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Carroll Shelby spent the 1980s turning ordinary Chrysler front-wheel-drive hatchbacks into something fun, and then the world mostly forgot about it. A 1,100-mile 1987 Shelby Lancer in Graphic Red is live right now on Bring a Trailer, and the current bid is only $5,200. The auction ends Tuesday, November 3 at 1:47 p.m.
The car comes with a better story than most six-figure listings. According to the seller, the current owner's father bought it new and traded in a 1960s Shelby Mustang to do it. Imagine that dealership conversation.
Shelby in the Front-Drive Era
By the mid-1980s Shelby was working closely with Chrysler, and the results were small, turbocharged and quick for the time. If you want the backstory, Motorious has covered the 1986 Dodge Omni GLHS, the 1987 Dodge Shadow Shelby CSX, the Dodge Daytona Shelby Z, and the 1987 Dodge Shelby Charger. The Lancer is the one that gets left out of the conversation.
It was based on the contemporary Dodge Lancer, a roomy five-door hatchback that was more family transport than hero car. For 1987, Shelby Automobiles built the Shelby Lancer at its Whittier, California, facility. Roughly 800 were produced for the model year. Chrysler took over production of the Dodge Lancer Shelby the following year, so the Whittier-built cars are the ones that carry the early story.
What This Lancer Has
Under the hood is the turbocharged and intercooled 2.2-liter Turbo II four-cylinder, topped with a Shelby-branded valve cover. It was factory rated at 175 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. Power goes to the front wheels through the optional three-speed TorqueFlite automatic. Some enthusiasts will grumble about the automatic, but the transmission is part of what makes this car period correct and what the original buyer chose.
Every 1987 Shelby Lancer was finished in Graphic Red with Shelby graphics, and this one wears the full kit: a functional hood vent, a front air dam, body-color ground effects, Marchal fog lights, a decklid spoiler, and 15-inch basketweave wheels with Shelby center caps. The suspension is sport-tuned, and the car has four-wheel disc brakes. Inside are gray leather seats, a power-adjustable driver's seat, air conditioning that has been converted to R134a, and a steering wheel carrying a Carroll Shelby signature. A dash plaque identifies it as car #590.
The window sticker lists a total of $18,660 and shows the car was originally delivered to Gesswein Motors in Milbank, South Dakota. The listing also includes the Certificate of Origin, 1988-dated documentation, manufacturer's literature and a clean Carfax report. The title is Kansas, branded "Antique."
What to Know Before You Bid
This is a 40-year-old car, even at 1,100 miles. The listing notes cracks in the paint on the hood and splitting weather stripping on the rear quarter windows, and the Pioneer head unit works intermittently. It is being offered by SullivanAutoHouse in Wichita, Kansas, on dealer consignment. With only eight bids so far, there is still time for this to move, but the low-mile, unmodified Shelby cars from this era do not show up often.
It is also a useful reminder that some of the most interesting Shelby history sits outside the Mustang and Cobra world. If you are tracking this part of the market, Motorious has also looked at undervalued collector car segments worth watching, and we also covered another forgotten Chrysler product from this same era.
The Bottom Line
A turbo Shelby with a Whittier build plate, a dealer window sticker and about 1,100 miles should not be this easy to overlook. Whether you want it as a time capsule, a Mopar curiosity, or the car your high school friend's dad owned, the bidding is open until Tuesday afternoon. See the full 1987 Shelby Lancer listing on Bring a Trailer.
