Special 2013 Shelby GT500 at Barrett-Jackson is Prototype piloted by Carroll Shelby

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The 2012 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car auction kicked off today in Scottsdale, Arizona with a slew of Ford Mustangs and Shelby’s going across the block. One of the highlights of this auction is Lot# 3043, a special 2013 Shelby GT500 ‘Durability Car’ that up until now was thought to be production #001 but that’s not the case. In fact this Shelby GT500 ‘Durability Car’ is more like a prototype of sorts for the 2013 model as it was hand built by Ford SVT engineers using input from Carroll Shelby.

The Shelby GT500 ‘Durability Car’ was tested at Sebring International Raceway, the High-Speed Oval track at the Arizona Proving Ground and the Route 66 road course to name a few. As an added bonus this GT500 prototype was driven by Carroll Shelby during its many hours of rigorous testing.

Shelby was overjoyed with the end result saying, “I’m really proud to have my name on this car that you guys [Ford SVT Team] have put together working with my dreams of what I think a car should be. And you made it that and more,”.

The GT500 Durability Car features the 5.8L supercharged aluminum-block V8 engine that cranks out 650hp and 600 lb/ft of torque, making it one of the most powerful production cars ever built. Handling is world-class with a TORSEN limited-slip differential, carbon fiber one-piece drive shaft, front and rear Bilstein adjustable dampers, performance-tuned front and rear springs and front and rear stabilizer bars. Braking is taken care of by way of 6-piston Brembo front brake calipers, ABS Ventilated 4-wheel disc brakes and Electronic brake distribution.

This vehicle cannot be titled and will be registered in the Official Shelby American Registry.

The GT500 prototype is being auctioned to benefit JDRF at approximately 8:30PM Saturday, Jan. 21st.