Beschreibung:

The Ford-powered 1963-1964 Shelby Cobra was a rousing success on street and track. Even as it made Carroll Shelby a global celebrity, the Cobra was also, by association building Ford’s credibility in the emerging market for high-performance cars. It was perhaps inevitable that Shelby and Ford Motor Co. would become formal partners. All they needed was a mutually viable project. It was agreed that creating a Mustang capable of taking on the GM Corvette in sports car competition was a worthy goal...and very soon, development of just such a car was underway at Shelby’s Los Angeles facility. The production Shelby Mustang GT350, based on the production Mustang Fastback, was released in late January 1965. Just its appearance all but guaranteed it would be a sensation. But there was much more to the Shelby GT350 than looks. The suspension was heavily modified, with many all-out racing parts replacing factory units. Underhood was a Ford 289 Hi-Performance V-8; rated at 271-hp from the factory, it had been modified by Shelby engineers to produce 306 hp. A rugged 4-speed manual was standard. Exterior changes were simple, but effective. A no-frills grille insert was installed, with a Mustang badge at the left, and a subtle hood scoop was added to the hood. The car had the aggressive stance of a warrior; ready and able to do whatever it took to win. For the 1965 model year, the GT350 was offered only in Ford Wimbledon White, with blue stripes. The black interior featured a roll bar and competition seat belts, reminders that this was essentially an all-out racecar in street clothing. Rugged and challenging to drive in normal traffic, the GT350 was at home on the track. It immediately gave the Mustang a huge image boost. The good news continued as specially prepared GT350R models won the SCCA production sports car championship three times in a row – 1965, 1966 and 1967. After building 562 Shelby GT350s as 1965 models (12 of them GT350R competition cars), the Shelby facility in Los Angeles turned to 1966 production (in fact, the first 253 Shelby Mustangs as 1966 cars would actually be cars produced by Ford to be 1965 models...Shelby applied their 1966 VIN over the 1965 numbers). The transition resulted in quite a few variables in the detail of the cars built during that period, making authentication of details for them both frustrating and fascinating for today’s collectors. Refinements to the GT350 for 1966 included replacing the air-extractor grills on the fastback body’s sail panels with Plexiglas triangular windows and opening up the body side scoops so that they functioned as rear brake cooling ducts. Subtle changes to the suspension components gave the car a level ride height (the ’65 had a lowered front suspension), wheels were reduced to 14” diameter from 15” and there were other subtle modifications that made the car a tiny bit more comfortable for regular street use. One could now even order an automatic transmission—albeit one set up by Shelby for heavy-duty use. Still, the GT350 was a very fast car, shooting to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds and capable of 132 mph flat out. The 1966 GT350 was also available in colors other than Wimbledon White—the new choices were Candy Apple Red, Sapphire Blue, Ivy Green and Raven Black. Inside, the fold-down rear seat, which had been optional in 1965, was now standard. As in 1965, the 'Le Mans' stripes running over the car from front to back were optional. Production of the 1966 GT350 (including the transitional cars built in late 1965) rose to 2,378. Specific subtotals vary by reference, but apparently about 1400 ’66s were actual GT350 Fastback models, around 1,000 were the GT350H models produced for Hertz Rent-a-Car (mostly, but not all, painted Raven Black), three were GT350R racers and there were even four to six GT350 Convertibles, built for Carroll Shelby. The 1967 Mustang was a new, somewhat larger car, and the Shelby GT350, while still offered, had its power rating reduced to 290-hp. It was also