Shelby/Rouch Collaboration Car Goes To The Highest Bidder July
29th
For the third straight year, the Ford Motor Company has created
a unique, aviation-themed Mustang automobile to be auctioned at
AirVenture, with proceeds benefiting the EAA Young Eagles program.
This year's enticement is a one-of-a-kind 2011 "SR-71 Blackbird"
Mustang.
The inspiration for the car comes from the spectacular
reconnaissance jet. It is the result of the first-time
collaboration between two automotive legends with deep passions for
aviation - Carroll Shelby, a former U.S. Air Force flight
instructor, and Jack Roush, a long-time P-51 pilot. The SR-71
"Blackbird" jet first took flight in 1964, the year the Mustang was
introduced.
"Ford is a long-time supporter of EAA and its mission to
showcase the finest innovation and technology in flight," said Tom
Poberezny, EAA chairman/president and AirVenture chairman. "The
dedication shown by Carroll Shelby, Jack Roush and the SR-71
'Blackbird' Mustang team along with Ford's generosity will ensure
EAA's ability to do some amazing things for our future aviation
enthusiasts."
Shelby and Roush helped design, engineer, and produce the car,
which has many special and unique features including their
embroidered signatures in the exclusive racing seats.
The Young Eagles Auction will take place at the EAA Gathering of
Eagles presented by Cessna Aircraft Company, scheduled for 1930 on
Thursday, July 29 at the EAA AirVenture Museum. The Gathering of
Eagles supports Young Eagles and other EAA programs that inspire
young people to become the engineers, aviators, astronauts,
scientists, and innovators - the aviation pioneers of tomorrow.
SR-71 Blackbird
The SR-71 "Blackbird" joins the two other one-of-a-kind Mustangs
created by the Ford Design and Engineering teams for the EAA Young
Eagles Auction in recent years, each desired by both aviation and
automotive enthusiasts alike. In 2008, the Mustang AV8R, with cues
from the F-22 "Raptor," introduced the glass-roof canopy and
delivered a record auction contribution of $500,000. In 2009, the
AV-X10 "Dearborn Doll" auctioned was crafted in honor of WWII
aircraft.
"The excitement around the 2008 AV8R, our first one-off Mustang
ever produced, inspired us to push for another, first, the
collaboration of Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush," said Edsel B. Ford
II, a member of Ford's Board of Directors. "This year's SR-71
'Blackbird' is a special tribute to Ford's lineage of performance
vehicles, as well as to the promising innovators of EAA's Young
Eagles."
Ford's continued support for the EAA Young Eagles program is
unsurpassed, having raised more than $1 million in recent years.
Young Eagles, introduced in July 1992, has already flown more than
1.5 million young people at no charge, making it the largest youth
aviation education program in history.