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Shelby Time Machine—1965 Shelby GT350 “Advanced Prototype”

Just as Carroll Shelby’s original Ford-powered Cobra roadster set a new standard for high performance in a sports car, the 1964 announcement of the new Ford Mustang reset the American public’s expectations for affordable performance in a mass-production automobile. One of the most inspired and brilliantly targeted products in automotive history, the Mustang’s meteoric rise to fame was unprecedented, appealing to the broadest cross-section of consumers ever encountered in Ford’s decades of market research. It was therefore inevitable that Ford would approach Carroll Shelby—already leading the charge in the company’s Total Performance campaign—to instill the Mustang with the performance needed to dominate SCCA B Production competition. Shelby’s answer to Ford’s command, the 1965 Shelby GT350, is firmly entrenched as a genuine American automotive treasure.

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Casey M. Annis is the Founder and Editor of Vintage Road & Racecar magazine, as well as Editor of Alfa Owner, The Oily Rag and BMW Ultimate Classic magazines. He founded Parabolica Publishing in 1997 after a career in neurobiology. Along with his passion for automobiles, Casey is a long distance open-ocean paddleboard racer who’s competed over 10 times in the 32-mile Catalina to Manhattan Beach race and the 32-mile Molokai to Oahu race. Casey still contributes and writes about the world of vintage road and racecars and edits and curates the content for this website.
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