Win-Win? Buy This 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mule, Help A Charity

The 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 is a ridiculously fast car, but Ford’s newest GT500 on sale at Barrett-Jackson has a bit more pedigree than the others: it’s a development mule that was allegedly once piloted by Ol’ Shel himself.

The car was one of the vehicles that served as a development mule over the past four years. Ford says that the body was originally made in 2007 as it was readying the 2010 Mustang refresh, and then became a Shelby mule.

That, of course, means that this car has the almost-ridiculous 5.8-liter supercharged V-8 engine, which puts out 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. Ford claims it’s the most powerful production V-8 engine on the market today. To make sure, say, that V-8 engine wouldn’t implode with customers behind the wheel, the Ford Special Vehicles Team ran the car on the Sebring International Raceway for 24 hours straight, at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. Ford didn’t say exactly when Carroll Shelby drove the car, only that he drove it during testing.

The final car that will be on the block on January 21^st in Scottsdale, Arizona, will be painted a dark shade of gray, and will boast a full roll cage, six-point harnesses, and racing seats donated by Recaro North America. SVT engineers also signed the underside of the hood. Ford promises that Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas, will be on hand at the Scottsdale sale to greet the auction winner.

The downside? For liability reasons, Ford’s selling this with a bill of sale only, meaning the car can’t legally be registered or insured for street use. That said, it is a one-off bit of history that Mustang enthusiasts may want to add to their collection. Better yet, all proceeds from the sale will go to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

 

Source: Motor Trend