The very last first-generation Shelby GT350 can be yours in two weeks. This yellow SportsRoof was the final GT350 built in 1970, and consequently the last classic Shelby GT350 ever produced. It will cross the RM Auctions stage during the Pebble Beach automotive festivities in Monterey, California, August 16-17.
Unlike earlier GT350 models, the 1970 GT350 was built by Ford rather than in-house at Shelby. Production of Shelby Mustangs transitioned to Ford in 1967, and each year thereafter the Blue Oval gave Carroll less influence over his namesake muscle car. By 1969, almost all Shelby Mustang design and development was done in-house at Ford, and Shelby canceled the agreement in 1969. Under the watchful eye of the FBI, Ford updated the 789 unsold 1969 Shelby Mustangs with black hood stripes, a front air dam and 1970 VINs and data plates.
Regardless, this matching numbers example should be appealing to collectors. In addition to being the last GT350 built, the car is a documented one-of-a-kind with an automatic transmission, black bucket seats and AM/8 Track stereo radio, all dressed in rare Grabber Yellow and powered by a 290-horsepower 351 Windsor V8 with a four-barrel carburetor. The current owner – the car’s third – has been its curator since 1980 and has added fewer than 200 of the car’s 27,000 total miles.
“First” cars are usually big hits at auction—”VIN #001″ on a sign is an eye-catcher. It will be interesting to see how being the “last” affects the value of this one. RM puts the price tag of the car at $200,000 to $250,000, but no 1970 GT350 has previously sold near the six figure mark. We’ll let you know what the car sells for in a few weeks and have some live photos from Monterey for you as well.
