68 GT500KR convertible sells for $300K in Houston

I was at the "Keels and Wheels" car show/auction in Houston this weekend. Some dealer from Oklahoma had brought several Shelbys to the auction. The only one I got to see auctioned was a black 68 GT500KR convertible. It was a very nice car done to concours standards and I did not see anything glaringly incorrect about it. Paint was superb. There was some (very minor) surface rust on some of the undercarriage so I assume that it was either an older restoration or the previous owner had actually been driving the car. Very nice car but definitely NOT the nicest one in the country. Any way the bidding shot up to $275K in a hurry and the reserve came off. From there two guys duked it out in $5K increments until they got to $300K. Auctioneer said that it was a world record price. I don't know about that but I follow the car market pretty hard and I have not seen or heard of one selling for this price before. Remember to take into consideration that this could have been a shill bid to generate some buzz.

Also a 1967 "Eleanor" got bid to $63K. It wasn't a very good one as far as Eleanors go. Painted it white with blue stripes and the interior was mostly stock Mustang or aftermarket stuff.

 

It started raining just as I was looking at the Silver Jade convertible. Took some pictures of it but did not notice anything in particular. Didn't really stand out one way or another.

I knew that 71 Cuda would go for big bucks. Anything 71 and Hemi is what the serious Mopar collectors want.