This ultra-rare 1965 Shelby race car just shattered records after years hidden away in private ownership.
A little more than six weeks ago, we covered one of the rarest Mustangs ever built — a 1965 Shelby GT350R. Sure, every Shelby from the mid-1960s carries serious collector value, but some cars sit in a completely different league. This particular GT350R has now officially become the most expensive production-spec example ever sold.
At the recent Mecum Indy 2026 auction, chassis SFM5R106 stole the spotlight among American muscle cars. The Shelby became the highest-selling American vehicle at the event and the only domestic car to crack the top ten overall auction results.
Interestingly, nearly every other car in that elite group wore an Italian badge. Ferraris dominated the list, while a Maserati and Lamborghini Miura also landed among the biggest sales. Yet the Shelby was the only Detroit-built machine to push past the two-million-dollar barrier, setting a fresh benchmark for production GT350R models.
Within Shelby history, only the legendary prototype known as the “Flying Mustang” — chassis 5R002 — sits above it. Mecum sold that factory prototype back in 2020 for a staggering $3.85 million. But among the 34 customer-built racing GT350Rs produced for 1965, this car is now the undisputed king.
The GT350R represented a huge turning point for Ford performance. It marked the moment when the Mustang transformed from a stylish commuter coupe into a legitimate SCCA race weapon. Ford wanted the Mustang competing in the SCCA’s B-Production class, and homologation rules required at least 100 road-going examples before the race car could legally compete.
That responsibility landed on Carroll Shelby and the crew at Shelby American in Venice, California.
Ford shipped specially prepared K-Code fastback Mustangs from the San Jose assembly plant. These cars came equipped with the famous 289-cubic-inch Hi-Po V8 producing 271 horsepower, Borg-Warner four-speed manual transmissions, and heavy-duty rear axles borrowed from Ford station wagons.
Once the cars arrived at Shelby American, they were stripped down aggressively. Rear seats, insulation, radios, exhaust systems, and even some trim pieces disappeared. A small number of cars arrived with almost nothing inside — no side glass, heaters, upholstery, or defrosters. Those bare shells became the foundation for the hardcore R-model race cars.
Shelby ultimately built 526 street GT350s and only 36 competition-spec R-models, including two factory prototypes. The remaining 34 customer cars received heavily modified engines with upgraded cylinder heads, Holley carburetors, Cobra intake manifolds, and special Cyclone headers exiting ahead of the rear wheels.
Those upgrades pushed output far beyond the standard street version, with dyno numbers reportedly ranging between 325 and 360 horsepower.
Weight savings played a major role in the car’s engineering. Standard glass windows were swapped for lightweight Plexiglas pieces, while aluminum-framed side windows shaved off additional pounds. Even the rear window design was modified to improve airflow through the cabin, helping add roughly five mph to top speed.
The suspension and body also received major upgrades. Fiberglass front bodywork improved cooling, widened fenders housed magnesium racing wheels, and the suspension setup included Koni shocks, lowered control arms, traction bars, and a Detroit Locker differential.
Chassis SFM5R106 was among the earliest customer race cars completed. Factory records show it arrived at Shelby American on December 21, 1964, before its race conversion wrapped up in June 1965.
The car was eventually ordered through Jack Loftus Ford in Illinois for private racer Richard “Dick” Jordan. Shelby’s invoice totaled $6,105 — more than double the price of a normal Mustang at the time.
Jordan even had to complete the Carroll Shelby High Performance Driving School before taking delivery of the car.
Once he got it, he wasted no time putting it on track. Just ten days after delivery, the Shelby entered its first SCCA event at Road America in Wisconsin.
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jordan raced the fastback across Midwestern circuits including Road America, Wilmot Raceway, Clermont, and Lynndale Farms. The car regularly finished near the front of the B-Production field and developed a respected reputation among regional racers.
Unlike many vintage race cars, this GT350R avoided years of heavy modifications or dismantling. After retiring from competition in the early 1970s, the car went directly into dry storage and remained untouched for 21 years under Jordan’s ownership.
That long preservation period helped the car retain its original body panels, drivetrain, and rare factory racing hardware.
In 1987, collector Paul Zimmons bought the Shelby and began a historically accurate restoration. The quality of the work earned a Gold Award at the SAAC-18 event in Watkins Glen in 1993. Later owners carefully preserved the car’s concours-level condition.
The Shelby eventually landed with noted expert and author Colin Comer in 2007. During his ownership, the car was painstakingly returned to its exact Road America race configuration from September 1965. Comer tracked down period-correct parts that had become seperated from the car over the decades, including its original magnesium wheels and Plexiglas side windows.
Historical photos helped restore the original race graphics and sponsor decals exactly as they appeared during Dick Jordan’s racing years. At the time, the odometer showed just 4,800 original miles — almost entirely accumulated during its active racing career.
When the car crossed the Mecum Indy 2026 auction block, mileage stood at only 4,930 original miles.
What makes the story even wilder is the fact that this same Shelby failed to sell at Mecum Indy 2021, despite receiving a high bid of $1.2 million. Earlier, in 2012, it sold at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction for $990,000 including fees.
The car still retains its numbers-matching 289 V8, original Borg-Warner four-speed transmission, and factory rear differential. One especially cool detail is the underside of the fiberglass hood, still carrying the authentic signature of original GT350 project engineer Chuck Cantwell.
Its massive value was also backed by an unbelievbly complete paperwork archive. The sale included original Shelby American invoices, dealership sales documents, shipping records from O’Hare Airport, original Illinois registration paperwork, and correspondence between Shelby executives and the dealership.
The file also included Dick Jordan’s original Shelby driving school graduation plaque and a large collection of vintage racing photographs.
That unmatched documentation, combined with the car’s originality and uninterrupted ownership history, helped push bidding to an incredible $2.75 million final sale price — including buyer fees — making it the new benchmark for production Shelby GT350R models.