1967 Shelby GT500 Convertible 428 CI Dual-Quad, Automatic. Only One Built
It was the only one ever built, and it was never meant to survive its brief career as a unique Shelby American engineering test car, but here it is: the one, the only 1967 Shelby GT500 convertible! That in itself is enough to make this Candy Apple Red, 428-powered beast a sure-fire collector car hit, but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story.
With his personal 1966 GT350 ragtop on its way back to Ford, Shelby ordered a loaded 1967 Mustang convertible and a notchback coupe (converted to GT500 specs and used as a loaner car, test mule and promotional vehicle) that later became famous as “Little Red”. While the notchback was widely exposed to magazine coverage, the ragtop, which had also been upgraded to 1967 Shelby GT500 status, led the quiet life, spending most of its time either as an employee driver or a courtesy car for Shelby customers.
Although unverified, word has it that during this time, while in the hands of a Ford executive whose identity is long forgotten, the car disappeared and was reported to the Ford Motor Company as stolen. While it was eventually recovered, it was gone long enough to escape the corporate policy that had all test and engineering cars destroyed. Whether it was done specifically to disguise the car to save it from the crusher for posterity, or it just seemed like a good idea at the time, the Red convertible was stripped of its 1967 fittings and equipment and transformed into a 1968 model, whereupon it was sold as a used 1968 GT500 convertible.
Thirty years later, the car was purchased from a private owner by the Volo Museum, whose restoration personnel then made the startling discovery that the car was in reality a converted ’67. It was not long before they came to an even more exhilarating conclusion: it was the only 1967 Shelby convertible ever made! Fired by this revelation, the Museum spent seven years researching and documenting the car’s history and authenticity. Studying 1968 sales materials, they discovered that the same car appeared in brochures fitted with 1967 trim pieces, including seat covers, lower dash panels, power top actuator and the high beam indicator on the instrument panel. In addition, they found holes in the dash for a 1967 Shelby emblem and wiring for the 1967 headlights, which was substantially different for 1968 models. All of the trim pieces were dated late in production, when Shelby assembly had already been moved from the Shelby American facility in Los Angeles to A.O. Smith in Michigan.
The Volo Museum displayed the newly restored convertible at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show, where it was reunited with ol’ Shel, who autographed the hood and dashboard. Shelby also contributed a valuable entry in the car’s documentation, a signed letter in which he expressed his surprise at the car’s survival, citing Ford’s policy of destroying experimentals. The letter reads in part, "I am without knowledge how it is this GT500 convertible was not destroyed, other than speculating the theft of the vehicle may have disrupted the standard Ford Motor policy somehow."
Supporting documentation for this car has grown to include a detailed Marti Report that certifies the car as having been built in December of 1966 and coded as a 1967 production build Q3-code Shelby convertible. It was originally equipped with the 428 Police Interceptor engine, C-6 automatic, Air Conditioning and Thermactor, and Black Décor interior. It is the only car with the combination of Candy Apple Red paint, 428 PI engine/C-6 transmission, GT500 designation, White convertible top and production-built as a 1967 Shelby convertible.
That this unique and storied Shelby still survives today at all is nothing short of a miracle; that it has been restored to its original state in every detail, its history well-documented and its stature firmly established as one of the most valuable Shelbys in existence is, well: let’s just say it could only have happened with the name “Shelby” at the center of that story!
Highlights:
- The ONLY 1967 Shelby GT500 convertible ever built
- The ONLY one: Painted this color
With this paint/trim combination
With this engine/transmission
Ordered as a GT500
With White power top
- Marti certified 1967 production build Q3-code Shelby convertible
- Custom ordered by Carroll Shelby as engineering test car
Sold for $825,000
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