Car of the Month – April, 2023

Andy Granatelli, of Indianapolis 500 fame, called Carroll Shelby in 1965 with the idea of offering a supercharging kit as a Shelby GT350 option. Shelby loaned an early GT350 to Granatelli who subsequently demonstrated the prototype in July of 1965.

It was a straightforward conversion that completely transformed the GT350. Awed by the car’s increased performance, Shelby made the package a special-order option in 1967.

The new 1967 Shelby model, drastically restyled, reflected the look of performance while also being able to deliver it. A unique grill with two seven-inch driving lights could be found under the fiberglass nose extension, which was exaggerated from the production Mustang. Equipped with the special-order Paxton supercharger, 4-barrel carburetor and Carter high-volume fuel pump, and with over 390 horsepower on tap, these cars were capable of 0-60 in less than six seconds and topped out at over 150 mph – astounding performance for that era.