Carroll Shelby’s Personal Dodge Omni GLHS Could Fetch Up To $75,000

The Dodge Omni might not, on its face, look like a particularly interesting car. But this one has layers of rarity and intrigue, which explains why it’s estimated to sell at auction for $50,000 to $75,000.

Although there aren’t that many left on the road today, the Omni was Dodge’s little hatchback runabout. Part of Lee Iacocca’s legendary turnaround of the company, by the mid ’80s the brand was looking to inject a little spice into lineup.

Naturally, the creator of the Mustang decided to turn to his old pal Carroll Shelby. Inspired by the success of the Golf GTI, Dodge wanted to make a competitor. Thus, they shipped the car off to Shelby, who added some performance and called it the GLH, which is short for Goes Like Hell.

This, though, is a GLHS, which adds “s’more” to the whole package. Limited to just 500 units, it features a pumped 2.2-liter single overhead cam engine making 175 hp. That might not sound like much by today’s standards, but at the time, the Golf GTI only made about 105 hp in the U.S. Due to its power and relatively low weight (remember, these were the ’80s), Shelby’s Omni could hit 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds, which is as fast as a 2002 Golf GTI.

It could also reach 130 mph (209 km/h), had a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and was shod in Goodyear Gatorback VR-rated tires to help it handle. It performed well enough that Shelby wanted one of his own.

This one, no. 86 of 500, belongs to the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust. It has the original paint, retains all of its original stickers, and has fewer than 8,200 original miles on the odometer.

So, even though the Omni might not look like the most exciting car in the world, hopefully you can see why this one in particular might fetch a pretty penny at the auction. The lot is part of Mecum’s Kissimmee auction, being held from January 7 through the 16th.