Unless you ’ve been live under a rock music since , well , before you were brook , you should know what this cable car is . It ’s Eleanor , or rather , a replica Eleanor , build up from an formally license Shelby GT500 . It might seem self - evidently badass . Make no error , the machine so utterly embodies the sum of badass that the people behind it – fromClassic Recreations– might as well have a skipper arcdegree in the battleground . But its righteousness is far beyond skin mysterious . Here ’s why we love it .
It draws on Shelby’s iconic motorsport heritage
It ’s hard to exemplify the gist of the American press spirit more thanCarroll Shelby . He went from poor Texan chicken farmer to automotive demigod on the hound of endowment , showmanship , and a successful vendetta against one of Europe ’s racing royal family , Enzo Ferrari . The first Shelby Mustang was theGT350 , which run low on to have plenty of racing winner , both domestically and afield . Then add up theGT500 - KR , which was never intend for serious racing duty , but rather to be the King of the Road . It also did n’t look all that much like the Eleanor that you see here .
The original Eleanor wasn’t even a Shelby
You probably hump that Eleanor was the GT500 hero car ’s name inGone in Sixty Seconds , but that ’s not where the name originated . Eleanor was the hero car in the originalGone in 60 Seconds – the 1974 we - don’t - need - no - special - effect version– but that auto was aMach 1 , not a Shelby . Incidentally , the chase aspect in that original movie was so epic that the writer - slash - director - slash - stunt number one wood literally died trying to take it ’s even more over - the - top ( and never - released ) continuation .
It was n’t until the infinitely flashier Jerry Bruckheimer / Nicolas Cage version that Eleanor made the modulation from Mach 1 to GT500 superstardom .
It’s actually more true to a real Shelby than a restoration
Bruckheimer was n’t about to film a motion-picture show with any old " boring " machine , no matter how much legitimate racing heritage it had . Thus , a III of real GT500s went under the proverbial knife , taking on a much more modern and conventionalised look in the summons . In an odd style , that almost made the carmoreoriginal . See , back in the day , Shelbys were basically live rods , precursors to what today would be called " tuner " cars . They were Mustangs that were the right way souped up and fare with their own certificates of authenticity , and the Bruckheimer - era Eleanor took that same concept and applied it right back on the Shelby .
And that brings us to whythisEleanor is so cool
The railway car ’s schematic name is the Classic Recreations Shelby GT500CR 900S , and it started out as a Mustang that was allow ( by Shelby American ) to be upgraded to Shelby specs , then , ( like Eleanor to the GT500 , and like the GT500 to the Mustang ) , the GT500CR was souped up . A lot .
forward-looking hiatus and bracken help keep it reasonably good , so long as you ’re not completely indiscriminate about your software of the nearly 800hp , 427cid V8 repose in wait beneath the tough . It ’s not cheap – prices start at $ 219,000 before you get into a mountain of options , several of which are in the five - build kitchen stove on their own – but for a souped - up variant of a souped - up version of a souped - up version of an American ikon , that ’s kind of a bargain .
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Classic Restorations
Aaron Milleris theCarseditor for Thrillist , and can befound on Twitter . He first saw one of these in person well-nigh a tenner ago in Oklahoma . It was aphrodisiacal .
Classic Recreations
Classic Recreations
