Carroll Shelby’s Personal GT500 Was Once Owned By Superman’s Boss

Buying cars with famous names in the history file can be an expensive business. In early 2021 someone parted with $5.94 million at a Mecum auction to take home a 427 Cobra once owned by Carroll Shelby, but there are cheaper ways to sit your ass in the same chair that once supported Shel’s butt cheeks.

Primed for an appearance at Mecum’s Kissimee, Florida, sale in January 2023, and first spotted by Silodrome is this very tasty example of one of the less well known versions of Shelby’s original run of fast Mustangs, the 1969 GT500. Featuring an extended snout, a fiberglass hood with three on-trend NACA ducts and an interesting upswept center-mounted exhaust, the 1969 Shelby Mustangs looked far more different from Ford’s own cars than previous versions had.

This was the last full year for Shelby Mustangs. Ford and Carroll parted company in mid-1969 and though a few vehicles went out as 1970 models, they were in reality cars left over from the previous year. Entry-level GT350 cars were powered by a fairly mild 351 cu-in (5.8-liter) Ford V8 that made just 290 hp / 294 PS (and probably more like 250 hp /254 PS according to modern testing methods), but the top dog GT500 came with a beefy 428 cu-in. (7.0-liter) mill rated at 335 hp (340 PS).

Related: Reverse Restomod Takes 2008 Ford Mustang Back To 1969 And The Shelby GT

Both could be ordered with either a four-speed manual transmission or the three-speed auto Mr Shelby’s car has. But Carroll didn’t order it that way because he didn’t order it at all. He acquired the GT500 in later life, by which time it had passed through several hands, including those of actor and director Jackie Cooper, who you might know as grouchy Daily Planet boss, Perry White, in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies of the 1970s and 1980s.

Mecum’s auction listing doesn’t come with an estimated sale price for the fully restored fastback, but digging around on the internet we discovered that the same car was previously offered by classic car dealer Daniel Schmitt & Co for $200k. That’s not beer money, but it’s certainly a lot less than you’d have to pay to get your hands on a genuine 1960s Cobra sports car with the great man’s name in its ownership history.