With its striking yellow paint scheme and neon green accents, this Ford Shelby GT350 isn't your average pony car. That's because it was inspired by one of the best-known fighter aircraft ever to take to the skies.
Nicknamed Ole Yeller, the special Shelby GT350 is sort of a road-going version of an especially legendary P-51D Mustang fighter plane, which still holds the record for coast-to-coast travel for a propeller-driven aircraft (5 hours, 20 minutes, set in 1985—if you're counting). A regular flyer even today, the winged Ole Yeller is based in the Legacy Flight Museum in Rexburg, Idaho.
This is the ninth year in a row in which Ford has taken the wraps off a specially-modified Mustang set to be auctioned off in July at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture aircraft show's Gathering of Eagles in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
This year's GT350 had input from a number of Ford designers, as well as aftermarket suppliers including Brembo, BASF, Pirelli, 3M, Recaro, and PIAA. Special carbon-fiber components complement its yellow paint and Ole Yeller badging. At its core, the GT350 is unmodified and includes the automaker's 526-horsepower 5.2-liter V-8 and Tremec 6-speed manual gearbox.
Ford and the EAA will display the special 'Stang at Ford's AirVenture hangar during the entire event, which benefits the group's youth education programs.
