Ford Mustang 1970 – Shelby GT500

This 1970 Shelby GT500 marks the quiet end of an era, Ford wasn’t even building new cars by this point, just relabeling unsold 1969 models under FBI supervision. That makes it the rarest model year of the original Shelby Mustang run, with only 286 built. Here’s how to spot one and what’s actually under the hood.

Close look and amazing sound of this beautiful Shelby GT500!!

The Shelby GT500 in this clip is the sound of an era ending, even if nobody watching it in the moment realized that’s exactly what they were witnessing. By the time cars like this one left the factory, Carroll Shelby himself had already walked away from the program, and Ford wasn’t even building new examples anymore, it was simply relabeling what hadn’t sold yet. That quirk makes this one of the rarest model years in Shelby Mustang history, despite looking almost identical to the car that came before it. So what actually separates a genuine 1970 GT500 from the 1969 model it was built from?

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There Was No Real 1970 Production Run

Carroll Shelby ended his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969, closing the book on his direct involvement with the Shelby Mustang program. Rather than tooling up a new model year, Ford took unsold 1969 GT350 and GT500 cars and, under FBI supervision, reissued them with 1970 VINs. Only 286 GT500s ended up going out the door as 1970 models, making it the rarest single year in the nameplate’s run.

How to Spot One, and What Was Under the Hood

The giveaways are a front chin spoiler and two black hood stripes, added specifically to distinguish 1970 cars from the otherwise identical 1969 leftovers, along with a handful of emissions-related tweaks. Power still came from Ford‘s Cobra Jet 428 V8 running through either a C6 automatic or an optional four-speed manual, backed by a Traction-Lok limited-slip rear axle, the same drag-strip-ready formula that made the GT500 a legend to begin with.

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