It’s been almost 50 years since Carroll Shelby and Ford began their successful partnership, and anyone who has read Road & Track over the years knows that we relish seat time in any Shelby-tuned machine. Together, Ford and Shelby have produced hit after hit with both race and street cars, and now someone very lucky owns the 2005 Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept Platform Model. That’s right, the GR-1 first unveiled at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance just sold for $75,000. Sure, this V-10 concept car is just a roller, but it is also a slice of history—the GR-1 was built on the success of the Cobra concept that nabbed Best in Show at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show.
Built in what is almost Road & Track’s backyard in Southern California, the GR-1 was first sketched at the Irvine Advanced Design Studio by George Saridakis. His design then caught the eye of Ford’s Head of Design, J Mays. The rest is history.
The muscular GR-1 Concept is based on a highly modified version of the Ford GT platform, and is a front-engine fastback whose race-inspired design pays respect to the 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe, right down to the 12-spoke 19-in. wheels. With a long hood, vents and air dam reaching back to 2-seat cockpit, plus a Kamm tail, quad exhaust and vertical taillamps, the GR-1 was a concept built for Shelby speed.
One more good thing to come from this sale? The full $75,000 is being donated by Ford to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
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