When it comes to wild car builds and amazing machines, Richard Rawlings and his Gas Monkey Garage team perhaps do their best. The Gas Monkey Garage team has created plenty of incredible builds over the years. Sometimes though, things don’t go so well for their builds after they are all finished.
That is exactly what happened with a very special Ford that the team created on the show Fast N’ Loud. It was a 2005 Ford GT, and one that looked sensational after they had completed their work. This particular Ford GT sports car was also wrecked prior to Rawlings and his team getting their hands on it. But after all the hard work the team put in, they were rather let down when the car went up for auction as well.
This is one of their most special builds, and the team put a lot of work and money into making this build top-notch. Ranging from the iconic Midas Monkey Hot Wheels Corvette to the equally sensational Chevrolet Fleetline, the Gas Monkey Garage team usually nails sports cars. But something went painfully wrong with this iconic sports car build.
Story Behind The Fast N’ Loud Ford GT
The story behind this particular Ford GT is a truly fascinating one. The Gas Monkey Garage team went through the car top to bottom in order to get it in as fine condition as possible after its restoration. The team felt back in the day that they had really excelled with this build. And it had plenty of brilliant features. Work was also done with Penske on the car, and it had a one-off air-ride system on the car too. It was that detailed a restoration.
The team also dropped the car down to the ground, meaning the top of the car went from 40 inches to 37 inches. It was a simply unbelievable-looking car and 100% one of the best builds the team had done. Rawlings actually never intended to sell the car, he loved it that much. Sadly though, he had to sell the car. But when it went under the hammer at Barrett-Jackson, Rawlings and the team were then left utterly dejected. At the time, Rawlings wanted some $500,000 for the car. This would cover all the work and more, as the team spent $250,000 working on it.
How Much Did The Gas Monkey Garage Ford GT Sell For?
The car is probably worth even more now, thanks to inflation over the last few years. Plus, the further rarity of the Ford GT and all the Gas Monkey Garage modifications. Rawlings lifted the reserve at the auction for the car in the hope of it making all the money he needed. That was not to be, though. The car amazingly only sold for $230,000. So someone had a great bargain, but the sale didn’t even cover the labor for Rawlings and his team. Not exactly the happiest of tales.
In terms of where the car went, the car was, in fact, bought by someone who went to a lot of Barrett-Jackson auctions. It then went into a car trailer, and it was then taken up North. That car then sat in its trailer in a warehouse full of loads of other cars, and it has not moved since. As you can imagine, Rawlings is not exactly happy about this. He has tried to get his hands on this car multiple times and to bring it back to Dallas, Texas. But the owner simply does not budge, which is, quite frankly, rather bizarre.
Fast N' Loud Ford GT Is Now A Garage Queen
Of course, Rawlings can't exactly control where his cars do and don’t go when they are up for auction. However, to hear that the Ford GT is simply sitting around in a trailer gathering dust is pretty sad. Especially after the work Rawlings and the team put into it. To us, it seems odd that people would buy such exotic cars to then just sit in private and not at least use them in a limited way. But to many, these cars are just investments. It is sad that people have that mindset.
Will The Ford GT Ever Return To Gas Monkey Garage?
Rawlings does occasionally buy cars back from their new owners. So perhaps one day, he will manage to bring this Ford GT back to Gas Monkey Garage. Out of all the cars that Rawlings and the team have created, this is one that really deserves to get shown off to as many people as possible. It is somewhat criminal that this car, after all that work was, of course, put into it, is just hiding as part of someone’s private hoard. Let's hope this car does not become an infamous barn find, found in 30 years in a truly terrible state.
Sources: Gas Monkey Garage, Barrett-Jackson