Long after the heyday of the original Shelby 289 and 437 Cobras, Carroll Shelby and his crew at Shelby American produced a sports car called the Shelby Series 1 that he designed from the ground up, unlike the Cobras that started as British AC Ace roadsters and were re-engineered with American V8 power. Or unlike Ford Mustangs that were tweaked into becoming Shelby GT350s and GT500s.
The Pick of the Day is a 1999 Shelby Series 1 powered by a supercharged Oldsmobile Aurora V8, with just a minuscule number of miles on its odometer and coming from the collection of a rock-star-champion race driver.
“This incredibly special car comes directly out of the private collection of Racing Hall-of-Famer, 3-Time NASCAR Cup Series Champion, IndyCar Champion, and USAC Triple Crown Champion, Tony Stewart,” according to the Rancho Cordova, California, dealer advertising the car on ClassicCars.com. “Along with a storied racing career, ‘Smoke’ also has excellent taste in collector cars.
“This Series 1 (CSX5197) has seen just 356 original miles since new, making it likely the lowest mileage example in existence.”
Only 249 of the Series 1 sports cars were built for just the 1999 model year, and only a handful came with the supercharged V8s. Forced induction boosted horsepower to around 600, enough to propel the 2,500-pound car to 60 mph in a supercar time of 3.2 seconds.
“Thanks to a body made of lightweight composite materials and an all-aluminum monocoque chassis, these cars have an amazing power-to-weight ratio and one of the stiffest chassis in the world,” the seller notes.
The Series 1 had an unfortunate hard-luck existence, first hampered by costly DOT regulations and then thwarted completely by the sale of Shelby American to a gaggle of venture capitalists. Even after Carroll Shelby reclaimed the rights to the Series I for his new company, Shelby Automobiles, Inc., in 2004, more homologation issues stood in the way so that just a small number of component cars were subsequently built.
This Series 1 with its ridiculously low mileage is essentially a brand-new 20-year-old car that likely will need some sorting after its long hibernation; the ad does not say whether that work has been done to make the car road ready.
Whatever the case, this is one special Shelby on several levels, and most-likely well-worth the asking price of $199,999, or one buck less than $200 grand.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
That much for an Oldsmobile engine ?
Supercharged Northstar just sounds like a bad idea.
when the cobra came out do you remember saying "that much for a Ford falcon engine"?
Car is a bargain for a fat millionaire
I sure wish that engine had been available in the Aurora!!!