The prize is a 1968 Ford Mustang from Carroll Shelby’s personal collection. Nicknamed the Black Hornet, it is scheduled to be auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson at the company’s event in Scottsdale, Arizona, taking place Jan. 21-29.
During the 1960s, Shelby American worked closely with Ford to develop new Mustang variants, keeping a handful of Mustangs around as development mules. Shelby tended to give them color-coordinated nicknames, like Little Red and Green Hornet. According to the auction listing, the Black Hornet was built as a modern homage to the latter, but with a different color and some other changes.
1968 Ford Mustang Black Hornet (Photo by Barrett-Jackson)
The Black Hornet features a 428 cubic inch V8 that drives the rear wheels through a 4-speed manual instead of the Green Hornet’s 390 cubic inch V8 and automatic transmission. The notchback coupe also shares many of the Green Hornet’s styling cues, including a twin-pipe hood and “EXP 500” badging, but lacks the original car’s fuel injection system and independent rear suspension.
The listing states that Shelby oversaw the build and put 213 miles on the car before transferring ownership to “his charitable foundation” on December 29, 2008. An authentic Shelby-owned Mustang in the Shelby Worldwide Registry.
1968 Ford Mustang Black Hornet (Photo by Barrett-Jackson)
What appears to be the same car was listed in a 2020 Mecum auction catalog and that listing has a few more details. It is said that Shelby hired Legendary GT Continuation Cars to build the Black Hornet, which was then donated to home decor retailer Restoration Hardware for an eBay charity auction benefiting the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation.
Mecum released a pre-auction estimate of $275,000 to $325,000 for its 2020 auction, although it’s unclear if the hammer price fell into that range. Barrett-Jackson CEO Craig Jackson once turned down a $1.9 million bid for the original Green Hornet, and while this tribute car isn’t as valuable as an actual Shelby prototype, the connection to Carroll Shelby might justify it right buyer mean a lot.
