This is one of three high-performance ‘HiPo’ 289 Mustangs used to start the GT350 Mustang project at Shelby American in late October 1964 and was the prototype used to determine which modification and part sources were needed to produce the GT350 Mustang for 1965. Since it did not require as much development and construction time as the racing version it is accepted this is the first Shelby Mustang produced. Shelby American employee (the head of Shelby’s special projects), Peter Brock, took photos of this partially finished car and wrote the text for what would become the first two ads used in the automotive magazine in early 1965. It was cleverly photographed with standard steel wheels on the driver’s side and Shelby-Cragar chromed alloys on the passenger side to give the illusion that more than one street GT350 had been built. It was used at Shelby American for six months before being converted to a current production GT350 and sold to its first public owner (Cobra team driver Ed Leslie, for his dealership in Monterey, California) in the summer of 1965. In late 1979 it was thought to have been a competition version of the GT350 and was restored as an R model. The 003 was restored back to its early prototype design. The work was performed over a 12 year period using many rare and original parts. It has had ten owners over the last 50 years.