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Today I had the privilege of having a look at my brother in laws Shelby GT 500 which he bought around 9 months ago. This is more of an investment as this is not a car for the feint hearted to own. He has always wanted an Eleanor which is the name of the car featured in the movie "Gone In 60 Seconds" which Nicholas Cage drove.
I haven't had the chance to see it up until now and didn't get a chance to take it for a spin as we had heavy rain this afternoon. I drove a left hand drive having a Pontiac Bonneville as my company car back in the early 90's. This being a Shelby GT 500 is on another level however and would have loved to have a quick flip around the block.
A 5.2 liter V8 with over 760 Horse Power is not for someone looking for an eco friendly ride. Putting your foot on the accelerator is like watching dollar bills burning.
The car I have always wanted is the Shelby GT 500 in white and blue so seeing this was a real treat today. Would I actually buy one is another story as I would want to drive it and not have it in a collection.
As an investment these types of muscle cars have been increasing steadily over the last few years. He has already been offered more than 3 x what he paid for it and is not interested for now. There are limitations enforced on you by the insurance company limiting you to 3000 km per year. The car was running a little rough and will help him putting him in contact with the right people to help him. There are only 8 Shelby GT 500's in South Africa so finding the right people to assist is not that easy.
Back in the 90's when I worked for a cigarette company we imported many different vehicles through an American car agent who is still active. Laws changed in 1995 where left hand cars imported prior to 1995 were allowed to be legal but no more left hand cars were legally allowed thereafter. South Africa is is one of those countries that use right hand drives. Driving a left hand drive is not only a pain over here, but it has it's difficulties such as over taking and is not straight forward.
I had so many photographs planned but the lighting was not great so will come back and revisit doing another post doing this car justice. I do expect to at least take it for a ride as I enjoy this sort of thing. I just wish we had better weather today.