2011 Shelby GT350 serial #350 Headed for Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction

Shelby American is keeping up their tradition of teaming with Barrett-Jackson on some type of partnership and this time they will be selling serial #350 of the 2011 Shelby GT350 at the BJ Palm Beach event.  After a successful unveiling of the supercharged concept of the 2011 Shelby GT350 at the Barrett-Jackson Collector car auction in January Shelby American will offer up probably the most important VIN to the public.  The 2011 Shelby GT350 will not be produced by Ford Motor Company but rather by Shelby American in it's Las Vegas facility as a post-title package.  Those who purchase the post-title package will have to buy a 2011 Mustang GT and make arrangements for it to be shipped to Shelby American where the conversion will be done.

With the price tag of the new Shelby GT350 post-title package at an MSRP of $33,995 will there even be a serial number 350 being produced.  Another question I really want to know is where are they going to find 349 people to pay that ridiculous amount of money for basically a supercharged 5.0-liter Mustang with suspension and appearance upgrades.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.

The 2010 Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach event will be held April 1-3 at Americraft Expo Center in the South Florida Fairgrounds.  As always the SPEED channel will have live coverage of the event.

For more on the 2011 Shelby GT350 #350 and the Palm Beach BJ event check out the press release below from Shelby American.

Press Release:

Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CSBI), will sell serial number 350 2011 GT350 at No Reserve during the 8th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Palm Beach. The American muscle car will be part of the automotive lifestyle event April 1-3, 2010, at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds. SPEED will broadcast more than 22 hours of live, high-definition TV coverage of the auction.

"Over the past several years, we've offered several prototypes, concepts and special serial numbered contemporary collector cars to the public, which has been a significant break from the traditional approach that car makers once followed with such important cars," said Barrett-Jackson Chairman/CEO, Craig Jackson. "At one time, it was common for these cars to be destroyed or sold to industry insiders instead of being available to the general car collector hobby. The automakers have begun to turn to us as the best, most democratic way to offer these cars."

The Shelby team unveiled a supercharged concept version of the Mustang-based 2011 Shelby GT350 at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale in January to honor the 45th anniversary of the first GT350 and first Shelby big block Cobra. It was an immediate hit when Carroll Shelby and his team brought back the famous nameplate after more than 40 years.

"There was a great deal of pent up demand for the first GT350 since the 1970 model year," stated Amy Boylan, president of Shelby American. "We chose to introduce the car at Barrett-Jackson because the people who attend their events are among the most passionate car enthusiasts in the world. Thus, we will reward that loyalty by offering a very special serial number to their bidders."

The Shelby GT350 is a post title program; a customer purchases a car from a local Ford Dealer, which is turned into a GT350 by the Shelby American Team. A limited number will be built in the 2011 model year. A Ford Mustang GT can be dropped shipped by a Ford dealer to Shelby's Las Vegas facility for conversion or a customer can arrange to have a properly specified car transported to the factory.