The Shelby American (Summer 2022)

The SHELBY AMERICAN Summer 2022 16 Greg then replied (I don’t think he will mind me sharing this email): “Thank you very much! I just fin- ished answering calls from refugees and people involved in helping them find places to sleep. Today Lisa and I said goodbye to a family who spent last night in Kiev in the only room of their house that still had walls. They are now being assisted by good people in Germany where they chose to go. A lot of suffering and a lot of kindness. Thank you so much for making this crazy world better.” I share this with the hope that everyone who reads this will stand in the face of such great evil and help those in need however they can. All help is needed – no support is too small. I’m afraid this is only the begin- ning. – David Kirkham Kemp R-Model Sold For $1,265,000 GT350 R-Models are the most valu- able of all Mustangs and that might be why there is so much interest in them when they go through an auction. Maybe there is just a curiosity as to how much they will sell for. It’s like watching an Olympic sport you’re not really interested in but you just want to see how fast someone can run or how high they can jump. There’s another aspect we find in- teresting, and one we really can’t ex- plain. Why is it that some cars, once they become separated from a long time owner, seem to show up at auc- tion after auction. After they sell for big bucks – let’s say over $750K – they’re back again in a year or two looking to break their own record. It was then purchased by Charlie Kemp of Jackson, Mississippi in 1967 and raced throughout the southeast. He campaigned it vigorously over the next six years, at one point winning 17 consecutive races. He was clocked at 184 mph at the ARRC at Daytona. Kemp sold the car to a Texas oilman who bought it for his girlfriend’s son, who turned out to be afraid of the car. Kemp bought it back in 1974 for $850 and restored it to 1968 specs. In 2014 he decided to let it go again. He placed it in the RM Auction in Amelia Island where it was purchased by Jack Bell of Denton, Texas for $984,500. Four years later Bell consigned it to the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale where it was bid to $775K but did not meet the reserve. Bell then had John Brown restore the car to current restoration stan- dards. He brought it to the 2021 Mecum auction in Monterey, Califor- nia where it was purchased by SAAC member John Dwyer of Sedona, Ari- zona for $1,265,000. Dwyer, inciden- tally, was the buyer who purchased 5R002 at the Mecum Kissimmee auc- tion in January 2022 for $3.5M. There are only about 30 R-Models out there and most seem to have found long term owners. At least for now. But when one is cut loose, it often seems to be moved through a series of auctions. There’s always interest to see if a new buyer will be willing to pay more than the last one. It makes for good sport for those of us who don’t occupy a seat in the financial strata that would identify us as serious buyers. 5R538 was originally purchased by Roger West of Birmingham, Alabama in December of 1965 and raced at Day- tona in 1966. It was next raced at Day- tona and Sebring in 1967 and then at a number of SCCA National events in the south. It was invited to the 1967 ARRC where it finished third.