Rare Dodge Durango Shelby SP360

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never heard of it before..

Someone Traded This Rare Dodge Durango Shelby SP360 For A Tesla


Christopher Smith
4 hrs ago

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Slide 1 of 13: Dodge Durango Shelby
Full screen

1/13 SLIDES © Motor1.com/Hersteller
Dodge Durango Shelby

It was a hot SUV in 1999, but it wasn't hot enough for the previous owner to keep.
With the new Mustang Shelby GT500 currently dominating news headlines, this might be the ideal time to remind folks that the relationship with Ford and Shelby wasn’t always a thing. For nearly 20 years, Shelby was associated with various hopped-up vehicles from Dodge, with the striped Shelby Durango seen here being the swan song of that relationship.

We’ve talked about the Shelby Durango before, but this video from TFL Classics caught our eye for a couple of reasons. The big one is the Tesla connection, as the current owner of this rig says he actually bought it from a Tesla dealer where it had been traded in. We find that oddly fascinating for reasons we can’t fully explain – who trades an exceedingly rare performance SUV with Shelby branding for a Tesla? That’s not a dig on Tesla, or praise for a 20-year-old Dodge SUV with stripes and a supercharger. It’s just a marriage of two very different motoring worlds that sends our collective minds into a frenzy of questions.

© Motor1.com/Hersteller Dodge Durango Shelby
The plot thickens, however, which brings us to the second reason. The video says the Shelby only had 32,000 miles on the odometer when purchased, but we can’t help noticing quite a bit of exterior wear in spots. There are also some modifications to the lower fascia that indicate this Shelby was towed behind an RV – the tow bar mounts are clearly visible, along with an electrical plug in the middle. We aren’t going to jump into the towing debate that still rages in the RV community, but it certainly adds a bit more character to the history of this already-intriguing vehicle. Here’s hoping the transmission was properly taken care of during all those miles spent behind a motorhome.

Otherwise, we’d say this old Shelby has fared rather well. The modified 5.9-liter V8 develops 360 horsepower (268 kilowatts), and this particular version is off-road ready with four-wheel drive. It also has Shelby suspension which, according to the video makes this Durango something of a rough rider. The interior is fitted with Shelby-branded racing seats, there’s carbon-fiber trim on the dash, and plaques inside and out identify this specific Durango as number 68. Exactly how many were built all total is unknown, but it’s believed to be around 300.

Did the previous owner make the right decision by trading this rare Shelby SUV for a new Tesla? Or, is this just an old Durango that will depreciate further over time? Let us know your thoughts on this unlikely automotive trade.

Research the Dodge Durango on MSN Autos

 

[Richard Cranium]

never heard of it before..

I have. Shelby Dodges get no respect & are virtually worthless in comparison to Ford Shelbys.

 

[dodgedifferent2]

Never heard of a shelby durango.

I thought shelby left dodge around 92 and went back to ford
Being durango starts in 97, something is missing.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I got to believe that there had to be more than 13. I had a coworker that had one just as pictured. He drove it all year round in the snow and everything. I do remember it being fairly quick as well.

 

[Dave6T4]

I got to believe that there had to be more than 13. I had a coworker that had one just as pictured. He drove it all year round in the snow and everything. I do remember it being fairly quick as well.

Caption reads 1 of 13 slides; not trucks. Another poster mentioned maybe 300?

 

[mmissile]

They weren't very quick, and sucked fuel like a TF car. Looked pretty good, though.

 

[toolmanmike]

Supercharged? AI says 300 produced. The 1999 Dodge Durango Shelby SP 360 is a rare, high-performance SUV, with only about 300 produced. It features a supercharged 5.9-liter V8 engine generating 360 horsepower and 412 lb-ft of torque. Known for its signature Viper Blue paint with white racing stripes, this "muscle SUV" was designed by Performance West Group and licensed by Carroll Shelby, featuring upgraded suspension and brakes.

 

[autoxcuda]

I remember them.

They had some issues. If the computer goes bad you are SOL.

 

[toolmanmike]

If the computer goes bad you are SOL.

I imagine it had to be tweaked a bit.

 

[Photon440]

Even with the supercharger, that tank was still a solid 15 second machine. I remember the magazine articles.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Some were supercharged, some were strictly the cosmetic package (paint, wheels, seats) with a stock 5.9. They werent actually built BY Shelby, like the actual Shelby-Dodges from the 80s (GLHS, CSX, Lancer and Dakota), but were "officially licensed" by Shelby to carry his name and logo. Not to be confused with the "Shelby Daytona" or the "Shelby charger", which were simply a trim package on a Dodge.

If you want a Dodge that was actually built by Shelby Automobiles, your choices are:
86 Omni GLHS (750 built) - black
87 Charger GLHS (750) - black
87 CSX (Shadow; 750) - black
87 Shelby Lancer (400 leather/auto, 400 stick/cloth) - red
88 CSX-T (Thrifty rent a car; I think 800) - white
89 Shelby Dakota (400 red, 400 white)
89 CSX-VNT (500) - red.

Anything else is just stickers, but those 7 were sold and titled as "Shelby", not Dodge, because they were built AT Shelby in Whittier, CA. They all had number plaques on the dash and none had options other than the Lancer (either auto with leather, or stick with cloth), the Dakota (red or white), and the 89 CSX with 2 available options, 225 series tires (stock was 195), or Recaro front seats. 15 were built with both options.

 

[Budnicks]

I had one I remember them well great rigs for what they were
I worked for a large dealership group & would get 1st shot on stuff
going to the wholesalers or to be fixed up & go out on the used car lots

mine was AWD-fulltime 4wd IIRC they had 2wd versions,
pretty sure that was the majority too
it was just like in the article

I paid like $6,500 out the door for it from Concord Toyota
it needed tires were almost bald & wheels were all chipped up, 18"
from curbing them it looked like, it had a rough 1st few thousand miles
pretty low miles, don't remember exactly how many, it was under 10k
it had a few extra parts too
IIRC a smaller blower pully, for like 9#s boost (Kenny Bell 2ltr SC)
& different injectors & a Hyper-tech tuner

the guy traded it in on a Supra (2002 ?) IIRC

Like this, it had aftermarket wheels, I got it used

here's the under hood plaque

 

[Detective D]

The Kenne Bell system for the Magnum 360 uses an extra fuel injector to add more gas at the throttle body area and a boost a pump. They did a similar thing for 5.0 Ford and it works, but you can get more HP and a smoother running vehicle if you put a modern wide band 02 in and have a proper tune done by adding larger fuel injectors and a bigger fuel pump. A proper A/F programming will add significant power across the board, potentially allow a pulley change for more boost, and in general make for a better vehicle.

I almost bought one of these right before they got back into internet influencer blogs, there was one for sale in Sheboygan. Those influencer blogs have a way of turning a spotlight on something and making it sound like the greatest hidden investment ever so all the bankroll guys go on a feeding frenzy and prices skyrocket. The one I was looking at was pretty rough, it had been daily driven in the salt belt. I passed. Now nice ones are all snapped up into collections, or sitting on collector car lots where the lot people bought them for 12K and think they should sell for 29K.
Oh well, a stroker kit in a regular 360 durango gets you 80% of the way to what this shelby does, you would just need the paint and (IMO) not that attractive body kit to complete the "tribute". A 408 is likely going to put out more power anyway. The trick nowdays for that is finding a clean 360 Durango that hasn't been bought up to put into a demo derby.