A rare 1970 Shelby Mustang GT500 with documented Middle Eastern ownership history and just over 30,000 miles has now spent a full year on the market without finding a buyer, despite multiple price reductions.
The car traces its origins to the final chapter of the Shelby Mustang program, which began in 1965 and concluded after the 1969 production run. When Shelby-branded Mustangs struggled to compete with Ford’s own high-performance offerings, hundreds of unsold 1969 cars were reissued with 1970 vehicle identification numbers. A total of 788 examples were sold as 1970 models following minor visual updates, including revised hood stripes and a chin spoiler.
Among those cars was a Shelby GT500 fastback purchased new by Prince Ghalib Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia. At the time, fuel costs were not a meaningful concern for wealthy buyers, and the seven-liter 428 Cobra Jet-powered Shelby remained appealing even as fuel economy hovered near 10 miles per gallon. Gas prices in 1970 were still low enough to keep big-displacement muscle cars competitive.
The GT500 was heavily optioned from new, featuring an automatic transmission, power steering, power front disc brakes, air conditioning, tilt-away steering wheel, fold-down rear seat, tinted glass, tachometer, trip odometer, and an AM eight-track stereo. With options, the price approached $6,000, well above the base Shelby GT500 fastback sticker of roughly $4,700.
The prince reportedly kept the car for approximately 25 years before transferring it in 1996 to an American aircraft maintenance employee working for Saudi Arabian Airlines. The car was later returned to the United States and eventually changed hands again.
The Shelby surfaced for sale on December 15, 2024, showing 30,138 miles. Initially listed at $220,000, the price has since been reduced to $175,000. That figure now sits below the roughly $183,000 average sale price for similar models recorded over the past five years.
One potential factor affecting buyer interest is the car’s condition history. It received a repaint in the early 1990s, meaning it is no longer fully original. Still, the car remains rare, with only 15 examples reportedly finished in Gulfstream Aqua with white Clarion Knit and Corinthian vinyl high-back bucket seats.
Currently located in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the car remains listed for sale, leaving open the question of whether its history, rarity, and reduced price will finally attract a buyer.
Via ebay.com/shovelhead_1979
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