This Brand New, $250,000 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake Is Retro Perfection

They’re only building ten of these pristine recreations.

Back in ’67, Shelby American engineer Don McCain got the notion to build an even faster GT500 to do high-speed tire testing for Goodyear.

With a 427-cubic-inch racing motor, heavy-duty front disc brakes, locking differential, traction bars and (natch) special Goodyears, the GT500 Super Snake reached 170 mph at the San Angelo, Texas proving ground.

The car was a hit, so Shelby decided to offer the Super Snake to customers, but the high price attracted few takers. Now, ten lucky car nuts will have the chance to have Shelby build them a brand-new 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake, as Shelby American has announced a ten-car “continuation” series.

The Super Snake’s reputation has carried over to modern iterations, like Shelby’s supercharged 670-horsepower 50th anniversary edition launched last year.

For the continuation series, Shelby starts with an original ’67 Mustang, which they strip down and rebuild with new sheetmetal. They install a fresh 550-horsepower 427 topped by a Holley four-barrel carb and cast aluminum valve covers. It is backed by a correct Top Loader 4-speed manual transmission that sends power to the correct locking differential.

The original style front disc brakes and heavy-duty rear drums are standard, but Shelby is offering rear discs as an optional, non-correct upgrade. You can also select a modern five-speed manual transmission or even an automatic.

The 15-inch Mag Star wheels preserve original appearance, no matter what hidden upgrades you might have chosen, and they are appropriately wrapped in Goodyear GTII tires.

Shelby will deliver all this, with an original 1967 vehicle identification number and a Shelby serial number, for a cool quarter-million bucks. Whether or not you decide to test the 170 mph top speed in a 50 year-old design is entirely up to you.