Six-Figure Shelby
Ford’s one-of-a-kind GT350 raises $295,000 for EAA Young Eagles
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
As we recently shared, Ford Motor Company again donated a unique Mustang for auction at the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Gathering of Eagles held during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This year’s vehicle began as a Shelby GT350 but it was modified in tribute to the Ole Yeller P-51D Mustang aircraft that Bob Hoover flew to set the coast-to-coast prop plane record of five hours and 20 minutes.
The Ole Yeller Shelby sold for $295,000 and all proceeds of that auction will benefit EAA’s youth education programs, which have offered free flight instruction to 2 million aspiring young aviators.
“This year’s one-of-a-kind Ford Mustang honors two aviation greats, the iconic and historic P-51D Mustang fighter plane, and highly decorated fighter pilot, test pilot and air show performer, Bob Hoover, who is referred to by many as one of the greatest pilots ever to have lived,” Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the Ford board of directors, said when the auction was announced. “The Shelby GT350 Mustang, with its nimbleness, speed and aerodynamics, provided us with the perfect platform to create this tribute to the P-51D aircraft. Through this project, we take great pride in continuing our support for EAA youth education programs.”
For more on this unique Shelby, you can check out our original story on the auction and by watching this video…
[video=youtube;co04mFfOBwM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=https://youtu.be/co04mFfOBwM[/video]
The Ole Yeller Shelby Mustang is the ninth one-of-a-kind vehicle in a series of vehicles put together by Ford designers and engineers to support the EAA Youth Education programs. Thus far, the Ford vehicles have generated more than $3 million for these programs.
The Ole Yeller Shelby GT350 Mustang that Ford donated to the Gathering of Eagles auction raised $295,000 for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s youth education programs.
