1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R Driven By Ken Miles Sets An Auction Record

One of the biggest movies of last year was the "Ford v Ferrari" flick that detailed how and why Ford decided to challenge Ferrari at Le Mans in the 60s. One of the key and iconic figures to that program was legendary racer Ken Miles, portrayed in the film by Christian Bale. The actual prototype 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R that the real Ken Miles raced recently crossed the auction block at the Mecum auction in Indianapolis and set a record when the gavel fell.

The iconic racing car sold for $3.85 million, making it the highest-selling Mustang of all time. Other than having been driven by Miles, the car was the first Shelby R-Model competition car built and was the first Shelby Mustang to win a race. The vehicle was originally a Shelby American Factory team car and was an engineering test vehicle.

The car is hailed as the most historically significant Shelby Mustang in the world. In addition to being wheeled by Ken Miles, it was also driven extensively by other iconic racing drivers, including Bob Bondurant, Chuck Cantwell, Peter Brock, and Jerry Titus. The vehicle racked up more than ten first-place finishes in B-production during the 1965 SCCA racing season.

Ultimately, Jerry Titus won the 1965 B-Production National Championship thanks to points he had earned driving 5R002 earlier in the season. Improvements that Shelby made to the iconic racing car were also included in the second team car and 34 customer R-models that were produced.

The vehicle was professionally restored to the original Green Valley 1965 racing debut livery and has numerous show circuit wins to its credit. Some argue that this specific car is the most important Mustang in the history of the brand.