Rare Shelby Series 1 scheduled for sale in October

RM Sotheby's will be holding an auction in October dedicated to this 1999 Shelby Series 1 roadster with chassis No. 238 and only 4,311 km (2,678 miles) under its belt.

The Series 1 was originally conceived in mid-1990s as a Dodge Viper rival. It featured a carbon and glass fiber body on aluminum frame.

The series came powered by the four-liter L47 Aurora V8 General Motors engine boosted from its standard 253 hp (189 kW) and 353 Nm (260 lb-ft) of torque to 324 hp (242 kW) and 390 Nm (288 lb-ft). Six-speed ZF gearbox enabled it to get from zero to 97 km/h (0-60 mph) in 4.4 seconds and max out at 274 km/h (170 mph).

The original production plans involved 500 units, but promotion difficulties and vendor issues resulted in only 249 cars leaving the works in the end.