Ford Helps Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation Raise More Than $1.1 Million

The Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation tipped its hat to the Ford Motor Company for raising more than $1.1 Million through the first three months of 2006. The funds benefit the charity devoted to children's organ transplants and research started by legendary racer, car manufacturer and entrepreneur Carroll Shelby.

"I'm grateful to Ford Motor Company and Barrett-Jackson, as well as to the auction winner, for so generously helping the many children that desperately need medical assistance," said Carroll Shelby. "When I think about the exciting Ford GT and the new Ford Shelby GT500 coming this summer, it's clear that Ford has raised the bar on performance."

On March 25, 2006 at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Palm Beach, Florida, a rare Ford GT Coupe, VIN # 00003, donated by Ford, was sold for $530,000. Dubbed "Quicksilver," this early-run 2005 production Ford GT was used for Ford marketing events and auto show displays, and represents the lowest production VIN number offered for sale to the public. All of the proceeds of the Quicksilver sale went directly to benefit the Foundation.

"It's fitting for the Ford GT to take a victory lap with Carroll and his children's charity in the vehicle's final year of production," says Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company executive vice president and president of The Americas. "Carroll was instrumental in the design of the original race car and today's Ford GT, so we decided it was most appropriate to donate one to his cause."

This sale came on the heels of another successful fundraising effort at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction event in January, where Ford offered the first 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 that sold for $600,000. At age 83, Carroll Shelby is the oldest and longest-living double-organ transplant recipient. He received a heart transplant in 1990 and his son donated a kidney to him in 1996. He created the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation in 1991 to provide financial assistance for acute coronary and kidney care for young people in need.