There aren’t many people who’ve shaped American performance cars the way Carroll Shelby did. The Texas chicken farmer turned Le Mans winner had a knack for taking good ideas and making them great — the Cobra being the most obvious example. But when Ford came knocking in 1965 with a GT40 program that was struggling to find its footing, Shelby got to work. Now, one of only two GT40 MK1s that Shelby himself actually drove is heading to Mecum’s Kissimmee auction on January 16, and it’s bringing six decades of history with it.
Show Car, Racing Pedigree
Chassis P/1018 left Ford Advanced Vehicles in November 1965 bound for Shelby American, but not as a racer — at least not initially. Built in what Shelby termed “show trim,” this was meant to be an engineering marvel and promotional tool rolled into one. It arrived at LAX with some minor nose damage (fitting, given the GT40’s notoriously fraught early development), was quickly repaired, and immediately thrust into the spotlight at the Seattle Auto Show that year.
The car’s highest-profile moment came on January 6, 1966, when Shelby himself drove the vehicle down a freshly paved stretch of the Santa Monica Freeway with Miss Santa Monica in the passenger seat. According to marque historian Ronnie Spain, P/1018 is one of just two GT40s known to have been driven by Shelby himself, adding considerable weight to its provenance.
Hollywood and the Racing Circuit
After its auto show tour, P/1018 headed to the silver screen. MGM leased it for John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, with Bob Bondurant behind the wheel for camera testing at Riverside. The car was repainted dark blue and spent the next couple years making the rounds — including a cameo in NBC’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and appearances at everything from the High Performance and Custom Trade Show at Dodger Stadium (which would eventually become SEMA) to the New York Coliseum.
The car’s actual racing career didn’t kick off until 1973 when it landed in Australia under Laurie O’Neill. A minor crash at Amaroo Park in 1982 resulted in some body panel damage, though Spain notes the chassis came through essentially unscathed. The car eventually made its way back to Europe, where three-time Group C2 world champion Ray Bellm campaigned it extensively from 2001 to 2008. Prepared by Lanzante, P/1018 racked up an impressive record: 11 wins from 13 starts at Le Mans Classic, a Whitsun Trophy victory at Goodwood Revival, and even edged out a Noble M400 on Top Gear by six-hundredths of a second.
The First of Its Kind
Beyond the Shelby connection, the vehicle holds another distinction bye being the first GT40 built with a three-hole chassis panel, a feature that became standard in later production. Overall, just 48 MK1 race coupes were produced in total. This car retains its original chassis and has been recently repainted in its original maroon finish, the same color it wore when it first rolled out for those early promotional events with Shelby.
Spec Sheet
Model: 1965 Ford GT40 MK1
Chassis: P/1018 (1 of 48 MK1 race coupes)
Engine: 289 CI V-8
Transmission: ZF 5-Speed Manual
Color: Maroon (original, repainted 2024)
Odometer: 10,359 miles
Estimate: $5,500,000 – $6,000,000
Pricing & Availability
Estimated to go for between $5.5 million and $6 million, the 1965 Ford GT40 P/1018 crosses the block at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction on Friday, January 16. Comprehensive documentation, including a nearly 300-page historical dossier compiled by Ronnie Spain, comes with the sale.
Recap
1965 Ford GT40 P/1018 Carroll Shelby Auction
One of only two Ford GT40 MK1s actually driven by Carroll Shelby is hitting the auction block at Mecum’s Kissimmee sale on January 16th, carrying an estimate between $5.5 and $6 million. Chassis P/1018 has quite the resume, from Hollywood screen time to racking up 11 wins at Le Mans Classic decades later.
