By Zach Doell
When a band comes out with a multi-platinum debut album, the challenge of topping the charts becomes an even loftier goal. The same can be said in the automotive world, but not of Carroll Shelby, no…he was quite good at turning-out repeat hits.
The Shelby GT500KR was one of those smash hits. By 1968, the Ford and Shelby partnership had done well on the track-ready GT350 as well as the potent Shelby GT500 with its big block 427 and ‘Police Interceptor’ 428 V8.
Then beginning that year, Shelby yanked out the aging 428 and dropped in its Cobra Jet 428, which added the KR suffix – dubbed ‘King of the Road’ – onto the GT500. The fastback’s performance was quick, and given the knockout looks – its street cred lived up to its royal name.
This gorgeously restored 1968 GT500KR is up for sale at RK Motors Charlotte, one of just 530 manual KR fastbacks produced that year. The body wears a brilliant shade of Wimbledon White, flanked by the iconic blue GT500KR side stripes and spearheaded by the ‘SHELBY’ script laid out up front. Not exactly a sight you’d want to see in your rear-view mirror.
Tucked underneath the fiberglass hood sits the car’s original 428-cid Cobra Jet V8, rebuilt from top to bottom. The snarling hood scoops at the front funnel air through the Cobra Jet ram-air intake and feed the Holley carburetor, outputting around 335-horsepower.
Inside you’ll find a well-sorted black interior, fit with a gorgeous chrome- and wood-trimmed dash and steering wheel. At your right hand and of course putting power to the ground is the car’s four-speed manual gearbox, connected to the correct Ford nine-inch rear axle. Glance at the vintage gauges and the odometer reads 95,518 miles.
If you’re interested – and you should be – the classic GT500KR is retailing at RK Motors for $189,900. You always wanted to be the ‘King of the Road,’ right?
Source: RK Motors
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