1968 Shelby EXP-500 "The Green Hornet"

I always try to find the "Rare" Muscle Cars, the "Wow Factor", the cars that make you go, "Well...wow."  I think this one might qualify for that...

The 1968 Shelby EXP-500 Prototype 428 CJ Conelec EFI was a rare 1-of-1 Carroll Shelby creation that was dubbed, “The Green Hornet”.

It was built with independent rear suspension, fuel-injection, and was powered by the 428 Cobra Jet engine. The Green Hornet was a factory-experimental beast with four-wheel disc brakes and modern technology packed into a 1968 Shelby model.  It had a stripe on the front quarter panel that read “EXP500″.

Soooo, how did all this happen?  Carroll Shelby needed a testbed machine for his new fuel-injection unit and independent-rear-suspension, but the “Lil Red” 1967 hardtop he was going to do it with was being used at performance displays and frequently driven by Shelby’s friend, Bill Cosby.  (Yep.  The guy with the sweaters.)  Ford Motor Company then sent Carroll a Lime Gold 1968 hardtop with a 390-ci engine, which was promptly ripped out and replaced with the experimental 428-CJ.

A Conelec EFI that was going to be used in full-sized Ford and Mercury cars due to stricter 1970 emissions regulations was added.  This test bed still featured a 9-inch rear, coil springs, lateral links and a rear anti-roll bar.  A C6 truck spec transmission was installed to replace the factory C6.  They also swapped out for a Lincoln torque converter and a cast-iron truck shaft.

Shelby modified the body and slapped on a functional ram-air hood and different tail-panel to hold 1965 Thunderbird tail lights.  Three coats of Gold Luster Green were shot on the body.  Gold metallic mica was hand-rubbed in and topped with clear.  It's believed that due to his friendship with Bill Cosby, this one-off custom car was quickly nicknamed “The Green Hornet”.

It did 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and had a top speed of around 157 mph.  (This was one potent Pony!)  This was achieved with only a 3.0:1 ratio and weighing in at a hefty 3,500-pounds.  The Conelec fuel injection and IRS, however, never made it to production. 

Until recently, most believed that the Green Hornet had been destroyed, when actually, it made it to Ford’s Employee and Auction Resale Lot in Dearborn, MI.  (The car was stripped of  the IRS and the EFI.)  The lot owner bought it for $3,000, knowing it was the only Shelby notch-back like it.  He sold it a short time later saying that it had too much power to be a family car.  (...if you listen carefully, you can still hear him  screaming...tragic.)

The owner of a Ford dealer franchise in Cheboygan, Michigan picked it up next.  He added a white vinyl top, 14-inch styled steel wheels with GT caps and white-stripe Michelins.  He only put on about 30,000 miles.  He had no idea what kind of special car he owned for 20 years.  It was brought to the original builder, and it was restored it as close as they could to what Shelby intended it to look like from the start.  Today, "The Green Hornet" joins Craig Jackson’s select collection of ultra-rare muscle cars, the lone Ford in the Barrett-Jackson Auction magnate’s private garage full of ultra rare one-of-one high-optioned GM and Mopar muscle.

And I'll bet you never even knew "The Greet Hornet" actually DID exist...the legend lives on...