Incredibly Rare 1967 Ford Shelby EXP Prototype Discovered In A Field

Ford made what many consider to be the ultimate Mustang back in the late '60s and of those cars the most desirable of the lot are the Shelby versions. One particularly desirable, and lost, car from the era was a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 EXP Prototype car dubbed "Little Red." That car is considered the "Holy Grail" of lost collector cars and it has been located in Texas.

The rare car was found by a team that included Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson auctions. The reason the car was so rare and desirable is that it is the only GT500 coupe hardtop that was built by Shelby American. The car was also the second GT500 coupe to be serialized and completed. The car was lost for decades and thought for a long time to have been destroyed.

It was found sitting in a rural field in North Texas where it had been stored in the elements for two decades. Little Red is a big-block Shelby notchback coupe and was the only GT coupe ordered with the factory equipped dual-quad carbs. Other features included a restyled body and the addition of a Paxton supercharger to the big block engine.

The unique style of the car was eventually used by Ford as the 1968 Mustang California Special. Little Red was eventually moved to storage and thought to be lost. The car has been fully verified and is undergoing a complete restoration.

The first image here is Little Red as it was found sitting in the field in Texas. The black and white image is of the car when it was new in the '60s. The restoration is said to be one of the most meticulous restoration projects in American car collector history and can be followed here.

SOURCE: Barrett-Jackson