Ken Miles' 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R sells for $3.85 million

Hubert · Jul 18, 2020

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/11/1965-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350r-ken-miles-auction/

The prototype 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R, famed for being raced by Ken Miles, sold Friday at Mecum's 33rd Original Spring Classic in Indianapolis for $3.85 million, making it the highest selling Mustang of all time.

Mspeedster · Jul 18, 2020

Interesting, that's higher than the Bullitt Mustang, which we didn't think it would top.

I think the Ford v Ferrari movie's timing & success likely helped a lot. I personally would prefer this GT350R over McQueen's Bullitt movie car, I guess I'm not alone.

Hubert · Jul 18, 2020

Yes, this one may be hard to beat!

kappa_md · Jul 18, 2020

Ken Miles, the true racer that he is, and probably an unsung hero for Ford, made his Mustang truly unique and up to an extreme level! Imagine a piece of history, Ford beating a Ferrari 😉

The best premium pieces in life are really those that exhibit a unique and defining story of man and machine 😎

Mr_Orange · Jul 18, 2020

Mspeedster
Interesting, that's higher than the Bullitt Mustang, which we didn't think it would top.

I think the Ford v Ferrari movie's timing & success likely helped a lot. I personally would prefer this GT350R over McQueen's Bullitt movie car, I guess I'm not alone.

Bullitt was just a normal Mustang though, albeit with the McQueen name attached to it. The GT350R is a real machine with a real racer who died doing what he loved.

kappa_md · Jul 18, 2020

Mr_Orange
Bullitt was just a normal Mustang though, albeit with the McQueen name attached to it. The GT350R is a real machine with a real racer who died doing what he loved.

This 👍

Mspeedster · Jul 18, 2020

Mr_Orange
Bullitt was just a normal Mustang though, albeit with the McQueen name attached to it. The GT350R is a real machine with a real racer who died doing what he loved.

I don't disagree.

Even so, I had speculated that the McQueen attachment and a very famous movie chase scene might carry more clout with regards to collectible status. To my pleasant surprise, such was not the case. Having said that, Ford v Ferrari made Ken Miles much more famous than he was before. I highly doubt that many non-Ford/Shelby fans even really knew who Ken Miles was before the movie. If the movie had never been made, I suspect the Bullitt car would have retained its title as the most expensive Mustang ever sold.

abrod520 · Jul 18, 2020

Competition provenance, especially with a well-known driver, tends to bring more money from a totally different level of buyer.

(Ken Miles isn't terribly well-known outside of racing circles but in them he's quite respected. Kind of like Bruce McLaren - everybody wants a car with his name on it but they have no clue who it's named after)