1969 Shelby GT500 For Sale With 12,283 Miles Shown Pairs 428 Cobra Jet V8 And Rare Spec
Ford's 428 Cobra Jet engine found a place in some pretty powerful machines over the years, and that includes the 1969 Shelby GT500 that will be up for grabs during the Barrett-Jackson Digital Select auction, November 5 through 12. The big-block V8 was rated at 335 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque by Ford, but counting ponies could be tricky back then. Some sources say the motor had more like 400 horses and the automaker underrated the mill to help keep insurance costs down. The motor certainly helped keep the car's 0-60 times down. After all, the '69 Shelby GT500 could run that sprint in a brisk 6.0 seconds. Plus, while it's not the very fastest of the fast muscle cars, its top speed of 130 mph puts it pretty high on the list.
This particular pony car more than looks the part, too. Right off the bat, it has one of the cooler sports car cues of the time in its Naca-style inlets for its vented hood. Also on display are racing stripes, a rear spoiler, 15-inch five-spoke Shelby wheels, and a dual center-exit exhaust system with square outlets.
Inside, however, was a slightly different story. By 1969, the Shelby GT500 had softened its sharp focus on performance to include upscale-for-the-time appointments like knitted white-vinyl seats, matching door panels, an AM/FM stereo, air-conditioning, a tilt steering wheel, and wood-grain trim. That said, the roll bar and Shelby-specific center console were there to remind you of the car's roots.
This was the last year of GT500 production, with Ford building 1,157 1969 GT500 fastbacks like the one shown here. And that's understating the car's rarity.
How rare is this 1969 Shelby GT500?
This is technically a 1 of 12 vehicle, though that's mostly because of the way the original owner ordered it. That is, it's not a baked-in limit like Ford's decision to build only 244 GT500 convertibles for 1969. Instead, this is one of 709 units manufactured with the C-6 automatic transmission in 1969. Next, among examples with that gearbox, it's then one of just 52 that combined a Black Jade exterior with the white vinyl seats. Once you drill down to equipment such as the AM/FM sound system, tilt steering wheel, and air-conditioning, you'll discover only 11 other 1969 Shelby 500s with the exact same configuration.
It's hard to say how those numbers will affect this car's selling price, but certain super rare pony cars are worth seven figures to modern collectors. On the other hand, looking at comparable recent auctions, a Silver Jade 1969 Shelby GT500 SportsRoof model — as the fastbacks were called — went for $131,250 in September of 2026, and a Candy Apple Red example sold for $102,000 about a year before that. Meanwhile, the original price for Barrett-Jackson's Black Jade edition was $5,643.17.
Helping to buoy the price of the Barrett-Jackson car this time around could be its mileage. The two cars just mentioned were showing 82,000 and 48,000 miles, respectively. The Barrett-Jackson Shelby GT500 has a mere 12,283 miles , although its title lists the car as "exempt." It turns out that owners of cars from the 2010 model year or earlier no longer have to disclose odometer readings under federal law.