Description
Chassis No. 8T02Rthe details below
Ordered on 1 May 1968, this GT500 KR Fastback was completed on 17 June, one day ahead of its scheduled build date, according to its Elite Marti Report, an officially licensed Ford product. The report and door data plate confirm a factory specification of Highland Green paint over Black knit vinyl luxury bucket seats, the 428 Cobra Jet V8, a four-speed manual transmission, and a 3. 50 Traction-Lok rear axle. The Marti Report further identifies it as one of 96 four-speed KR Fastbacks finished in Highland Green. Of those, 80 received the Black knit vinyl interior, 60 of these the 3. 50 axle, and only two were shipped to Jack Loftus Ford.
Invoiced to that Hinsdale, Illinois, dealership on 21 June 1968, the Shelby carried an MSRP of $4, 927. 08 with power front disc brakes, power steering, shoulder harnesses, a fold-down rear seat, a push-button ** radio, and the Tilt-Away steering wheel among its options. It shipped by rail on 28 June and sold on 15 July to first owner C. Surman of River Forest, who returned it to the dealership twice that year for warranty work at 451 and 3, 824 miles. The Shelby American World Registry traces a subsequent chain of Chicago-area owners into the 2000s, and its registry photograph shows the car wearing red paint.
The KR was later exported to Switzerland, where it was granted veteran status in January 2014 and passed its most recent inspection in April 2021. It has since been returned to its original Highland Green with white stripes and rides on 10-spoke wheels shod with Radial G/ T tires. The cabin retains its woodgrain trim, Cobra-branded lap belts, Black knit vinyl upholstery, and wood-rim steering wheel. A metric speedometer and an **/ FM cassette unit have been fitted, the former showing 1, 560 kilometers at the time of cataloging. A March 2026 appraisal, commissioned under the current caretaker, assigned it FIVA condition 1 in every category, from bodywork and paint to mechanicals, interior, and trim, and noted its conformity to original specification.
The Shelby is accompanied by its Marti Report, a copy of the original invoice, 1968 Shelby Cobra GT 350/ 500 owner's manual, and a selection of invoices. This is a superb example of its type, ideal for showing or driving as Carroll Shelby intended it to be: the "King of the Road."
