When Ford announced the new generation of the Mustang Shelby GT500 at the Detroit IMS in January 2019, it painted the first production unit vivid green and auctioned it off in October for 10x the list price. Now, we may finally take a better look at it.
Craig Jackson himself, CEO of Barrett-Jackson auction house, purchased the car for U.S. $1,100,000 during the auction organized by his company. The car itself boasts a rather interesting paint scheme that combines Lime Green and Candy Apple Green and makes it look much like the vintage 1968 Shelby EXP500 Concept that Jackson still owns. The rarity borrows its ‘Green Hornet’ moniker from a fictional spy movie villain from the 1930s era, who used to drive cars with weapons built into them much earlier than James Bond became a thing.
Aside from the paint, the Green Hornet also sports the same white caption that says ‘EXP500’, another homage to its spiritual predecessor. Finally, it boasts green side mirror caps, while the rest of the Shelby cars have black ones.
The Green Hornet will be exhibited at the next auction sale along with other Shelbys from Jackson’s private collection, notably including a one-off 1967 GT500 EXP ‘Little Red’ found in Texas last year and completely restored.
On a related note, Ford has developed a brand-new 5.2-liter V8 engine specifically for the new Mustang Shelby GT500 series. Its power of 771 hp (575 kW) and peak torque of 847 Nm (625 lb-ft) make it not just the strongest Mustang on the lineup, but also the strongest Ford production car ever.