Barrett-Jackson And Russo And Steele Auto Auctions - Shock And Awe

A new Shelby GT500 was next. The new Shelby had not been released yet, so what was this? A Ford spokesman explained it was a prototype. It would cross the block, but the winning bidder would not get this car. He or she would receive "a low VIN or early customer car, yet to be built."

Edsel Ford was driving and Carroll Shelby was riding shotgun. The crowd went wild as they exited the GT500 and walked to the podium. Shelby noted the proceeds would go to the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation. During the auction, Shelby pulled off his black cowboy hat and started waving it in the air, inciting the crowd. It was a great time for Mustang and Shelby enthusiasts, and the highlight of both auctions, in our opinion. Ford had auctioned off the first Ford GT a couple years earlier at a sale price of $500,000. The new Shelby Mustang, however, brought $600,000.

There were more surprises ahead, one that shows how unpredictable Barrett-Jackson can be. A '70 Hemi 'Cuda hardtop had just brought $450,000, maybe a world's record. The next car up was a black '68 Cobra Jet Mustang fastback. Signs with big letters read Hemi Hunter. We didn't think the fastback would be anything special so we walked out of the auction tent for a breather. A few minutes later, Hajek told us the CJ brought a whopping $475,000. Then somebody else said, no, it was half a million.

Whether this '68 was one of the 50 drag cars, we do not know. Hajek believes it was a Folger Ford (California dealer) car that Chuck Folger might have raced. Later, Ed Meyer, the Boss 429 enthusiast from Indiana, ascribed the car to Ted Diller, the same seller who put a new Shelby aluminum 427 in a black '67 GT500 a couple years ago and brought a then-world's record $270,000.

Soon the FR-500 race car was on the block. Brent was there and the TV crews were asking him questions. Brent bid the FR-500 race car up to $135,000, and then got out. The bid kept climbing to around $170,000, where it sold. Brent commented that we would have to wait ten years before it was a collector car. Apparently, collectors know factory race cars are special from the day they become available.

Another celebrity with a Mustang at the sale was Chip Foose, the famous designer we see on TV every week. Unique Performance brought out a Chip Foose Stallion, a 2006 model, which we'll see in showrooms soon.

"We expected $70,000," Bobby Mikus of Unique Performance said. The final bid was almost a hundred grand higher. The list shows the price with commission at $167,400.

Another Unique Performance Mustang was the '65 GT350SR that was on Mustang Monthly's January cover. Car #001 of 40 to be built, this silver fastback sold for an amazing $307,800. Anybody can buy one of the other 39 for less from Unique, but having the first one off the line is definitely special.

The high price here suggests bidders are most concerned about the condition of the vehicle. However, when a 6,000-mile, white, '68 Shelby GT500KR came up for sale, it set a world's record price for its collector value, at over $400,000. Barrett-Jackson lists the total with commissions at $432,000.

We have to question whether such a price indicative of the current market. Nobody can answer conclusively. Perusing the list, there is a higher price, $442,000, for a restored, red-with-white-stripes '67 GT500 fastback.