The 1968 GT500 “KR”

Today we begin a ride that will take each of us down some interesting back roads as well as some that are only now being constructed. When I was asked to serve The Dillon Herald and our community through this blog, my mind raced with enthusiasm. Having been given the keys to the car, I only hope to be able to make the trip worthwhile for anyone who bravely buckles up.

When I think of the American Muscle Car I must admit the first thing that comes to mind is the 1968 Ford Shelby GT500 KR (King of the Road) Mustang. One of the most interesting facts about the car’s arrival to the Muscle Wars between the automakers of that day was the way it actually came to be. In 1964, Ford Motor Company had asked Carroll Shelby to come aboard and develop a car that would compete with the Corvette in SCCA B-Production racing. So later that same year the 1964 Shelby GT350 Race Cars were built and the wars were on!

After many other great follow-ups to the ’65 Shelby, a story of hot pursuit would soon follow. In 1968, Carroll Shelby was given a call from a secret informant who was working for him inside of the General Motors Corporation. He learned that GM was in the process of building a new Corvette that was going to be named “King of the Road.” He wanted to bring their plans to a screeching stop. So he immediately called in one of the members on his staff and asked him to research to find if indeed a patent had yet been put on the automobile name, “King of the Road” by General Motors. A short time later the worker returned to tell Mr. Shelby that the name had not yet been taken. Mr. Shelby then told him to do whatever he had to do to get that name secured for Ford. The employee then expressed to Mr. Shelby that he would get on it the first thing the next morning, to which he replied, “If you don’t get it today, someone else will be getting it for me tomorrow.” And as you can well imagine, it was done. Carroll Shelby had slipped the name right out from under the feet of GM and the Classic Ford Shelby GT500 “KR” was born.

It’s often said by many that all is fair in racing. But I’m sure that GM would take a different road…

James W. Bryant

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 @ 12:06am

Contact me at: JWB69Mach1@aol.com