in 1965 to create a high performance version of the Mustang that was equally at home tearing up the race track as it was cruising the city streets.  Taking the Fastback version of Mustang as his starting point, Shelby created a dual-purpose machine sporting a unique styling package plus a long list of mechanical upgrades and the first year of GT350 production proved highly successful, both from a marketing and sales perspective.  The original Shelby Mustang was more than just a halo model for Ford’s new Pony Car, doubling as a homologation special for Sports Car Club of America sanctioned events, which required a minimum of 100 examples be constructed to qualify for Class B Production racing.  Shelby and his Competition Director Ken Miles took the stock Mustang and developed it into a highly tuned, competitive racer, suitably dressed up by Shelby’s in-house designer Pete Brock.  The Hi-Po 289-cid received a special high-rise intake manifold and Holley 715cfm carburettor, cast aluminium valve covers and oil sump, boosting horsepower to an advertised 306 ponies at 6000rpm.  All 1965 Shelby Mustangs came with a Borg-Warner T10M four-speed transmission and a Detroit Locker rear diff, along with heavily reworked suspension consisting of Koni shock absorbers all round, a thicker front anti-roll bar and rear traction over-riders.  Shelby also upgraded the Mustang’s brakes, adding Kelsey-Hayes front discs and metallic rear brake linings.  Finished exclusively in Wimbledon White (with optional Le Mans stripes), the GT350 certainly looked the business, with a fibreglass bonnet topped with a functional hood scoop, along with Kelsey-Hayes steel wheels (wider Crager rims were optional).  The interior was dressed up with a special three-spoke Cobra steering wheel, dash-mounted tachometer and oil pressure gauges, while a lightweight single-piece shelf replaced the rear seat.  Shelby ultimately built 521 production GT350s in 1965, plus a further 34 competition R-models, a couple of prototypes and just four factory drag cars (a further nine were dealer prepared for drag racing).  Considered the purest, most desirable Shelby Mustangs of all, the 1965s are the closest to Carroll Shelby’s original vision for creating a street racer and consequently command a significant premium over subsequent models.