Skip to main content

The world’s most expensive pony: a 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake fetches $1.3 million at auction

Shelby 1967 GT500 Super Snake
There’s no way to split it: pony cars are just cool. But are they worth the price that some wealthy baby boomers will pay for them? That’s debatable.

Last year a 1965 Shelby GT350R Mustang sold at auction for $1 million, which made it –at the time – the most expensive Mustang ever. Shockingly, the vehicle you see above has upstaged it: a one-of-one 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake.

Shelby 1967 GT500 Super Snake under hood
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s a rare beast for sure. Under the hood, the motoring masters at Shelby bolted a 427 cubic-inch V8 from a Ford GT40 racecar.

Shelby had planned to build 50 of the ’67 Super Snakes but the $8,000 asking price scared off any interested parties despite the fact that the one-off Snake would be the fastest car Shelby would build in the 1960s, according to Mustangs Daily.

Shelby 1967 GT500 Super Snake interior
Image used with permission by copyright holder

So what does something like that go for? One Mecum auction attendee spent $1.3-million for the Super Snake – plus a seven-percent seller’s commission.

There’s no denying the cool factor of a car like the ’67 Snake but is it $1.3-million cool? Let’s think about that.

Shelby 1967 GT500 Super Snake backend
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While they’re in no way comparable in performance or refinement, a motoring enthusiast can pick up a Pagani Huayra for around that money, if not a bit less. Sure, the Huayra might kill you just like the Snake might but in it you’ll reach the pearly gates at a much higher top speed.

If you’re like us and find yourself shaking your head at the idea of a Mustang fetching over $1 million, you need not do much more than wait for the prices to come back down. As the folks who grew up idolizing these cars begin to leave the auction market, we wager the prices they fetch will also drop off.

If you had $1.3-million to spend on a sports car, what would you get? Tell us in the comments.

Photo credit: Mustangs Daily

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Nick Jaynes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…
Tesla’s fix for faulty Cybertruck pedal is simpler than you might think
Tesla Cybertruck

Less than five months after handing over the first Cybertrucks to customers, Tesla has had to recall the electric pickup to fix an issue with the accelerator.

In a notice issued on Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the recall impacts Cybertruck vehicles manufactured from November 13, 2023, to April 4, 2024. This suggests that all -- or almost all -- of the 3,878 Cybertrucks being recalled are those that have been manufactured to date.

Read more
Ford Mustang Mach-E 2024 vs. Mach-E 2023: What’s new in Ford’s electric Mustang?
Blue Ford Mustang Mach-E on a rooftop

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is easily one of the best EVs for the price, offering a solid range, sleek design, and pretty good tech on the inside. In recent years, it has gotten even cheaper -- thanks in large part to a price war between it and the Tesla Model 3. And, the company just took the wraps off of the latest and greatest version of the Mach-E, labeled as the 2024 model.

The 2024 Mustang Mach-E is notably different from the 2023 iteration in some meaningful ways. So much so that we decided to take a look at the two head-to-head -- to see if it was better to pay for the 2024 model or save some cash on any remaining 2023 stock.
Design
The Mustang Mach-E looks relatively unique -- in a good way. And thankfully, Ford has largely kept the overall design the same for the 2024 model, at least when it comes to the more consumer-focused models. The car retains the slatted taillights and crossover size. It also offers a large selection of colors, including the very blue Grabber Blue Metallic, as well as Rapid Red Metallic. It's a good selection of colors, and there should be an option for most buyers.

Read more
Tesla to begin production on new, more affordable models
Tesla Model 3

With competition increasing from Chinese and other automakers, Tesla boss Elon Musk revealed on Tuesday that his company is planning to begin production of new, more affordable models in “early 2025, if not late this year.” Notably, that's earlier than the previously stated date of late 2025, though whether Musk actually succeeds in meeting the earlier production time frame is another question entirely.

The news came as Tesla released its latest quarterly figures. Revenue for the electric vehicle maker came in at $21.3 billion, down from the $23.3 billion it reported for the same three-month period a year earlier and also down from the $25.2 billion reported in the previous quarter. Profit reached $1.1 billion, marking a 55% fall compared to the same period a year ago.

Read more