Related Gallery 1968 Shelby EXP 500 "The Green Hornet": Barrett-Jackson 2013
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Barrett-Jackson Lot: 5022 - 1968 SHELBY EXP 500 "THE GREEN HORNET"
The legendary Shelby prototype Green Hornet enjoys the distinct history of being one of the very few factory prototypes from that era that survived the crusher. It represents a rolling history of what was happening within Ford and Shelby American in the heyday of the American muscle car era. In 1967 the Ford team was impressed with a prototype Mustang known as "Li'l Red" which inspired the "California Special" also known as the GT/CS. As a result of this effort, two prototypes were built. One of those prototypes was VIN 8F01S104288, a Lime Gold, 1968 Mustang notchback, with a deluxe Ivy Gold interior, 390 V8 engine and C6 automatic transmission. After completing the show circuit, the decision was made not to move forward with the GT/SC program, but instead of being scrapped, the Lime Gold notchback was sent to Shelby American to once again become a prototype, this time for a different kind of Mustang...a Shelby. It was going to be an experimental Shelby, EXP 500, a prototype that would become fondly known as "The Green Hornet." Many modifications were done, as the Green Hornet became the platform for innovation in design, performance and handling, including an experimental Conelec fuel injection system, independent rear suspension and a unique rear disc brake configuration. The Green Hornet became the pet-project of Fred Goodell, Chief Engineer at Shelby American, and both Fred and Carroll Shelby himself spent a lot of time testing and developing components for this project. The destiny of most all concepts and prototypes of the era, especially when the concept did not make it into production, was to meet their demise at the business-end of a crusher. In the case of the Green Hornet, fate intervened, and a Ford executive's fondness for the car, and his ability to wrangle some paperwork, saved the Green Hornet from the crusher and allowed it to slip into the mainstream where it enjoyed a somewhat mundane existence for decades until it was rediscovered and restored back to its former glory. The provenance and story of this incredibly significant piece of Ford, Shelby, and muscle car history is widely publicized and documented. For decades it was thought that the Green Hornet had been destroyed like "Li'l Red" and its celebrated existence had become nothing more than urban legend. When the Green Hornet was discovered to be alive and well and documented by none other than Fred Goodell himself, it was nothing short of miraculous. The Green Hornet's provenance of being a double-prototype, and an experimental platform for innovation and design, puts it into a unique category and represents the best of the best at both Ford and Shelby at the time. Arguably the rarest and most desirable Shelby Mustang of all time, with a documented provenance verifying its authenticity and history, it is, as Carroll said: "the one and only Green Hornet."
News Source: Barrett-Jackson, Speed
Image Credit: Copyright 2013 Drew Phillips / AOL
Category: Aftermarket, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Videos, Ford, Specialty
Tags: 1968 ford mustang shelby exp 500, barrett-jackson, barrett-jackson 2013, exp 500, ford, mustang, shelby, the green hornet
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