Roush has decided, in conjunction with Ford Motor Company, to auction away the last 2008 Roush P-51A Mustang at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in West Palm Beach, Florida and give the proceeds to the Salute to Education Scholarship charity.
Roush sent out the following press release below:
“Number 151 is a pretty significant car for ROUSH considering the total inventory of ROUSH P-51A Mustangs basically sold out within 24 hours when the dealer order banks were opened up,” said Joe Thompson, general manager of ROUSH Performance. “Whoever ends up with this car will truly acquire a part of ROUSH history.”
Jack Roush, the motorsports legend, NASCAR team owner, and aviation enthusiast who owns and flies his own World War II P-51 fighter planes, will be in attendance personally overseeing the bidding on the highest horsepower Mustang that ROUSH Performance has every built. He is flying in from the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Matinsville (Va.) Speedway specifically for the auction.
Shown in the Barrett-Jackson catalog as lot number 667, the ROUSH P-51A is expected to be seen going under the gavel live during the SPEED Channel television broadcast that evening.
“It is for a very worthwhile cause that we are putting up this ROUSH P-51A Mustang,” said Jack Roush. “I am proud of the work that the ROUSH engineers put into the development, I am proud of the finished
vehicle, and I am proud that we can help to support the Salute to Education with the proceeds from the auction.”
As an interesting side note, the yellow and red accent colors on the vehicle come from those used by the 357th Fighters Group, Eighth Air Force ETO (European Theater Operations) who were unofficially known as “The Yoxford Boys” after a village near their base. Its victory totals in air-to-air combat are the most of any P-51 group in the Eighth Air Force and third among all groups fighting in Europe. The 357th flew 313 combat missions between February 11, 1944 and April 25, 1945 and is officially credited by the US Air Force with having destroyed 595.5 German airplanes in the air and 106.5 on the ground. Pilots in this group included Captain Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson who flew a P-51 named “Old Crow.” One of Roush’s personal P-51 fighters is painted as a replica of this airplane.
The Salute to Education Scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who demonstrate community service, academic achievement, leadership and strong educational and career goals. Ford Motor Company, participating Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers, and Ford Motor Credit fund the program which has helped thousands of students realize their dream for a college or university education.
Linear Mode
